South Lewis Middle School, Turin NY

Original Research by School Decision on South Lewis Middle School

South Lewis Middle School serves students in grades five through eight in Turin, a small rural village in Lewis County in the Tug Hill region of upstate New York. The school is part of the South Lewis Central School District, which operates as a single K-12 campus following the consolidation of its elementary schools in 2021. The middle school sits on that unified campus, now housing all grades under one roof after the closures of community schools in Glenfield and Port Leyden.

Turin is a deeply rural place, sparsely populated and historically rooted in agriculture. The village itself is tiny and primarily residential, with an older population that includes many retirees. The broader town is very low-density, and while the village once had a bustling downtown, daily life today centers on the school district campus and recreational anchors like Snow Ridge Ski Resort. Population is stable to slightly declining rather than growing.

Academically, the school's performance is mixed across the grade bands. In math, grade seven stands out with proficiency near the higher range for its cohort; grades five and eight fall in the mid-range; grade six is clearly the weaker point. English language arts follows a similar pattern: grade eight is solid, grade six is in the middle, but grade seven lags noticeably. Science proficiency is lower across both tested grades, with grade five below the mid-range and grade eight also below. The school's overall proficiency index places it above the midpoint among Lewis County's districts. A parent may want to look into what instructional support or resources the school is putting in place around grade six and grade seven ELA, where proficiency dips more notably.

The student body is small and quite homogeneous. Roughly three-quarters of students are white, with very small numbers of students from other racial or ethnic backgrounds. About three-fifths of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, reflecting economic hardship in the community. State assessment participation rates are high across grades and subjects, which is a strength.

The school operates as a regular public school with no charter, magnet, or special designation. Data on special education enrollment, English learners, chronic absenteeism, and staffing were not available in the records reviewed, so a parent interested in those details should contact the district directly.

The district itself is in transition. Voters approved a major capital improvement project in October 2024 that includes educational space upgrades, infrastructure work, athletic fields, and a bus garage. Design is underway through 2025, with construction slated for completion in time for the 2027 school opening. Families moving to the area can expect significant facility improvements over the next couple of years and should be aware of the associated long-term financing obligations on district taxpayers.

Housing in the Turin area is quite affordable relative to the national benchmark, with median home values well below the state and national averages. Most residents own their homes. This affordability, combined with the rural setting and the single-campus school model, shapes the environment families will encounter. The school is accessible and participatory, though the sparse population density and aging demographics mean limited street life and fewer commercial amenities in the immediate area.

See more original research from School Decision →

Academic performance

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

New York Regents Exams

2 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
Math	14	100.0%
Science	5	100.0%

Math

Grade 553%

School 53% · District 53%

▲ 1 pts above state median

Grade 645%

School 45% · District 45%

even with state median

Grade 762%

School 62% · District 62%

▲ 9 pts above state median

Grade 855%

School 55% · District 55%

▲ 18 pts above state median

English language arts

Grade 548%

School 48% · District 48%

▼ 6 pts below state median

Grade 653%

School 53% · District 53%

▲ 7 pts above state median

Grade 742%

School 42% · District 42%

▼ 5 pts below state median

Grade 860%

School 60% · District 60%

▲ 11 pts above state median

Science

Grade 541%

School 41% · District 41%

▼ 1 pts below state median

Grade 847%

School 47% · District 47%

▲ 14 pts above state median

Social studies

Grade 876%

School 76% · district not reported

▼ 2 pts below state median

This schoolSOUTH LEWIS 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 5Lower-income38%Higher-income65%27 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income37%Higher-income79%43 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income35%Higher-income50%15 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income58%Higher-income64%7 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 5Lower-income38%Higher-income74%36 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income27%Higher-income76%49 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income50%Higher-income77%27 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income48%Higher-income72%25 pp gap