Glen-worden Elementary School, Scotia NY

Original Research by School Decision on Glen-worden Elementary School

Glen-Worden Elementary is a small, conventional public elementary school in Scotia serving kindergarten through grade five. The school enrollment sits at a modest level for its grade span, with roughly balanced class sizes across the grades. The student body is predominantly white, with smaller numbers of Hispanic, Black, and Asian students and a quarter of the school qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch.

The school's most recent state testing results show proficiency rates that fall below the midpoint for most grade and subject combinations. In mathematics, third grade performs best, while fifth grade is notably lower. English language arts follows a similar pattern, with fourth grade posting the weakest results. Fifth grade science also comes in at a level worth monitoring. Across all tested subjects and grades combined, Glen-Worden's overall proficiency index places it in the top quartile relative to other elementary schools in Schenectady County—a positioning that reflects the overall strength of the county's school performance rather than indicating Glen-Worden's standing as strong in absolute terms. The data available does not include prior-year results to show whether proficiency is moving up or down. Testing participation rates are generally solid, though fifth-grade participation in English language arts and science falls short of the school's overall participation in the district.

A significant structural change is underway. The Scotia-Glenville Central School District announced in early 2025 that Glen-Worden Elementary will close at the end of the 2025-26 school year. The district is consolidating from four elementary schools to three, driven by declining enrollment across the district and a substantial budget gap. Glen-Worden students and families will be redistricted to other elementary buildings in the district for the 2026-27 school year onward. This is a lasting change, not a temporary one. The district has published new attendance boundaries and a transition timeline for families affected by the closure.

Beyond this closure, the district faces ongoing fiscal pressure. Voters initially rejected a 2025-26 budget that exceeded New York's tax cap, and for 2026-27 the district eliminated positions to close a gap, though it held the line on cuts to instructional programs and extracurricular activities. The district did receive voter approval for a capital project in 2024 that includes secure entry vestibules at all school buildings.

A parent evaluating Glen-Worden should factor in that the school's current fourth and fifth graders are among its most affected by the closure, and families considering enrollment should understand that they are choosing a school in its final year of operation. The modest proficiency results suggest students are below where the state expects them to be in most grades and subjects; a parent may want to look further into what support the school offers for students working below proficiency, and what transition planning the district has in place for current students.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 369%

School 69% · District 62% · ▲ 7 pts above district

▲ 10 pts above state median · ▲ 18 pts above county median

Grade 456%

School 56% · District 62% · ▼ 6 pts below district

▼ 3 pts below state median · even with county median

Grade 547%

School 47% · District 65% · ▼ 18 pts below district

▼ 4 pts below state median · ▲ 9 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 359%

School 59% · District 60% · ▼ 1 pts below district

▲ 7 pts above state median · ▲ 18 pts above county median

Grade 447%

School 47% · District 58% · ▼ 11 pts below district

▼ 5 pts below state median · even with county median

Grade 569%

School 69% · District 68% · ▲ 1 pts above district

▲ 14 pts above state median · ▲ 21 pts above county median

Science

Grade 556%

School 56% · District 53% · ▲ 3 pts above district

▲ 14 pts above state median · ▲ 24 pts above county median

Social studies

Grade 598%

School 98% · district not reported

▲ 6 pts above state median · ▲ 7 pts above county median

This schoolSCOTIA-GLENVILLE 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-income50%Higher-income61%11 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income42%Higher-income50%8 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income60%Higher-income73%13 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income83%Higher-income65%18 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income50%Higher-income58%8 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income33%Higher-income55%21 pp gap