Beta You're viewing our redesigned school page. Prefer the classic layout?

Harvey Austin School #97

Public Grades PK, KG-8
2335th
SchoolDigger Rank ?
of 2,445 New York Elementary Schools
Better than 4% of New York elementary schools
Summary

Harvey Austin School #97 is an elementary school serving grades PK-8 in the Buffalo City School District, with 507 students located in the Sycamore neighborhood of Buffalo, NY. Despite its higher per-student spending and lower student-teacher ratio compared to district and state averages, the school has consistently ranked among the lowest-performing elementary schools in New York state over the past decade, earning a 0-star rating from SchoolDigger.

In the 2024-2025 school year, only 35.14% of 3rd graders at Harvey Austin School #97 were proficient in ELA, compared to 54.15% statewide. In math, the proficiency rate for 3rd graders was 45%, compared to 59.7% statewide. The school has a high percentage of economically disadvantaged students, with 95.66% of students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch in 2023-2024, significantly higher than the district and state averages.

The persistent low performance at Harvey Austin School #97 suggests that the school may be facing deeper systemic challenges that go beyond just resource allocation. Nearby schools in the Buffalo City School District, such as Community School #53 and Martin Luther King Jr. #48, also perform poorly and have similar demographic and resource challenges. However, the Persistence Preparatory Academy Charter School, located less than a mile away, has significantly outperformed the district and state averages on state assessments, suggesting that alternative educational models may be able to better serve the needs of the local community.

487
Students ?
8.6
Student/teacher ratio ?
$33,032
Per pupil spending ?
95.3%
Free/discounted lunch ?
 1405 Sycamore St
       Buffalo, NY  14211

(716) 816-4460

District: Buffalo City School District

Racial breakdown:

African American:
52.4%
Asian:
31.6%
Hispanic:
9.2%
more
 See top rated New York elementary schools

 Compare Harvey Austin School #97 to nearby elementary schools!
At a glance
Ranking trend: Holding steady — 1st percentile in 2015 → 4th in 2025
Strengths
Small classes — about 9 students per teacher
Worth a look
!Test scores below the New York average (16% vs 53% meeting standards)
!In the lower quartile statewide (4th percentile)
!Science scores 40 pts below the New York average
Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?
This school16%
District avg26%
New York avg53%
Elementary school
2,335th of 2,445
New York public elementary schools ?
Bottom 4%▲ up 3 pts since 2015
From bottom 1% (2015) to bottom 4% (2025)
See the entire ranking list of New York Elementary Schools →
SchoolDigger rating ?
Middle school
1,492nd of 1,500
New York public middle schools ?
Bottom 1%▼ down 4 pts since 2015
From bottom 5% (2015) to bottom 1% (2025)
See the entire ranking list of New York Middle Schools →
SchoolDigger rating ?
15th of 35Elementary Schools in the Buffalo City School District
830th of 874Buffalo City School District among New York districts
Statewide rank percentile over time (100 = the top-ranked school in the state; click a legend item to add a student group)
Elementary school ranking
Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankNew York percentileRating
20258.12335 of 24454.5%☆☆☆☆☆
20246.52393 of 24452.1%☆☆☆☆☆
20237.52369 of 24392.9%☆☆☆☆☆
20227.72366 of 24342.8%☆☆☆☆☆
20211.62195 of 22010.3%☆☆☆☆☆
20198.42322 of 24133.8%☆☆☆☆☆
20188.92286 of 23954.6%☆☆☆☆☆
20177.02327 of 23862.5%☆☆☆☆☆
20166.72314 of 23662.2%☆☆☆☆☆
20155.82326 of 23521.1%☆☆☆☆☆
20145.12329 of 23450.7%☆☆☆☆☆
20138.32266 of 23252.5%☆☆☆☆☆
20123.12271 of 23202.1%☆☆☆☆☆
20111.62274 of 22860.5%☆☆☆☆☆
201010.32111 of 22636.7%☆☆☆☆☆
20080.22226 of 22270.0%☆☆☆☆☆
20070.52216 of 22190.1%☆☆☆☆☆
20062.32188 of 22060.8%☆☆☆☆☆

