Church Street School, White Plains NY

Original Research by School Decision on Church Street School

Church Street School serves kindergarten through fifth grade in White Plains, a densely developed city that sits at the economic and political heart of Westchester County. The school enrolls a small to mid-sized group of students, drawing from a neighborhood that is economically mixed, with more than half the student body qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch. The student population is predominantly Latino, with substantial Black, white, and Asian populations represented. Housing in White Plains ranges from downtown towers and condos near the Metro-North station to residential areas with single-family homes; home values in the zip code are in the high range for the region.

State test results show mixed academic performance across grades three through five. In mathematics, proficiency rates cluster in the mid-range: around three-fifths of third graders meet proficiency, about half of fourth graders do, and three-fifths of fifth graders meet the bar. Reading and language arts proficiency is somewhat lower and less consistent, ranging from about half of fifth graders meeting the standard to less than half of fourth graders. Fifth-grade science proficiency is just above half. In context, Church Street's overall proficiency index across all tested subjects and grades falls below the midpoint among schools in Westchester County, which suggests that while the school is serving students and maintaining strong test participation, its academic results lag the median performance of other elementary schools in the county.

The school sits in a district that has exercised restrained budget growth for several consecutive years, keeping property-tax levy increases below the New York State cap without cutting programs or services, a fact families weighing a move to White Plains often weigh carefully. The district does operate under a structural constraint: payments in lieu of taxes (PILOT) agreements tied to downtown redevelopment have removed property assessments from the tax rolls, limiting the district's future revenue growth from new construction. The downtown area surrounding the school is in the midst of rapid vertical development, with high-rise residential towers and mixed-use projects reshaping the landscape, and new residents are moving into the district.

What the school lacks in quantifiable data is substantial. Chronic absenteeism rates, early literacy screening, specific special education and English learner enrollment counts, teacher staffing levels, discipline records, and course or program details are not reported here, so a parent would want to explore those particulars directly with the school. A kindergarten through fifth-grade elementary school does not have high school graduation data; state testing in the lower grades focuses on mathematics, reading, and science, and results at those early levels should be read as beginning indicators rather than finished predictors of secondary or post-secondary success.

The school's position below the county median on proficiency invites closer conversation with the school about curriculum, instruction, assessment, and support systems for students who are not yet meeting grade-level standards. For families moving to or within White Plains, Church Street represents an neighborhood school in a city with strong transit access, downtown amenities, and substantial new housing development, though its academic results suggest parents will want to understand the school's improvement trajectory and student support model in detail before enrolling.

See more original research from School Decision →

Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 358%

School 58% · District 58%

even with state median · ▼ 3 pts below county median

Grade 453%

School 53% · District 59% · ▼ 7 pts below district

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

Grade 560%

School 60% · District 57% · ▲ 4 pts above district

▲ 9 pts above state median · ▲ 1 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 355%

School 55% · District 54%

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

Grade 444%

School 44% · District 51% · ▼ 7 pts below district

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

Grade 552%

School 52% · District 55% · ▼ 3 pts below district

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

Science

Grade 553%

School 53% · District 46% · ▲ 7 pts above district

▲ 11 pts above state median · ▲ 5 pts above county median

Social studies

Grade 596%

School 96% · district not reported

▲ 4 pts above state median · ▼ 1 pts below county median

This schoolWHITE PLAINS 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-income41%Higher-income68%27 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income28%Higher-income66%38 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income39%Higher-income65%26 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income55%Higher-income62%8 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income33%Higher-income77%44 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income52%Higher-income68%16 pp gap