Edward Smith K-8 School, Syracuse NY

Original Research by School Decision on Edward Smith K-8 School

Edward Smith K-8 School serves prekindergarten through eighth grade in Syracuse's Lancaster Avenue neighborhood. The school enrolls a diverse cohort of students, with a substantial portion coming from lower-income families and a balanced mix across racial and ethnic groups. The building houses grades from early childhood through middle school, a span that captures both the early literacy and numeracy foundation years and the transition to abstract reasoning typical of grades six through eight.

State assessment data shows a clear pattern across Edward Smith's tested grades. In English language arts, proficiency is strongest in the lower elementary grades, particularly third grade, and then declines as students move into middle school. Math proficiency starts at a modest level and drops significantly in the upper grades, reaching very low levels by eighth grade. The school's overall proficiency index places it in the bottom quartile relative to other districts in Onondaga County. Science proficiency in fifth grade is roughly one-third, and eighth-grade science shows similarly weak results. These data suggest the school faces significant academic headwinds, particularly in the transition from elementary to middle school and in mathematical reasoning across the grade spectrum. A parent may want to look into this further with the school, especially if considering the middle grades.

Edward Smith is a regular public school with no charter or magnet designation. The school is part of the Syracuse City School District, which has been moving to upgrade its building stock. The district opened a new STEAM High School in fall 2025 downtown, offering technical concentrations tied to regional semiconductor and advanced manufacturing growth. The district also observes Eid al-Fitr as a no-school holiday, reflecting its substantial refugee and Muslim population. These initiatives signal the district's effort to respond to student demographics and regional economic change, though they may be most relevant for families whose children advance through the system.

Housing in the Lancaster Avenue ZIP code where Edward Smith sits is modest in cost relative to the state and national benchmarks, with home values below the Onondaga County median. Rental costs are similarly affordable. The local real estate market shows steady but not rapid activity, reflecting Syracuse's broader economic position as an upstate city that has been relatively flat for years but is now at an inflection point. The planned Micron semiconductor campus in the nearby Town of Clay is projected to reshape the regional economy and labor market, and the state has approved significant housing production funding to prepare for workforce growth. Families choosing this school are likely committed to urban Syracuse neighborhoods rather than drawn by market appreciation or rapid growth.

Edward Smith has no reported data on students with disabilities (IEPs) or English learners, so the extent of those support programs is not available. The school's size is typical for its grade band in an urban district. No information on staffing, attendance, discipline, or course offerings beyond core academics was available, so a parent should ask the school directly about enrichment programs, arts offerings, special services, and school culture. The school's website was not provided in the available data.

The school sits in an economically diverse city with anchors in health care, higher education, and research. Downtown Syracuse has seen renovation and new residential construction, though the city's walkability is concentrated in specific neighborhoods rather than spread evenly. For families considering Edward Smith, the academic data warrants close conversation with school leadership about literacy and math support, the causes of the grade-level declines, and what intervention or enrichment approaches are in place.

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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	40	70.0%
Science	29	59.0%

Math

Grade 343%

School 43% · District 29% · ▲ 15 pts above district

▼ 15 pts below state median · even with county median

Grade 429%

School 29% · District 19% · ▲ 10 pts above district

▼ 29 pts below state median · ▼ 17 pts below county median

Grade 525%

School 25% · District 17% · ▲ 9 pts above district

▼ 26 pts below state median · ▼ 5 pts below county median

Grade 67%

School 7% · District 13% · ▼ 6 pts below district

▼ 38 pts below state median · ▼ 34 pts below county median

Grade 724%

School 24% · District 18% · ▲ 6 pts above district

▼ 29 pts below state median · ▼ 30 pts below county median

Grade 82%

School 2% · District 8% · ▼ 5 pts below district

▼ 35 pts below state median · ▼ 24 pts below county median

English language arts

Grade 354%

School 54% · District 27% · ▲ 27 pts above district

▲ 2 pts above state median · ▲ 17 pts above county median

Grade 437%

School 37% · District 24% · ▲ 13 pts above district

▼ 16 pts below state median · ▼ 6 pts below county median

Grade 545%

School 45% · District 27% · ▲ 18 pts above district

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

Grade 620%

School 20% · District 19% · ▲ 1 pts above district

▼ 26 pts below state median · ▼ 18 pts below county median

Grade 729%

School 29% · District 22% · ▲ 6 pts above district

▼ 19 pts below state median · ▼ 13 pts below county median

Grade 831%

School 31% · District 25% · ▲ 6 pts above district

▼ 17 pts below state median · ▼ 10 pts below county median

Science

Grade 535%

School 35% · District 16% · ▲ 19 pts above district

▼ 7 pts below state median · even with county median

Grade 86%

School 6% · District 15% · ▼ 8 pts below district

▼ 27 pts below state median · ▼ 27 pts below county median

Social studies

Grade 581%

School 81% · district not reported

▼ 11 pts below state median · ▼ 12 pts below county median

Grade 859%

School 59% · district not reported

▼ 19 pts below state median · ▼ 23 pts below county median

This schoolSYRACUSE CITY 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-income40%Higher-income94%54 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income16%Higher-income86%69 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income35%Higher-income75%40 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income13%Higher-income55%42 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income14%Higher-income92%78 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income21%Higher-income61%40 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income30%Higher-income80%50 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income15%Higher-income64%49 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income18%Higher-income50%32 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income3%Higher-income25%22 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income15%Higher-income73%57 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income0%Higher-income20%20 pp gap