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Hamilton Central School, is one of the oldest central school districts in the state, first operated as a central school in 1926-27. Common school districts have been annexed over the years with the present district now located in five townships (Hamilton, Eaton, Madison, Lebanon, and Brookfield).
The school is located on a 45-acre site off West Kendrick Avenue in the Village of Hamilton. It includes a junior/senior high school building completed in 1958, and an elementary school addition completed in 1966, both of which were fully renovated in 2008. Capital projects were completed in 1990, 1998 and 2008, and the projects provided the district with additional classroom space, computer and science labs, music rooms, an additional gymnasium and improvement in our technology infrastructure. The K-12 school building contains two gymnasiums, an auditorium, music rooms, high school library, elementary library, and cafeteria.
The 2016-17 enrollment is 557, and the operating budget $12,286,461. There are currently faculty 61 faculty members, which provides a very favorable student/teacher ratio. Average class sizes for elementary and core secondary subjects range from 14-22. The District’s current state aid ratio is 57 percent. Residents have been very supportive of the District’s programs with voter approval of school budgets annually since 1975.
The school provides specialists in enrichment and innovation, art, physical education, music, guidance, reading, speech therapy, special education, and psychological services. The music program consists of vocal, band, and orchestra instruction and performance. At the secondary level advanced placement courses are offered in English, American History, World History and Calculus.
Extensive curricular and extra-curricular programs have been established. Interscholastic sports available for boys are football, soccer, basketball, baseball, track, cross-country and tennis. For girls, the program includes softball, cross- country, golf, basketball, soccer, field hockey, tennis and volleyball. A wide variety of co-curricular clubs and organizations are also available to students.
A continuous program of staff development encourages teachers to attend conferences and engage in curriculum planning and staff projects. Currently, our district is working with the PEBC to provide learning strategy instruction to all our students in grades prek-12. Additionally, our teachers are enjoying pedagogical training in the areas of math, writing and reading
The educational program is progressive in nature with many opportunities for specialization. Cooperation between Hamilton Central School and Colgate University extend student options for advanced study. Students in the junior and senior years can apply to Colgate to take a course each term. The student must have an 85 average and there is a tuition charge by Colgate. Scholarship awards to Hamilton graduates are numerous and approximately 80-85 percent of the graduates go on to some form of post-secondary education.
We are thoroughly committed to providing the best educational practices and opportunities to all of our students. We believe in educating the holistic child and care about their individual growth and development. We strive to make each child the best they can be.