African American

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankNew York percentileRating
202518.1818 of 92811.9%★☆☆☆☆
202412.2905 of 9272.4%☆☆☆☆☆
202316.0775 of 8579.6%☆☆☆☆☆
202217.7839 of 93610.4%★☆☆☆☆
201918.7803 of 8919.9%☆☆☆☆☆
201819.6841 of 94811.3%★☆☆☆☆

Asian

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankNew York percentileRating
20253.3675 of 6963.0%☆☆☆☆☆
20248.6620 of 6626.3%☆☆☆☆☆
20232.5591 of 6052.3%☆☆☆☆☆
20222.1665 of 6710.9%☆☆☆☆☆

English Language Learner

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankNew York percentileRating
202530.4857 of 111723.3%★☆☆☆☆
202433.2768 of 106628.0%★☆☆☆☆
202328.6810 of 100119.1%★☆☆☆☆
202232.7705 of 102731.4%★★☆☆☆

Female

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankNew York percentileRating
202510.22292 of 24094.9%☆☆☆☆☆
20245.72391 of 24130.9%☆☆☆☆☆
20238.22331 of 24033.0%☆☆☆☆☆
20229.02324 of 24013.2%☆☆☆☆☆
20211.71950 of 19550.3%☆☆☆☆☆
201910.72246 of 23574.7%☆☆☆☆☆
20189.92234 of 23384.4%☆☆☆☆☆

Hispanic

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankNew York percentileRating
201829.21068 of 139223.3%★☆☆☆☆

Homeless

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankNew York percentileRating
202519.6711 of 79210.2%★☆☆☆☆
202415.2739 of 7663.5%☆☆☆☆☆
202320.7570 of 63710.5%★☆☆☆☆
201851.0301 of 73058.8%★★★☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankNew York percentileRating
202519.71831 of 209812.7%★☆☆☆☆
20225.52090 of 20990.4%☆☆☆☆☆
20185.12040 of 20450.2%☆☆☆☆☆

Male

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankNew York percentileRating
20257.82327 of 24073.3%☆☆☆☆☆
20248.92329 of 24113.4%☆☆☆☆☆
20238.72322 of 24003.3%☆☆☆☆☆
20228.12332 of 24002.8%☆☆☆☆☆
20198.22293 of 23582.8%☆☆☆☆☆
201810.12241 of 23404.2%☆☆☆☆☆

Special Education

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankNew York percentileRating
202520.41915 of 213410.3%★☆☆☆☆
202425.81723 of 211018.3%★☆☆☆☆
202336.51205 of 201640.2%★★☆☆☆
202223.01824 of 203110.2%★☆☆☆☆
201922.61661 of 185910.7%★☆☆☆☆
201830.71463 of 194124.6%★☆☆☆☆
Middle school ranking
Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankNew York percentileRating
20252.81492 of 15000.5%☆☆☆☆☆
20245.61481 of 15041.5%☆☆☆☆☆
20234.71486 of 15000.9%☆☆☆☆☆
20224.91474 of 14790.3%☆☆☆☆☆
20195.21429 of 14390.7%☆☆☆☆☆
20185.31421 of 14381.2%☆☆☆☆☆
20177.11441 of 14551.0%☆☆☆☆☆
20168.01409 of 14291.4%☆☆☆☆☆
201511.01343 of 14074.5%☆☆☆☆☆
201410.21360 of 14012.9%☆☆☆☆☆
201310.71307 of 13734.8%☆☆☆☆☆
20091.51206 of 12241.5%☆☆☆☆☆
20080.81179 of 11850.5%☆☆☆☆☆
20071.91112 of 11231.0%☆☆☆☆☆
20062.61088 of 10950.6%☆☆☆☆☆

African American

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankNew York percentileRating
20257.1667 of 6761.3%☆☆☆☆☆
202410.7686 of 7052.7%☆☆☆☆☆
202311.3673 of 6963.3%☆☆☆☆☆
202210.4701 of 7060.7%☆☆☆☆☆
201910.4649 of 6530.6%☆☆☆☆☆
201812.5649 of 6632.1%☆☆☆☆☆

Asian

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankNew York percentileRating
20250.4405 of 4060.2%☆☆☆☆☆
20243.2391 of 3961.3%☆☆☆☆☆
20233.5379 of 3882.3%☆☆☆☆☆

