Sherburne-earlville Elementary School, Sherburne NY

Original Research by School Decision on Sherburne-earlville Elementary School

Sherburne-Earlville Elementary School is a small rural elementary school serving pre-kindergarten through fifth grade in the village of Sherburne, in Chenango County. The school enrolls a small-to-modest population, with about half of students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch. The student body is predominantly white, with a small number of students from other backgrounds represented.

The school sits within a compact historic village anchored by a National Register district, with sidewalk-lined streets, colonial-era homes, and civic institutions like the public library and town parks nearby. The surrounding area is rural and agricultural, with residents working in manufacturing, healthcare, education, and farming. Sherburne's housing stock is older, with modest property values and homeownership rates below the national average. The village is served by local employers including school operations, light manufacturing, and regional firms in nearby Norwich.

State testing data from the most recent year shows proficiency rates below where many families would hope. In mathematics, the school's proficiency rates ranged from roughly one-third at fifth grade to just over half at third grade. In English language arts, proficiency was lower still, ranging from about one-third at third and fourth grades to roughly two-fifths at fifth grade. Science proficiency at fifth grade was about two-fifths. Taken together, these results place the school in the top quartile among districts within Chenango County on an overall proficiency index, but the absolute attainment numbers suggest the school faces headwinds in core academics. A parent may want to look into what support structures, interventions, or instructional approaches the school employs to address these outcomes, and what the school's plans are for improvement.

The school participates in the Sherburne-Earlville Central School District, which has recently undertaken significant capital improvements. Voters approved a major facility upgrade project in December 2025 with most costs covered by state aid and no new tax burden, and an earlier project from 2022 added secure entrances, auditorium upgrades, and athletic field improvements. However, the district faces fiscal pressures; the proposed budget for 2026-2027 would reduce teaching and administrative staff due to rising health insurance costs and state aid shortfalls, with a tax levy increase at the state cap. Additionally, a 2024 state comptroller audit found the district had overestimated appropriations in prior years, resulting in higher property taxes than necessary.

Kindergarten and early elementary enrollment appears stable, with roughly comparable cohorts across the lower grades. The school's small size and rural setting mean families are choosing what is fundamentally a close-knit, community-embedded option. For families prioritizing walkable village life, low housing costs, and proximity to outdoor recreation and small-town institutions, the setting is meaningful. For families focused on test-score performance or breadth of specialized programs, the data suggests a school working within resource constraints and with academic results that warrant discussion directly with the school.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 351%

School 51% · District 50% · ▲ 1 pts above district

▼ 8 pts below state median

Grade 446%

School 46% · District 46%

▼ 12 pts below state median

Grade 537%

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

▼ 14 pts below state median

English language arts

Grade 337%

School 37% · District 36%

▼ 15 pts below state median

Grade 438%

School 38% · District 38%

▼ 15 pts below state median

Grade 543%

School 43% · District 42% · ▲ 1 pts above district

▼ 11 pts below state median

Science

Grade 541%

School 41% · District 40% · ▲ 1 pts above district

▼ 1 pts below state median

Social studies

Grade 588%

School 88% · district not reported

▼ 4 pts below state median

This schoolSHERBURNE-EARLVILLE 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-income23%Higher-income51%28 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income25%Higher-income53%28 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income42%Higher-income45%3 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income40%Higher-income62%23 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income35%Higher-income60%25 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income31%Higher-income45%14 pp gap