MCKINLEY-BRIGHTON ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

MCKINLEY-BRIGHTON ELEMENTARY SCHOOL is one of the reasonably sized elementary-level communitys in SYRACUSE, New York, run under SYRACUSE CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT, with 408 students on its rolls from grades pre-K through 5.

Within SYRACUSE CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT, which oversees 31 schools and 18,608 students, MCKINLEY-BRIGHTON ELEMENTARY SCHOOL is one campus in the system.

For racial and ethnic makeup, MCKINLEY-BRIGHTON ELEMENTARY SCHOOL records that 64% of the student body identifies as Black. The remainder is composed of 13% multiracial, 12% Hispanic, 9% White. The wider county runs roughly 11% Black, putting the school's mix considerably more Black than the area baseline.

In terms of school funding signals, Staff filings list 44 full-time-equivalent teachers, which works out to roughly 9.3:1 students per teacher. The state averages around 12.8:1, so this campus is tighter than the state norm typical. About 86% of enrolled students meet the income threshold for free or reduced-price lunch, a commonly cited indicator of low-income enrollment. By comparison, Onondaga County runs at roughly 49%, so the school's eligibility rate is higher than the surrounding baseline.

Adjusting for the school's free-and-reduced-lunch share, MCKINLEY-BRIGHTON ELEMENTARY SCHOOL falls in the UNDERPERFORMING tier of the BeatsExpectations residual. Given its student profile, a typical campus would land near 43.4%; this one comes in at 11.3%, -32.1 points off the demographic line.

Zooming out to the county, ACS estimates for Onondaga County put median household earnings sit near $76,945, roughly 39% of adults have completed at least a four-year degree, and roughly 9% of residents live below the federal poverty line. Across Onondaga County's 123 public schools (combined enrollment of about 67,044 students), MCKINLEY-BRIGHTON ELEMENTARY SCHOOL is one campus in the mix.

BRIGHTON ACADEMY is the nearest neighboring public school, about 0.4 miles from this campus. Within five miles, there are 8 other public schools. Ranking that nearby cluster on reported proficiency puts MCKINLEY-BRIGHTON ELEMENTARY SCHOOL at 9th of 9; the average score across the group is 28.0%.

Geographically, the school is in a downtown area.

Five-year trend. Over the past 7-year window, the student count decreased 37%: 650 students in 2018 compared to 408 in 2025. Over the same period, the Black share contracted from 70% to 64%. The student-to-teacher ratio fell from 16.2:1 in 2018 to 9.3:1 today.

On this page, the page collects discussion, questions, and updates around fundraisers, lost-and-found posts, and report-card season. Posting is open to anyone connected to the school.