English Language Learner

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankNew York percentileRating
202521.7617 of 6464.5%☆☆☆☆☆
202427.9529 of 61514.0%★☆☆☆☆
202320.9589 of 5910.3%☆☆☆☆☆

Female

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankNew York percentileRating
20252.81450 of 14570.5%☆☆☆☆☆
20246.61435 of 14652.0%☆☆☆☆☆
20234.91445 of 14631.2%☆☆☆☆☆
20225.61447 of 14540.5%☆☆☆☆☆
20195.51357 of 13700.9%☆☆☆☆☆
20185.81338 of 13531.1%☆☆☆☆☆

Homeless

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankNew York percentileRating
202524.3513 of 60314.9%★☆☆☆☆
20249.1590 of 5940.7%☆☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankNew York percentileRating
20224.61306 of 13060.0%☆☆☆☆☆
20187.61236 of 12450.7%☆☆☆☆☆

Male

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankNew York percentileRating
20254.11445 of 14550.7%☆☆☆☆☆
20246.61445 of 14641.3%☆☆☆☆☆
20235.81449 of 14641.0%☆☆☆☆☆
20225.51452 of 14550.2%☆☆☆☆☆
20195.81362 of 13660.3%☆☆☆☆☆
20186.51347 of 13520.4%☆☆☆☆☆

Special Education

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankNew York percentileRating
202519.51211 of 12986.7%☆☆☆☆☆
202423.61138 of 130312.7%★☆☆☆☆
202325.51091 of 130716.5%★☆☆☆☆
202226.41093 of 128314.8%★☆☆☆☆
201924.71037 of 11399.0%☆☆☆☆☆
201819.51158 of 11701.0%☆☆☆☆☆
How student groups rank statewide ? (each group's percentile vs the same group at other schools — higher is better; the +/- beside each compares the group with this school's overall percentile)
Elementary school
English Language Learner (2025)23rd percentile+19 vs school
Hispanic (2018)23rd percentile+19 vs school
Low Socio Economic Status (2025)13th percentile+8 vs school
African American (2025)12th percentile+7 vs school
Special Education (2025)10th percentile+6 vs school
Homeless (2025)10th percentile+6 vs school
Female (2025)5th percentile~ school
Male (2025)3rd percentile~ school
Asian (2025)3rd percentile~ school
Middle school
Homeless (2025)15th percentile+14 vs school
Special Education (2025)7th percentile+6 vs school
English Language Learner (2025)4th percentile+4 vs school
African American (2025)1st percentile~ school
Male (2025)1st percentile~ school
Female (2025)<1st percentile~ school
Asian (2025)<1st percentile~ school
Low Socio Economic Status (2022)<1st percentile~ school
By subject vs New York (2024-2025) ?
Life Science Biology31%-28 vs state
Math19%-36 vs state
English Language Arts16%-37 vs state
Science4%-40 vs state

No ratings yet
Be the first to rate Harvey Austin School #97 and help other families decide.
Rate Harvey Austin School #97
Have first-hand experience? A quick rating - and a sentence or two about what stands out (teachers, academics, safety, communication) - helps other families know what to expect.
Takes about a minute. We email you a link to verify your review - your address is never shown publicly.
Tap a star to rate
Reviews
No written reviews yet. If you know this school, be the first to share what stands out.



Schools Near Harvey Austin School #97









Frequently Asked Questions about Harvey Austin School #97

In the 2024-25 school year, 487 students attended Harvey Austin School #97.

Students at Harvey Austin School #97 are 52% African American, 32% Asian, 9% Hispanic, 4% Two or more races, 2% White.

Harvey Austin School #97 ranks in the bottom 4.5% of New York elementary schools.


Rate Harvey Austin School #97!



Sign up for updates!

Be the first to know when there is an update for Harvey Austin School #97!




SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau, the WNYC and the New York State Department of Health and the NY State Education Department.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERS: Not all boundaries are included. We make every effort to ensure that boundaries are up-to-date. But it's important to note that these are approximations and are for general informational purposes only. To verify legal descriptions of boundaries or school locations, contact your local tax assessor's office and/or school district.





Diagnostics