Capital District Times

Columbia High School had the highest enrollment among Rensselaer County schools, welcoming 1,215 students during the 2023-24 academic year, according to the New York State Education Department.

Data also showed that most of the students were white, representing 76.7% of the Columbia High School's total enrollment.

Among the 37 schools in Rensselaer County, Troy High School ranked second in enrollment numbers with 1,192 students, while Howard L. Goff School welcomed 975 students and came in third in the 2023-24 school year.

Columbia High School is part of East Greenbush Central School District, which roughly covers seven schools within Rensselaer County and has a main office in East Greenbush.

In the previous school year, Columbia High School also had the highest number of students among Rensselaer County schools.

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 improve students' school performance.

New York State has proposed a $45.8 billion education budget for the upcoming fiscal year. This represents a $1.5 billion increase compared to the previous year. The most significant portion of this budget is allocated to schools, with a total of $35.3 billion proposed. The new budget aims at increasing funds for Foundation Aid by $507 million, mainly driven by rising inflation in the U.S.

School name	City	Total School Enrollment
Columbia High School	East Greenbush	1,215
Troy High School	Troy	1,192
Howard L. Goff School	East Greenbush	975
Averill Park High School	Averill Park	885
Troy Middle School	Troy	761
Lansingburgh Senior High School	Troy	661
Algonquin Middle School	Averill Park	615
Tamarac Middle School High School	Troy	595
Turnpike Elementary School	Troy	502
Tamarac Elementary School	Troy	499
Citizen Edmond Genet School	East Greenbush	483
Rensselaer Junior/Senior High School	Rensselaer	478
Van Rensselaer Elementary School	Rensselaer	475
Red Mill School	Rensselaer	467
Hoosic Valley Elementary School	Schaghticoke	463
P.S. 14	Troy	458
Rensselaer Park Elementary School	Troy	448
Knickerbacker Middle School	Troy	443
Castleton Elementary School	Castleton	442
Hoosick Falls Elementary School	Hoosick Falls	413
Maple Hill Junior/Senior High School	Castleton	402
West Sand Lake Elementary School	West Sand Lake	392
Hoosic Valley Junior Senior High School	Schaghticoke	373
Green Meadow School	Castleton	367
Miller Hill School	Averill Park	365
Berlin Middle School/High School	Cherry Plain	350
Poestenkill Elementary School	Poestenkill	330
Hoosick Falls Junior/Senior High School	Hoosick Falls	328
Carroll Hill School	Troy	321
Gardner-Dickinson School	Wynantskill	311
Bell Top School	Troy	309
P.S. 18	Troy	297
Berlin Elementary School	Berlin	276
P.S. 2	Troy	272
Donald P. Sutherland School	Nassau	243
P.S. 16	Troy	242
North Greenbush School	Troy	31