About the Elmira City School District
The Elmira City School District is located in Chemung County, New York and currently enrolls approximately 6,100 students. Our schools consist of one high school (grades 10-12), a middle school (7-8 building), a 9th-grade academy, four intermediate buildings (3-6) and four elementary buildings (pre-k - 2). Our District employs nearly 1300 full-time, part-time and contract employees. We are located in The Schuyler-Steuben-Chemung-Tioga-Allegany Board of Cooperative Educational Services (GST BOCES).
The School District’s strategic mission champions dynamic and innovative instruction and leadership, college- and career-readiness and financial stability.
Under the leadership of our Superintendent, Hillary J. Austin, the School District is committed to whole-child, whole-community development by removing barriers and delivering support services as a way to achieve academic excellence in an evolving community.
The Elmira Express
We are the "Elmira Express," a special identity inspired by Elmira-native, Ernie Davis. A 1959 graduate of the Elmira City School District, Davis was a High School All-American in football and basketball and he won 11 letters at Elmira Free Academy. He led Elmira (N.Y.) Free Academy to a 52-game winning streak in basketball and as a Syracuse sophomore helped the Orangemen gain their only national football championship. As a college senior in 1961, he became the first African-American to receive the Heisman Trophy and was the No. 1 pick in the NFL draft. And then, stunningly, he was gone. Struck down by leukemia, Davis never realized his dream of playing in the NFL.
Though he starred in basketball, baseball, and football at Elmira Free Academy, Ernie approached every day as a team player, a valuable lesson we teach our Elmira youth every day.
Elmira’s Community Schools Approach | Family, School, Community: Together We Succeed
The Community Schools initiative is an educational philosophy that is a critical component of the Elmira City School District’s Improvement Plan. Elmira School leadership has identified Community Schools as a way to re-imagine the school system in a way that continues to deliver high quality academic instruction along with social, emotional and physical health support for students. This model addresses the whole-student and recognizes that students and families who face chronic obstacles to learning in the classroom, from hunger to health, can be connected with programming to improve student achievement. A commitment to this transformational approach is evidenced by strong partnerships among principals, parents, teachers, and community-based organizations and reflects the strengths of our regional Elmira community.
We believe…
• In connecting young people and their families with the tools they need to learn, grow, and reach their fullest potential.
• In the power of honest, trusting relationships and that individuals can make a difference toward student achievement.
• In reimagining and revitalizing our schools with comprehensive, community-based partnerships in order to build the capacity of schools, school district, and the evolving needs of our community.
• In developing the whole-child by supporting the social and emotional health of our families as a means to academic excellence.