Capital District Times

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

Of the 17,679 students attending Rensselaer County schools, 69.9% were white. Black students were the second largest ethnicity, making up 10.1% of Rensselaer County students.

In the previous school year, white was also the most common student ethnicity in Rensselaer County, representing 71.4% of the student body.

Carroll Hill School had the most even distribution of races among county schools, with 34% white students, 25.2% Black students, 20.6% Hispanic students, 19.9% multiracial students, and 0.3% 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 0.9% 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
Algonquin Middle School	White	90.4%	615
Averill Park High School	White	89.9%	885
Bell Top School	White	78.6%	309
Berlin Elementary School	White	94.9%	276
Berlin Middle School/High School	White	95.1%	350
Carroll Hill School	White	34%	321
Castleton Elementary School	White	94.3%	442
Citizen Edmond Genet School	White	68.1%	483
Columbia High School	White	76.7%	1,215
Donald P. Sutherland School	White	86.4%	243
Gardner-Dickinson School	White	91.6%	311
Green Meadow School	White	83.1%	367
Hoosic Valley Elementary School	White	95%	463
Hoosic Valley Junior Senior High School	White	93.3%	373
Hoosick Falls Elementary School	White	91%	413
Hoosick Falls Junior/Senior High School	White	89.9%	328
Howard L. Goff School	White	73.1%	975
Knickerbacker Middle School	White	49.7%	443
Lansingburgh Senior High School	White	50.5%	661
Maple Hill Junior/Senior High School	White	92.5%	402
Miller Hill School	White	93.7%	365
North Greenbush School	White	100%	31
P.S. 14	White	34.3%	458
P.S. 16	White	50%	242
P.S. 18	White	59.6%	297
P.S. 2	Black	45.2%	272
Poestenkill Elementary School	White	94.2%	330
Red Mill School	White	66.6%	467
Rensselaer Junior/Senior High School	White	46.9%	478
Rensselaer Park Elementary School	White	46.4%	448
Tamarac Elementary School	White	91.2%	499
Tamarac Middle School High School	White	86.6%	595
Troy High School	White	38.8%	1,192
Troy Middle School	White	34.7%	761
Turnpike Elementary School	White	58%	502
Van Rensselaer Elementary School	White	43.8%	475
West Sand Lake Elementary School	White	92.9%	392