Westhampton Elementary, Middle Schools Rank High In New Roundup

WESTHAMPTON BEACH, NY — For the first time, U.S. News & World Report has released state rankings for elementary and middle schools — and the Westhampton Beach Union Free School District received top honors.

According to the rankings, which are the first ever released by U.S. News & World Report, both Westhampton Beach Elementary School and Westhampton Beach Middle School ranked in the top 30 percent of New York pre-kindergarten, elementary and middle schools. Each earned a best school badge recognition, the district said.

According to U.S. News & World Report, like its Best High Schools rankings, the goal is to provide a resource for parents.

U.S. News said it now lists 118,332 public and private grade schools in its directory; U.S. News ranked 79,941 unique public grade schools in 2021, including 47,325 schools newly ranked as elementary schools and 23,255 as middle schools, the reportsaid.

“This is a result of hard work and determination by our dedicated staff and students,” said Westhampton Beach Superintendent of Schools Dr. Carolyn Probst. “We will continue to strive to provide the best possible education.”

The rankings are based on schools’ performance on state-required tests, graduation rates and how they prepare their students for high school, the district said. Out of the 2,211 elementary schools ranked in the state, Westhampton Beach Elementary School came in at 554. The middle school ranked 157 out of 1,673 middle schools, the district added.