EDWARD SMITH K-8 SCHOOL

EDWARD SMITH K-8 SCHOOL is an elementary school of well-populated scale in SYRACUSE, New York, part of SYRACUSE CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT, teacheing 697 students in grades pre-K through 8. That puts it 57% larger than the typical public school in New York, which averages around 443 students.

SYRACUSE CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT comprises 31 schools with combined enrollment of 18,608 students; EDWARD SMITH K-8 SCHOOL is among them.

In terms of who attends, EDWARD SMITH K-8 SCHOOL lists that 44% of students identify as Black, with the remaining enrollment distributed across several groups. Other groups include 32% White, 9% Hispanic, 8% multiracial, 6% Asian. That is meaningfully more Black than the county at large, where the share is closer to 11%.

Looking at school resources, The school currently runs with 68 full-time-equivalent teachers, for a student-teacher ratio near 10.2:1. The state averages around 12.8:1, so this campus is tighter than the state norm typical. Roughly 64% of students at EDWARD SMITH K-8 SCHOOL qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a number frequently used as a low-income enrollment indicator. Set against Onondaga County (around 49%), the school's rate is meaningfully above typical.

With demographic context factored in, EDWARD SMITH K-8 SCHOOL is in the bottom 10% of New York public schools. The BeatsExpectations model predicts schools with this FRL share to land around 51.4%; EDWARD SMITH K-8 SCHOOL posts 32.5%, -18.9 points below that line.

In the broader community, Onondaga County reports that median household income runs about $76,945, about 39% of the adult population holds a bachelor's degree or above, and roughly 9% of residents live below the federal poverty line. In all, Onondaga County runs 123 public schools (combined enrollment of about 67,044 students), of which EDWARD SMITH K-8 SCHOOL is one.

The closest other public school is SYRACUSE LATIN SCHOOL, roughly 0.7 miles away. Counting just inside five miles, 8 other public schools cluster around EDWARD SMITH K-8 SCHOOL. Ranking that nearby cluster on reported proficiency puts EDWARD SMITH K-8 SCHOOL at 4th of 8; the average score across the group is 35.9%.

The school occupies a high-density site.

Five-year trend. EDWARD SMITH K-8 SCHOOL's enrollment has shrank 6% since 2018, when it stood at 744 (now 697). The White share of enrollment fell from 36% to 32% over that span. Class-load math has tightened: from 13.5:1 in 2018 to 10.2:1 in 2025.

Within the allk12 community for this school, posts here usually surface around classroom updates, athletics, and weather closures. Parents, students, alumni, and staff are welcome to weigh in.