1
What do you wish you knew before starting at BIRCH SCHOOL?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
588
Elementary
DISTRICT 561 · STATE 443
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·MERRICK UNION FREE SCHOOL DISTRICT·NCES 361911001727
BIRCH SCHOOL
2400 CENTRAL PKWY, MERRICK, NY 11566 · (516) 992-7250 · Nassau County
GRADES PK–06ELEMENTARY21-SUBURBREGULAR SCHOOL588 STUDENTS
Student : Teacher
10.6:1
55 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 10.4:1 · STATE 12.8:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
6%
36 students
DISTRICT 7% · STATE 58%
Community
1
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other elementary schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.
Enrollment by grade, 2024-25
| Grade | Students | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Pre-K | 44 | 7% |
| Kindergarten | 70 | 12% |
| Grade 1 | 68 | 12% |
| Grade 2 | 78 | 13% |
| Grade 3 | 58 | 10% |
| Grade 4 | 83 | 14% |
| Grade 5 | 89 | 15% |
| Grade 6 | 98 | 17% |
This year's kindergarten class (70) is 29% smaller than its 6th grade class (98).
Student demographics
37%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 36% · STATE 72% · US 70%
Student head counts by race/ethnicity from federal NCES enrollment data. District, state, and US figures are each group's share of all public school students in that area (US excludes territories). Very small groups may be suppressed in the source, so categories do not always sum exactly to total enrollment.
Gender split
Test scores
NYS Assessments 2024-25 . % Proficient (Level 3 + Level 4)English Language Arts
81.0%
NY avg 58.3% . +12.0pp since 2023
Math
86.0%
NY avg 57.4% . +10.0pp since 2023
What this means: On the NYS Assessments, New York's statewide test, about 81 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 86 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all New York schools, those numbers are about 58 and 57. Reading and writing scores are up about 12 points since 2023, while math scores are up about 10 points.
NYS Assessments results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 81.0% | 86.0% |
| 2023-24 | 69.0% | 76.0% |
% Proficient (Level 3 + Level 4), all students and all tested grades.
Source: NYS Assessments. All students, all grades. See all years and grades →
BeatsExpectations
Demographically-adjusted score · methodologyTier
AS EXPECTED
Performing as predicted given the school's student profile
Actual proficiency
76.2%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
72.7%
based on NY schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+3.5pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 76% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 73% typical for New York schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations measures results against demographically similar schools rather than by raw scores, and this school falls within the typical range, neither among New York's top nor bottom 10%.
BeatsExpectations runs a per-state regression of proficiency on free/reduced-lunch share, then scores each school by residual. How this is calculated →
Schools most like BIRCH SCHOOL
BIRCH SCHOOL's state test result (76.2% proficient) is higher than 2 of the 4 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| BIRCH SCHOOL this school | 588 | 6.1% | 76.2% |
| WAMPUS SCHOOL ARMONK | 547 | 4.2% | 84.7% |
| NORMAN J LEVY LAKESIDE SCHOOL MERRICK | 644 | 6.4% | 75.8% |
| CHATSWORTH AVENUE SCHOOL LARCHMONT | 652 | 5.5% | 85.4% |
| COMAN HILL SCHOOL ARMONK | 575 | 2.6% | N/A |
| SETAUKET ELEMENTARY SCHOOL SETAUKET | 599 | 10.7% | 71.3% |
Matched among New York elementary schools on enrollment, the share of students from low-income families (eligible for free or reduced-price lunch), and racial and ethnic makeup. Proficient is the average share of students meeting the state standard across all of the school's state tests in 2023-24 and 2024-25, the same combined score our test-score rankings use. Online schools and schools serving specialized populations are not matched.
Where BIRCH SCHOOL ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In New York | In Nassau County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 76.2% | #235 of 2,335 | #47 of 172 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 86.0% | #219 of 2,342 ▲ 186 | #42 of 172 ▲ 31 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 81.0% | #233 of 2,343 ▲ 45 | #34 of 172 ▲ 12 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 588 | #515 of 2,585 | #35 of 193 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 10.6:1 | #648 of 2,338 | #51 of 184 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 36.7% | #1,700 of 2,388 | #161 of 184 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 6.1% | #2,476 of 2,534 | #173 of 193 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked fastest growth first | +15.1% | #188 of 606 | #16 of 70 |
Ranked against other public elementary schools. Online schools are left out of every list, and test-score lists leave out schools that serve specialized populations. Each rank links to the full list. Arrows under a test-score rank show places moved since the prior test year, among schools tested both years.
