CLIFTON-FINE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

CLIFTON-FINE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL is a rural-scale elementary school in STAR LAKE, New York, part of CLIFTON-FINE CENTRAL SCHOOL DISTRICT. The school serves 133 students in grades pre-K through 6. That puts it 70% below the typical public school in New York, which averages around 443 students.

Within CLIFTON-FINE CENTRAL SCHOOL DISTRICT, which oversees 2 schools and 245 students, CLIFTON-FINE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL is one campus in the system.

For racial and ethnic makeup, CLIFTON-FINE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL lists that nearly all students (93%) are White. Beyond that, the school reports 4% Native American. That composition is broadly in line with St. Lawrence County as a whole.

On the income-and-resources front, CLIFTON-FINE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL lists 11 full-time-equivalent teachers, putting the student-to-teacher ratio at about 12.2:1. The state averages about 12.8:1, putting this campus right in line with peers. About 54% of enrolled students meet the income threshold for free or reduced-price lunch, which schools and policymakers use as a rough income-mix signal. That share is noticeably above St. Lawrence County's rate of about 45%.

With demographic context factored in, On a poverty-adjusted basis, CLIFTON-FINE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL sits in the bottom 10% statewide. Predicted proficiency from the FRL regression is roughly 55.1%; actual is 27.9%, a gap of -27.2 points.

In the surrounding community, the surrounding county (St. Lawrence County) reports that median household earnings sit near $62,850, 25% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and census figures put the poverty rate at about 12%. In all, St. Lawrence County runs 40 public schools (combined enrollment of about 13,653 students), of which CLIFTON-FINE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL is one.

CLIFTON-FINE JUNIOR-SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL is the nearest neighboring public school, about 0.0 miles from this campus. Ranking that nearby cluster on reported proficiency puts CLIFTON-FINE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL at 8th of 9; the average score across the group is 46.5%.

The school occupies a countryside site.

Five-year trend. Looking back 7 years, enrollment at CLIFTON-FINE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL has declined 26%, going from 179 students in 2018 to 133 in 2025. Over the same period, the White share grew from 87% to 93%.

On the community side, recent activity here tends to focus on science fair prep, picture-day reminders, and bus-route questions. Posting is open to anyone connected to the school.