Elmira Free Academy

Elmira Free Academy, or EFA, is a high school in Elmira, New York, USA. It is one of seven public high schools serving Chemung county. (Waverly, Spencer-Van Etten and Odessa-Montour are outside Chemung County, but serve students from Chemung County). As of 2007, EFA has an enrollment of 1,047 students, with a faculty that includes 67 full-time teachers and many other instructors, administrators, and support staff.

The metro-area surrounding EFA 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 qualifies for free or reduced lunches, a percentage significantly higher than the state average of 17%.

The school also boasts many honors courses, taught to the standards of both AP and ACE (a program that offers direct college credits at many schools). Elmira Free Academy is also a strong statewide contender in many sports, despite smaller a student enrollment and budget than many competing schools. The school is 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 will be combining sports teams beginning in 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.

There have been rumors of the two rival schools combining. The district has considered making EFA the middle school and Southside the high school. The school is operated by the Elmira City School District.