4-year change
SY 2020-21 vs SY 2024-25Enrollment
588
+58 (+11%) vs 2020
+11% since 1990-91, when it was 532
Student : Teacher
10.6:1
was 10.2:1
Source: NCES Common Core of Data
Enrollment and staffing by year
| School year | Students | Teachers (FTE) | Students per teacher | Free and reduced lunch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 588 | 55.5 | 10.6:1 | 6% (36) |
| 2023-24 | 594 | 55.3 | 10.8:1 | 8% (46) |
| 2022-23 | 582 | 52.4 | 11.1:1 | 8% (45) |
| 2020-21 | 530 | 52 | 10.2:1 | 8% (41) |
| 2017-18 | 511 | 46 | 11.1:1 | 6% (32) |
| 2015-16 | 533 | 50 | 10.7:1 | 5% (27) |
| 2010-11 | 552 | 57 | 9.7:1 | 0% (0) |
| 2000-01 | 703 | 47 | 15.0:1 | 0% (0) |
| 1990-91 | 532 | 38 | 14.0:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for BIRCH SCHOOL.
About BIRCH SCHOOL
BIRCH SCHOOL is a mid-sized elementary school in MERRICK, New York, (ZIP code 11566). Enrollment totals 588 students across pre-K through 6. Across elementary schools in New York, the average enrollment is about 443.
MERRICK UNION FREE SCHOOL DISTRICT, which runs BIRCH SCHOOL, has 3 schools and 1,683 students.
Of every 100 students at BIRCH SCHOOL, about 79 are White. It is also 10% Hispanic, 7% Asian, 2% Black, and 2% multiracial. Nassau County's residents are about 57% White, 22 points below the school's share. On the diversity index, which measures the chance that two random students are from different groups, BIRCH SCHOOL scores 37%.
A staff of 55.5 full-time-equivalent teachers puts the student-to-teacher ratio at 10.6:1. Compared with the 12.8:1 average for elementary schools in New York, this school's ratio is lower. By family income, 6% of students are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. The average for public schools in Nassau County is 31%.
Compared with New York schools that have similar shares of low-income students, BIRCH SCHOOL's results are 3.5 points above predicted: 76.2% against 72.7%.
Nassau County is the school's county. There, median household income comes to about $146,202, 50% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and about 4% of residents live below the federal poverty line. Nassau County's 315 public schools enroll about 200,775 students and include BIRCH SCHOOL.
The closest school to BIRCH SCHOOL is NORMAN J LEVY LAKESIDE SCHOOL, located about 0.6 miles away. BIRCH SCHOOL is one of several public schools in the area, with at least 8 others within five miles. Local comparison: BIRCH SCHOOL ranks 3rd of 8 nearby schools, at 76.2% versus a 72.8% average.
The school's federal locale classification is Suburb: Large.
Enrollment increased 11% over 4 years, reaching 588 in 2024-25.
This page is set up for the BIRCH SCHOOL community to discuss open houses, carpools, and field trips. Members of the school community can share what they know.
Nassau County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
1,389,591
Census ACS
Median income
$146,202
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
50%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
4%
Below federal line
Schools in county
315
200,775 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in MERRICK UNION FREE SCHOOL DISTRICT
- NORMAN J LEVY LAKESIDE SCHOOLElementary · 644 students
- CHATTERTON SCHOOLElementary · 451 students
Other schools in MERRICK
- SANFORD H CALHOUN HIGH SCHOOLHigh · 1,219 students
- MERRICK AVENUE MIDDLE SCHOOLHigh · 848 students
- NORMAN J LEVY LAKESIDE SCHOOLElementary · 644 students
- CAMP AVENUE SCHOOLElementary · 491 students
- OLD MILL ROAD SCHOOLElementary · 461 students
- CHATTERTON SCHOOLElementary · 451 students
Nearby schools
- NORMAN J LEVY LAKESIDE SCHOOL0.6 mi · 644
- CHATTERTON SCHOOL0.8 mi · 451
- MERRICK AVENUE MIDDLE SCHOOL1.0 mi · 848
- COLUMBUS AVENUE SCHOOL1.0 mi · 175
- NEW VISIONS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL1.1 mi · 433
- SANFORD H CALHOUN HIGH SCHOOL1.2 mi · 1,219
Frequently asked questions
About BIRCH SCHOOLHow large is BIRCH SCHOOL?
BIRCH SCHOOL enrolls approximately 588 students in grades PK-06.
What age range does BIRCH SCHOOL serve?
BIRCH SCHOOL serves students from grade PK through grade 06.
How many students per teacher at BIRCH SCHOOL?
Approximately 10.6:1 students per teacher at BIRCH SCHOOL.
What is the student diversity at BIRCH SCHOOL?
Student demographics at BIRCH SCHOOL are roughly 79% White, 10% Hispanic, 2% Black, 7% Asian, 2% Two or more.
Who oversees BIRCH SCHOOL?
BIRCH SCHOOL is overseen by MERRICK UNION FREE SCHOOL DISTRICT in Nassau County.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.