Our District

Ellicottville Central School and Community

By Mark J. Ward, Interim Superintendent

 

Having been involved with the school system since 1958 as a student, teacher, coach, athletic director, associate principal, parent, principal and superintendent I have developed a pretty good perspective of our school and community. There is no question that vast changes have taken place over the years transforming our rural farm community with multiple factories that produced wood products, baseball bats, truck parts, desks, tables and file cabinets into a four-season resort destination.

The school once had over 830 students, now there are roughly 535. Property values have sky rocketed and it is very difficult for “local people” to afford a home in Ellicottville. While families were literally driven out of the district by inflated costs, the district has maintained an open door to out-of-district students, many of them have connections as former students. The real change started in the 1980’s and continues to this day. With people unable to afford to live in the district many families from neighboring districts paid tuition to have their children educated at ECS. This continues to this day as many out-of-district families chose to send their children here to receive a quality education.

The property in the school district is assessed at $970,000,000. Applying the various equalization rates the true value that owners would hope to get is $1,570,000,000…yes, one Billion five hundred and seventy million dollars. It is hard to imagine that this small quiet community has turned into a year around “destination” for thousands of people! The village has changed dramatically with many boutique shops, bars, restaurants and specialized stores for our visitors. Buildings are constantly remodeled and upgraded to meet the changing demands of the visitors.

Though we are a smaller district we pride ourselves in offering multiple learning opportunities for our students. We have an outstanding performing arts department in our school featuring superior band and music programs and a vibrant art department. Each year our students perform musicals at the middle school and high school levels in a beautiful auditorium complex. We also offer multiple sports at various levels for our students (soccer, football, volleyball, cheerleading, swimming, cross-country, basketball, baseball, softball and track at the modified, JV and varsity level).

Our students also compete in various educational competitions throughout the area. They vary from year to year but we pride ourselves in providing these opportunities for our students.

The school system has always prided itself in being one of best if not #1 in the two-county area. Year after year the test results support that claim as our students are “always” in the top three in testing results in the Cattaraugus/Allegany BOCES. New York State Regents testing results are the same!

While our district is known for “Embracing Change”, “Celebrating Success” and “Surpassing Expectations”, we believe there is something inherently special about ECS. There is a special feeling or bond between our students, families and staff that allows us to meet the challenges we face by taking the time to listen and develop a sense of trust with each other. Over the years, I can remember many people saying that working here was not a job, it was a “way of life”.