Elmira Free Academy


Ernie Davis Academy, formerly Elmira Free Academy, is the junior high school in Elmira, New York, United States. In September 2014 it merged with Southside High School It has 855 students in grades 8-9 with a student-teacher ratio of 13 to 1. According to state test scores, 18% of students are at least proficient in math and 22% in reading.
The metro-area surrounding Ernie Davis Academy is both economically and racially diverse, traits reflected in the student body. 77% of the student body is White, 20% is Black, 2% Hispanic, less than 1% Asian or Pacific Islander, and less than 1% Native American. Also, 38% of the student body qualified for free or reduced lunches, a percentage significantly higher than the state average of 17%.

History

Started in 1859 under the Jurisdiction of a Board of Education. EFA had many locations and upgrades as the City grew.
Elmira Free Academy moved to Hoffman St in 1969.
The school also boasted many honors courses, taught to the standards of both AP and ACE. Elmira Free Academy was also a strong statewide contender in many sports, despite a smaller student enrollment and budget than many competing schools. The school was classified as class A in Section IV of the NYSPHSAA.
Every fall, Southside High School and EFA competed in football for the Erie Bell. In 2011, however, the Elmira City School District announced that due to severe budget problems, the 64-year-old rivalry between Southside and EFA would have to come to an end. The two high schools combined their sports teams by the 2011-12 school year. A community vote was taken to determine what new mascot and colors people were interested in. On May 25, 2011, the district officially announced that the new team would be called the Elmira Express, a common nickname for Elmiran legend Ernie Davis, the first African-American to ever win the Heisman Trophy in the sport of football. The colors will be red, black, and white.
The Elmira City School District decided to make EFA the middle school and Southside the high school during the 2013-14 school year which began to operate officially by September 2014. Elmira Free Academy has been renamed 'Ernie Davis Academy' respectively due to the closure of Ernie Davis Middle School. The new Ernie Davis Academy consists of only eighth and ninth grade students unlike the building's predecessor in its earliest days consisting of students from grades tenth to twelfth and then from ninth to twelfth. Students in Elmira who are in grades tenth to twelfth are attending Elmira High School located at EFA's former arch rival's building.

Notable alumni