Schroon Lake Central School, Schroon Lake NY

Original Research by School Decision on Schroon Lake Central School

Schroon Lake Central School is a small rural K-12 school serving the hamlet of Schroon Lake and surrounding areas in Essex County's Adirondack region. The enrollment is small, with the school housing a diverse span of grades from pre-K through 12. A substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, reflecting the working-family and lower-income composition of the catchment area.

The school's state test results show uneven performance across grades and subjects. In elementary math, third graders demonstrate solid proficiency, but performance declines sharply in fourth and fifth grade, with fifth grade showing markedly low results. English language arts follows a similar pattern: third grade is moderate, fourth and fifth grades weaken, but sixth and seventh grades recover somewhat. Eighth grade stands out as notably stronger in both subjects. Science testing is limited to grades five and eight; fifth graders show very low proficiency while eighth graders achieve substantially higher results. The school's overall proficiency index, when measured across tested subjects and grades, places it above the midpoint among districts in Essex County, though this reflects considerable variability by grade and subject rather than consistently strong performance across the board.

The uneven performance pattern suggests a school where transition points and specific grade levels may face capacity or instructional challenges, or where student cohort size and composition shift sharply year to year. A parent may want to look into whether the school has identified the causes of the elementary-to-middle grade transition decline and what interventions are underway. The small tested cohorts in upper grades (often in the double digits) also mean results can shift noticeably if student composition changes, so trend stability may not be guaranteed.

The school sits on US Route 9 within or near the Schroon Lake hamlet center, integrated into the compact downtown area rather than on a separated campus. This location places it within the walkable village core, near the public library, town park, and lake, though the broader community remains rural and car-dependent. Schroon Lake itself is a small, aging Adirondack resort hamlet with a mix of year-round residents and seasonal vacation homeowners. The recent opening of the Lodge at Schroon Lake and planned expansion of hospitality and cultural venues signal tourism-driven investment, but housing development and population growth have not been reported as major local trends.

The district faces imminent property tax and facility pressures. A capital proposal to acquire land, build additions, and renovate the existing school building carries a substantial cost that would affect local tax burden and require voter approval. For 2025-26, the district's proposed budget exceeded the state tax-levy cap, requiring a supermajority vote to pass. These financial dynamics are directly relevant to families considering long-term residence in the district, as they signal upward pressure on local property taxes and ongoing facility constraints despite the renovation effort.

The school has access to state-assessed testing data, but information on program breadth, course offerings, special education and English learner services, attendance, discipline, staffing levels, and graduation rates was not available in the data provided. Given the K-12 configuration and small size, a parent would benefit from contacting the school directly to learn about course options in high school, support services, and extracurricular offerings. For a single-building rural district, the quality and range of academic and social support available to older grades depends heavily on the specific resources and partnerships the school has cultivated.

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Academic performance

State test results and graduation outcomes.

Graduation rate (ACGR)

>=80%Cohort of 23 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

3 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	21	76.0%
Ela	19	100.0%
Science	13	85.0%

Math

Grade 373%

School 73% · District 73%

▲ 14 pts above state median · ▲ 4 pts above county median

Grade 453%

School 53% · District 53%

▼ 5 pts below state median · ▲ 2 pts above county median

Grade 517%

School 17% · District 17%

▼ 35 pts below state median · ▼ 26 pts below county median

Grade 657%

School 57% · District 57%

▲ 12 pts above state median · ▲ 14 pts above county median

Grade 739%

School 39% · District 39%

▼ 14 pts below state median · ▼ 3 pts below county median

Grade 860%

School 60% · District 55% · ▲ 5 pts above district

▲ 23 pts above state median · ▲ 19 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 355%

School 55% · District 55%

▲ 3 pts above state median · even with county median

Grade 440%

School 40% · District 40%

▼ 13 pts below state median · even with county median

Grade 533%

School 33% · District 33%

▼ 21 pts below state median · ▼ 19 pts below county median

Grade 657%

School 57% · District 57%

▲ 12 pts above state median · ▲ 22 pts above county median

Grade 744%

School 44% · District 44%

▼ 3 pts below state median · ▲ 2 pts above county median

Grade 870%

School 70% · District 64% · ▲ 6 pts above district

▲ 22 pts above state median · ▲ 20 pts above county median

Science

Grade 528%

School 28% · District 28%

▼ 14 pts below state median · ▼ 22 pts below county median

Grade 880%

School 80% · District 73% · ▲ 7 pts above district

▲ 47 pts above state median · ▲ 38 pts above county median

This schoolSCHROON LAKE 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 4Lower-income13%Higher-income71%59 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income8%Higher-income83%75 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income55%Higher-income60%5 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income42%Higher-income50%8 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 4Lower-income50%Higher-income57%7 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income8%Higher-income33%25 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income55%Higher-income60%5 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income33%Higher-income50%17 pp gap