The top reported proficiency rate is 100% in Social studies. The lowest is 83% in English language arts.
Original Research by School Decision on Surrarrer Elementary School
Surrarrer Elementary School is a neighborhood school serving kindergarten through fifth grade in Strongsville, a mid-sized Cleveland suburb in southwestern Cuyahoga County. The school enrolls a student body that is roughly mid-sized for its grade band, with an enrollment distributed fairly evenly across its six grades. The student body is predominantly white, with smaller shares of Asian, Hispanic, and other racial and ethnic groups represented. About an eighth of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, indicating a generally higher-income school community, which aligns with Strongsville's character as an established suburban residential area where most families own their homes.
Academically, Surrarrer's state test results show solid performance. On the most recent state assessments, the school achieved proficiency rates in math and science that place it in the upper range among the county's elementary schools, and its English language arts proficiency was also strong. Across these tested subjects, the school's overall proficiency index positions it in the top quartile relative to districts in Cuyahoga County. The testing data captures grades 3 through 5, as the state does not assess younger students. Science testing applies only to grades 4 and 5 in Ohio's system, so the sample for that subject is smaller.
The school is part of the Strongsville City School District, which faces significant headwinds that every family considering Surrarrer should understand. The district has failed three consecutive school levies since 2023, most recently in November 2024. This has triggered a multi-year program of budget cuts beginning in the 2025-26 school year and doubling each year afterward. The district has publicly outlined that these reductions will mean larger class sizes, fewer course options, reduced extracurricular offerings, higher student fees, and cutbacks to transportation services. Additionally, in May 2026, voters rejected a bond issue that would have funded construction of three new elementary schools and renovation of aging buildings. Surrarrer, like most of the district's elementary schools, was built in the 1960s. Some students in the building are currently learning in mobile classrooms—temporary structures that have been in place for years. The district will now rely on its five-year critical needs plan for essential repairs, a significant constraint on facility modernization.
These financial and facility constraints mean that families considering Surrarrer should look carefully at what the district's current budget trajectory implies for class size, program breadth, and building conditions over the coming years. The school's academic performance is solid, but the broader context of declining operating resources and deferred facility needs is a material factor in the choice.
On the community side, Strongsville itself is an established, stable suburb with a strong housing market. The area has active business parks and attracts residents seeking a suburban, family-oriented setting with parks and schools as organizing anchors. The town recently opened a reimagined Town Center area with parks and walkability improvements, and is planning significant commercial redevelopment of the SouthPark Mall area. However, the city remains car-oriented rather than walkable at the neighborhood scale. Median home values in the area reflect a moderately priced suburban market, and the local housing supply has tightened modestly in recent months relative to a year ago, though the market remains reasonably balanced.
Surrarrer Elementary sits within this suburban context as a traditional neighborhood school. Its academic results are respectable and it serves a stable, largely affluent school community. But the financial pressures on the district and the age of the building—coupled with the failed referendum for modernization—are material realities that shape what Surrarrer can offer and what the experience of being in an older elementary school building in a resource-constrained district will be like in the years ahead.
See more original research from School Decision →