High Needs School Districts

What is a "high needs" school district?

The National Science Foundation defines a "high needs" school district as one with at least one school which demonstrates at least one of the following:

(A) a high percentage of individuals from families with incomes below the poverty line;

(B) a high percentage of secondary school teachers not teaching in the content area in which they were trained to teach; or

(C) a high teacher turnover rate.

For the 2015-16 year, there were over 20 high needs school districts in the greater Rochester area (Monroe, Livingston, Ontario, Orleans, Yates, Wayne Counties), over 30 high needs districts in Nassau County, and 60 high needs districts in Suffolk County.

These resources can be used to identify high needs school districts:

Teacher Cancellation Low Income Directory

Department of Education website: provides links to access school report card data from schools throughout the United States

New York State Education Department: access to New York State school report card data