Casimir Pulaski School, Scarsdale NY

Original Research by School Decision on Casimir Pulaski School

Casimir Pulaski School is a pre-K through grade 8 school serving Scarsdale within the Yonkers City School District. The school enrolls a mid-sized cohort for its grade band, with a diverse student body: close to a quarter of students identify as Hispanic, roughly a fifth as white, and a sixth as Asian, with smaller shares identifying as Black or multiracial. About two in five students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch.

State testing data from the most recent school year shows math proficiency holding steady across grades 3 through 6, with the majority of students meeting proficiency in each of those grades. Grade 4 shows the strongest performance. Proficiency drops noticeably in grade 7 math, where fewer than half of tested students reached proficiency. Grade 8 math recovers somewhat but remains below grade 6 levels.

In English language arts, grades 3 through 5 show solid proficiency, with similar rates to math in those years. Grade 6 ELA dips below grade 5, and grade 7 ELA falls sharply, paralleling the grade 7 math decline. Grade 8 ELA rebounds to its highest level across the school. Science proficiency data is sparse; only grade 5 science is reported, where about two-thirds of students achieved proficiency. Grade 8 science data was not reported. Schools often report science testing only at select grades depending on state requirements and instructional scheduling, so gaps here do not necessarily point to weak instruction.

The pattern suggests a transition challenge in grades 6 and 7, where proficiency dips across both subjects. This may reflect typical middle-grade development or the nature of curriculum shifts at that level. A parent may want to look into what instructional supports the school offers during these grades and how the school addresses the proficiency drop.

The school's overall proficiency index places it above the midpoint among districts in Westchester County, a credible standing for a district school in a diverse urban setting.

The school sits within the broader Yonkers City School District, which is undergoing significant change. A new state-of-the-art dual-language community school opened in the district in September 2024, and a second new Pre-K through 8th facility is planned, signaling sustained investment in capacity and modern facilities. At the same time, one elementary school was voted to close due to low enrollment and maintenance costs, requiring affected families to select schools through the district's choice process. The district is managed under mayoral control, a governance structure in which the mayor appoints the superintendent and shapes school policy rather than an elected board setting those decisions. This structure differs from most of New York State.

Scarsdale itself, where Casimir Pulaski sits, is an affluent, architecturally controlled residential village of single-family homes on generous lots, anchored by a compact Tudor-style commercial center. The housing market is high, with median home values well above state and national benchmarks and monthly rents in the range where rent-to-income ratios run elevated. Schools in Scarsdale are organized as neighborhood campuses separate from the downtown retail and civic core, where the library, shops, and dining cluster near the Metro-North station. The school draws students from surrounding residential areas within the district's attendance zone.

For a family in or near Scarsdale, Casimir Pulaski offers a diverse peer environment, accessible state testing results in core subjects through grade 8, and participation in a district working through a major modernization effort. The grade 7 proficiency dip warrants conversation with the school about transition supports and instructional approach in middle grades.

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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
Science	52	73.0%
Math	29	97.0%

Math

Grade 376%

School 76% · District 50% · ▲ 27 pts above district

▲ 18 pts above state median · ▲ 15 pts above county median

Grade 485%

School 85% · District 53% · ▲ 32 pts above district

▲ 27 pts above state median · ▲ 16 pts above county median

Grade 582%

School 82% · District 43% · ▲ 39 pts above district

▲ 30 pts above state median · ▲ 23 pts above county median

Grade 679%

School 79% · District 45% · ▲ 34 pts above district

▲ 34 pts above state median · ▲ 28 pts above county median

Grade 746%

School 46% · District 45% · ▲ 1 pts above district

▼ 7 pts below state median · ▼ 8 pts below county median

Grade 871%

School 71% · District 38% · ▲ 32 pts above district

▲ 33 pts above state median · ▲ 31 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 373%

School 73% · District 49% · ▲ 24 pts above district

▲ 21 pts above state median · ▲ 16 pts above county median

Grade 474%

School 74% · District 46% · ▲ 28 pts above district

▲ 21 pts above state median · ▲ 12 pts above county median

Grade 571%

School 71% · District 50% · ▲ 21 pts above district

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

Grade 666%

School 66% · District 45% · ▲ 21 pts above district

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

Grade 744%

School 44% · District 47% · ▼ 3 pts below district

▼ 3 pts below state median · ▼ 8 pts below county median

Grade 882%

School 82% · District 45% · ▲ 36 pts above district

▲ 33 pts above state median · ▲ 29 pts above county median

Science

Grade 564%

School 64% · District 35% · ▲ 30 pts above district

▲ 23 pts above state median · ▲ 16 pts above county median

Grade 80%

School 0% · District 17% · ▼ 17 pts below district

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

Social studies

Grade 590%

School 90% · district not reported

▼ 2 pts below state median · ▼ 7 pts below county median

Grade 884%

School 84% · district not reported

▲ 5 pts above state median · ▼ 5 pts below county median

This schoolYONKERS 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-income68%Higher-income75%7 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income77%Higher-income73%3 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income61%Higher-income78%17 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income57%Higher-income76%19 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income33%Higher-income69%36 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income75%Higher-income85%10 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income78%Higher-income76%2 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income82%Higher-income86%3 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income79%Higher-income83%4 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income77%Higher-income81%4 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income34%Higher-income72%39 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income71%Higher-income71%0 pp gap