Romulus Central School, Romulus NY

Original Research by School Decision on Romulus Central School

Romulus Central School is a single PreK-through-12 building in Romulus, New York, sitting on Route 96 in Seneca County's rural Finger Lakes countryside, between Cayuga and Seneca Lakes. It draws students across an expansive attendance area that takes in the towns of Romulus, Fayette, MacDougal, and East and West Varick. The school is small relative to what most families encounter in suburban or urban settings, with grade-level cohorts that are quite modest in size throughout, and the entire operation from prekindergarten through senior year runs under one roof.

The student body is predominantly white, with smaller Hispanic and multiracial populations and very few students from other racial or ethnic groups. A meaningful share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, pointing to a community with real economic pressures. Data on English learners and students with IEPs was not available in what was provided.

State testing results on the New York State Testing Program are reported for grades three through eight in math, ELA, and science. The picture is mixed and, in some grades, genuinely concerning. Fifth grade stands out as a relative high point in both math and ELA, with proficiency rates approaching or exceeding the low-to-mid forties. Third grade lands in the low-to-mid thirties in ELA and upper thirties in math. Sixth grade ELA sits around forty percent while math is in the upper thirties. Seventh grade ELA dips back into the low thirties. The sharper drops come in fourth grade, where both math and ELA proficiency fall into the teens and low twenties, and in eighth-grade math, where the rate is very low. Eighth-grade ELA is around a third. Fifth-grade science is in the low thirties; eighth-grade science is lower. Participation rates in eighth grade for both math and science were notably low, which limits how much those results tell a parent about the full cohort. Families who want to understand what is driving the variation across grades, particularly the gaps between grades three, five, and six relative to four, seven, and eight, would do well to ask the school directly about curriculum sequencing and any student support structures in place. Placed among the four districts in Seneca County, the school's overall proficiency index sits just above the midpoint of that group.

Graduation rate data was not available in what was provided, and the district brief found no major curriculum overhauls, facility referendums, or structural changes in the last several years worth flagging for parents.

Housing in the zip code covering Romulus has seen values rise at a pace well above the state average year over year, though the underlying price point remains well below the statewide typical home value. Rents are not separately tracked for this area in the data available. For a buyer, estimated monthly carrying costs on a home at the area's typical value, at current mortgage rates with a standard down payment, land at a level that is moderate in national terms. The price-to-income ratio here is below the national figure, which reflects a more affordable market relative to incomes than much of New York State, though that calculus depends heavily on where a buyer is coming from.

The town itself is genuinely rural. Rolling farmland, vineyards, and lakeshore define the surroundings, and the Cayuga and Seneca Lake wine trails bring a steady visitor economy without transforming the day-to-day texture, which is agricultural and quiet. Five Points Correctional Facility, publicly reported as the area's largest single employer, is operated by the state and sits on Route 96 near the school. Sampson State Park, along Seneca Lake, provides recreation. Development attention in the area is focused on the former Seneca Army Depot land, where industrial reuse projects and a publicly reported rail infrastructure investment signal modest economic activity rather than residential growth. Population has edged downward in recent years, and no significant new housing development was found in the sources reviewed.

For a family weighing Romulus Central, the picture is a small, PK-12 rural school where every student knows the building from elementary through graduation, where community ties are tight, and where the academic results are uneven across grades in ways worth exploring further with the school.

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Academic performance

State test results and graduation outcomes.

Graduation rate (ACGR)

80-89%Cohort of 32 students · Class of 2021

The federal source publishes a banded range instead of an exact rate when the graduating cohort is small enough that an exact number could risk identifying individual students.

How this school compares to all schools in this state

Each dot is one school’s SY 2020-21 graduation rate, binned by integer rate. Taller columns mean more schools at that rate. This school is highlighted.

1,253 schools plotted. 14 additional schools' rates are federally suppressed and not shown. Data: EDFacts SY 2020-21.

New York Regents Exams

4 courses reported · 2024-25

End-of-course exams required for a New York Regents diploma. Each row shows the cohort size and the share of students scoring at the proficient level or higher.

Course	Students tested	% proficient
Social Studies	47	72.0%
Ela	46	83.0%
Math	38	71.0%
Science	19	53.0%

Math

Grade 338%

School 38% · District 38%

▼ 21 pts below state median

Grade 413%

School 13% · District 13%

▼ 46 pts below state median

Grade 547%

School 47% · District 47%

▼ 5 pts below state median

Grade 637%

School 37% · District 37%

▼ 8 pts below state median

Grade 738%

School 38% · District 37% · ▲ 1 pts above district

▼ 15 pts below state median

Grade 811%

School 11% · District 11%

▼ 26 pts below state median

English language arts

Grade 331%

School 31% · District 31%

▼ 21 pts below state median

Grade 421%

School 21% · District 21%

▼ 32 pts below state median

Grade 543%

School 43% · District 43%

▼ 11 pts below state median

Grade 641%

School 41% · District 41%

▼ 5 pts below state median

Grade 732%

School 32% · District 32% · ▲ 1 pts above district

▼ 15 pts below state median

Grade 833%

School 33% · District 33%

▼ 15 pts below state median

Science

Grade 533%

School 33% · District 33%

▼ 8 pts below state median

Grade 822%

School 22% · District 22%

▼ 11 pts below state median

This schoolROMULUS CENTRAL 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

English language arts

Grade 3Lower-income22%Higher-income46%23 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income17%Higher-income25%8 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income33%Higher-income48%14 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income20%Higher-income53%33 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income15%Higher-income42%26 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income40%Higher-income27%13 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income22%Higher-income64%41 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income25%Higher-income0%25 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income11%Higher-income62%51 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income20%Higher-income47%27 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income31%Higher-income42%11 pp gap