Finger Lakes Today

The majority of students in Tompkins County schools during the 2021-22 school year were white, according to the New York State Education Department.

Of the 9,892 students attending Tompkins County schools, 72.3% were white. Multiracial students were the second largest ethnicity, making up 9.9% of Tompkins County students.

In the previous school year, white was also the most common student ethnicity in Tompkins County, representing 73.7% of the student body.

Beverly J. Martin Elementary School had the most even distribution of races among county schools, with 45.3% white students, 23% Black students, 13.7% Hispanic students, 13.3% multiracial students, and 4.7% Asian or Pacific Islander students.

In the 2023-24 school year, the total number of students enrolled in public schools in the county dropped to 0.8% when compared to the previous year.

In 2022, New York had roughly one teacher for every 12 students, which is lower than the national average of one teacher for every 16 students. A lower student-to-teacher ratio has been found to help improve students' school performance.

A 2021 report from the NYC Center for Innovation Through Data Intelligence revealed racial and gender groups were seeing better outcomes compared to 2013, though significant disparities remained between different groups, particularly between Black and Hispanic students.

School name	Most prevalent ethnicity	Percent of Total Student Body	Total Enrollment
Belle Sherman School	White	47%	319
Beverly J. Martin Elementary School	White	45.3%	278
Boynton Middle School	White	66.5%	534
Caroline Elementary School	White	76.3%	270
Cassavant Elementary School	White	89.5%	76
Cayuga Heights Elementary School	White	64.8%	270
Charles O. Dickerson High School	White	81.9%	282
Dewitt Middle School	White	62.8%	508
Dryden Elementary School	White	80.9%	508
Dryden High School	White	86.1%	345
Dryden Middle School	White	83.7%	252
Enfield School	White	61.6%	177
Fall Creek Elementary School	White	62.8%	218
Freeville Elementary School	White	83.3%	84
George Junior Republic School	White	76.4%	123
Groton Elementary School	White	85.6%	374
Groton Junior/Senior High School	White	90.2%	389
Ithaca Senior High School	White	61%	1,362
Lansing High School	White	78%	386
Lansing Middle School	White	76.9%	342
Lehman Alternative Community School	White	76.4%	271
Newfield Elementary School	White	81.7%	322
Newfield Middle School	White	81.8%	159
Newfield Senior High School	White	83.4%	175
Northeast School	White	48.4%	395
Raymond C. Buckley Elementary School	White	78%	423
Russell I. Doig Middle School	White	87.4%	269
South Hill School	White	73%	370
Trumansburg Elementary School	White	85.4%	411