Arthur S May School

Arthur S. May School is a public elementary school in Poughkeepsie, New York, serving 496 students in kindergarten through fifth grade. It earns a composite score of 9.0 out of 10 — rated Exceptional — with a growth score of 9.9 that stands out even among top-ranked schools.

That near-perfect growth figure signals students here are advancing faster than their peers in almost every school across the state. The numbers confirm it. May ranks first among all 21 public schools in Poughkeepsie and places 73rd out of 4,739 public schools across New York, outperforming 98% of schools statewide.

Among New York elementary schools specifically, it ranks 58th out of 2,549. Academic performance scores 8.7 out of 10, showing that high growth and strong outcomes reinforce each other here rather than trade off. Classroom structure supports those results.

A 10.3-to-1 student-teacher ratio means students get more direct instruction time than most elementary schools can offer. For families evaluating Poughkeepsie's elementary options, May sits in a category of its own — no other school in the city comes close on any scoring dimension that matters.