School 19-dr Charles T Lunsford, Rochester NY

Original Research by School Decision on School 19-dr Charles T Lunsford

Dr. Charles T. Lunsford is a small elementary and middle school serving pre-K through grade eight in Rochester's residential landscape, located on Seward Street. The school enrolls a student body that is predominantly Black, with a substantial Hispanic presence and a small number of white and multiracial students. A very substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, placing this school in a community with significant economic need.

The school's state test results reveal a pattern of low proficiency across mathematics and English language arts. In mathematics, third-grade students showed the strongest results at around forty-six percent proficient, but proficiency dropped sharply to roughly twenty percent in fourth grade and recovered only partially to around thirty-eight percent in fifth grade before falling again to around sixteen percent in sixth grade. English language arts followed a similar trajectory, with third graders just under one-third proficient, then declining to just over twenty percent in both fourth and sixth grades, with fifth grade at roughly thirty-six percent. Science proficiency in grade five stood at roughly thirty-six percent. These figures place the school in the bottom quartile among Monroe County districts on overall proficiency. Most students did participate in state assessments at high rates, suggesting engagement with testing, though the proficiency outcomes themselves remain low.

The school serves roughly this grade band with a modest total enrollment split somewhat evenly across the grades, with a notably larger cohort in pre-K. Grade distributions show concentrations in the earlier and later grades, particularly pre-K and grade eight. Student attendance data and chronic absenteeism rates were not available, so a parent interested in understanding daily attendance patterns would want to ask the school directly. Special education and English learner enrollment counts were also not reported, limiting visibility into how the school serves students with additional learning needs.

Rochester as a place is a mid-sized city undergoing downtown revitalization after decades of decline. The city has an Olmsted-designed park system, a central public library, and a transit network serving the region. Housing values in the Seward Street zip code have been rising modestly year-over-year. The neighborhood itself is residential with older housing stock typical of Rochester's established neighborhoods.

The Rochester City School District itself is in transition. A major reconfiguration that began in the 2024-25 school year closed multiple schools, moved to a full elementary-middle-high structure, and required families in some buildings to enter reassignment lotteries. The district simultaneously lost federal COVID-relief funding and roughly that many positions, with enrollment continuing to decline. These systemic changes mean the district's resource picture is tightening, a reality families should factor into decisions about long-term schooling.

For a family considering this school, the low state proficiency results and the district's contraction are the defining context. This is a school where students are entering at substantial academic disadvantage and where the gap between the local student performance and state expectations is wide and consistent across grades and subjects. The school is embedded in a district managing significant structural and financial pressure. A parent would want to have direct conversations with the school about the content of its academic supports, how it approaches intervention for students below grade level, what professional development teachers are receiving, and what specific steps are being taken to close the proficiency gap. A parent might also ask about the school's stability given district-wide reconfiguration and resource constraints.

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Academic performance

How students perform on state tests, by grade, set against the district.

Math

Grade 346%

School 46% · District 25% · ▲ 21 pts above district

▼ 13 pts below state median · even with county median

Grade 420%

School 20% · District 17% · ▲ 3 pts above district

▼ 38 pts below state median · ▼ 25 pts below county median

Grade 539%

School 39% · District 13% · ▲ 25 pts above district

▼ 13 pts below state median · ▲ 3 pts above county median

Grade 616%

School 16% · District 18% · ▼ 2 pts below district

▼ 29 pts below state median · ▼ 9 pts below county median

English language arts

Grade 332%

School 32% · District 22% · ▲ 11 pts above district

▼ 20 pts below state median · ▼ 11 pts below county median

Grade 421%

School 21% · District 19% · ▲ 2 pts above district

▼ 32 pts below state median · ▼ 18 pts below county median

Grade 536%

School 36% · District 19% · ▲ 17 pts above district

▼ 18 pts below state median · ▼ 2 pts below county median

Grade 621%

School 21% · District 20%

▼ 25 pts below state median · ▼ 7 pts below county median

Science

Grade 536%

School 36% · District 14% · ▲ 22 pts above district

▼ 6 pts below state median · ▲ 4 pts above county median

Social studies

Grade 598%

School 98% · district not reported

▲ 6 pts above state median · ▲ 5 pts above county median

This schoolROCHESTER CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT, same grade

Graduation rate (ACGR) reflects the federally published Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate for the most recent year available. We refresh this data annually at the close of each academic year in June. The federal source publishes a banded rate (for example, "90-94%") instead of an exact number for cohorts small enough to risk identifying individual students. The state distribution chart, where shown, plots every school in the state with a published rate or band; schools whose rate is federally suppressed are excluded. Where the federal source publishes a band rather than an exact rate, the school is placed within its band using a stable, ID-derived offset, so its position is consistent across visits.

Proficiency by household income

Mathematics

Grade 7Lower-income12%Higher-income20%8 pp gap