GF Nation/District Profile

Our Community

Glens Falls is a small city of about 15,000 residents within the Adirondack region of upstate New York. More than 65 industries are represented in the greater business community, including medical device manufacturing, media management, and pulp/paper product production. The city is located north of Saratoga Springs, on the banks of the Hudson River. Cultural offerings include the Charles R. Wood Theater, the Glens Falls Symphony (whose home stage is none other than our High School auditorium), the Hyde Art Museum, the Chapman Historical Museum, and the Cool Insuring Arena. Glens Falls is also the home of a NY Collegiate Baseball League team, as well as an ECHL Hockey Team.

Our SchoolsGlens Falls City Schools provide UPK-12 public education for approximately 2,000 students living in the City of Glens Falls and part of the Town of Queensbury. Our small-city district covers approximately four square miles, and students walk to and from one of three neighborhood elementary schools, or the middle and high school, which are situated next-door to each other on Quade Street. Daily bus and van
transportation is provided just for students with special needs or circumstances, but buses take many students to athletic contests and field trips almost daily.

Big Cross Street, Jackson Heights and Kensington Road elementary schools serve students in Universal Pre-Kindergarten through fourth grade.

Glens Falls Middle School educates students in grades 5-8, and students in grades 9-12 attend Glens Falls High School. Students from our neighboring district, Abraham Wing (Glens Falls Common School District), tuition into GFSD beginning in seventh grade, and graduate with a Glens Falls diploma.

Our Commitment to Excellence

The Glens Falls City School District offers a high-quality academic program that aims to meet students wherever they are on their educational journey. Our whole team works hard to provide every child with enriching experiences and resources to “educate, support, and inspire all students as they learn to become productive and engaged members of their community.” Our district-wide focus is on “Creating, Connecting, and Belonging” — an approach to education that weaves data-driven
practices into new frameworks for learning.

In 2015, the district put a “take-home” Chromebook into the hands of every Glens Falls 7-12th grader, after months of faculty professional development on Google’s educational suite (Drive, Docs, Classroom, etc.) and a major WiFi/connectivity overhaul in every school building. We are proud to have been one of the first districts to invest in this “one-to-one” approach, which was carefully envisioned as both an equity initiative for our under-resourced students, and a vault into 21st century teaching and learning. Each year since then, the initiative has expanded into lower and lower grades, with all K-12 students well-positioned to take home their device even before the COVID pandemic hit in March of 2020.

For several years now, Social-Emotional Learning and student wellness have been a major focus within the district. Beginning in 2014, the district invested in multi-year poverty training, trauma education, and suicide prevention training for every one of our 400-member staff. We have invested in additional social work, psychology, and elementary counseling staff, we support yoga and mindfulness in classrooms, and use community-building circles everywhere from elementary classrooms to Board of Education meetings, with a focus on relationship-building. 

A commitment to improved technology infrastructure and collaborative spaces has driven major renovation projects and classroom re-designs using flexible, moveable Meteor furniture. These new and reconfigured spaces now increase communication, critical thinking, and creativity among students and adults alike. In the fall of 2024, our new e-sports lab, robotics arena, and flexible learning spaces debuted to students at the Middle School as renovations were completed on the former large-group instruction space on the second floor. The GFMS main office, nurses, and school counseling suites were also reconstructed to be more efficient and secure to serve students and families.

Glens Falls’ educational programs align with individual students’ interests, talents, and needs, as well as the New York State Department of Education’s learning standards. Our team of faculty member instructional and technology coaches are immersed in classrooms, providing direct support for our teachers’ growth. Curriculum programs used in 2022 include Curriculum Associates Ready Math and Lucy Calkins/Teachers College Units of Study at the elementary level, to AP, SUPA (Syracuse University Project Advance), Early College Career Academy (PTECH), and SUNY Adirondack programs in the High School. Our Response to Intervention efforts include a Multi-Tiered Support System for students.

In 2012, 2016, 2017, and again in 2018, Glens Falls High School earned a Silver Medal in the U.S. News and World Report ranking of best high schools in the country — placing the top 18% of high schools in New York State and the top 7% nationally. In 2013, the high school was ranked 19th out of 85 schools in the Capital Region in The Business Review’s annual Schools Report.

Glens Falls Middle School has been designated an Essential Elements School to Watch four times—most recently in 2018. This highly selective recognition honors academic excellence, organizational structure and commitment to enhancing the school’s program and practices. Only 18 schools in New York State won in 2012.

And all three of Glens Falls’ elementary schools were named “Recognition Schools” by the NYS Education Department for high academic achievement and student growth during the 2017-18 school year. At the same time, the district advanced off the list of NYSED “Focus” Districts in 2019, after being designated in 2016 based on the underperformance of a sub-group with regard to graduation rate. The GFHS 2019-20 overall graduation rate was 84%.

Facilities

At Glens Falls City Schools, we invest in facilities that create an environment in which our students can reach their fullest potential.

Our three neighborhood elementary schools—Big Cross Street School, Jackson Heights, and Kensington Road School—each house approximately 250 students in grades PreK-4. Glens Falls Middle School houses approximately 600 students in grades 5-8, while another 600 or so students in grades 9-12 study at Glens Falls High School.

District residents consistently approve capital projects presented every few years to maintain and improve our buildings and grounds to meet students’ evolving needs. Most recently, the Middle School's second floor large-group instruction space was reconstructed into an e-sports lab, robotics arena, and flexible learning spaces. Also recently, the High School’s third floor wing was converted into a 21st century learning space, with multiple modern meeting configurations and top-tier technological capabilities.

On the first floor of the High School, the 1,400-seat auditorium was reconstructed in 2009 to include motorized rigging, theatrical lighting, an electronic acoustical enhancement system, and cloud ceiling. The sound system was significantly upgraded in 2024. The Glens Fall Symphony, a professional union orchestra, calls our stage its home due to the caliber of the space.

Glens Falls High School also features an adjacent turf sports field and track, which is lit for nighttime use. The 6-lane swimming pool includes mechanical timing systems, indirect lighting, and spectator gallery seating for swim meets, community swim programs, and physical education units. Student-athletes and community members use additional natural-grass sports fields, tennis courts, and a refreshment facility at the district’s 19-acre Morse Fields complex just down the block from the High School.

Elementary libraries have been converted into media centers, and most classrooms across the district have been re-furnished with flexible seating and workspaces. Most importantly, our teachers participate in significant professional development around using this classroom flexibility to increase student engagement.