In 1865, a one-room schoolhouse was built on land donated by John Whitson on the south side of Pleasantville Road, between the Pocantico River and the New York & Putnam Railroad (now NY Route 9A/100).

The building failed to meet requirements set by New York's commissioner of education, and thus in 1910, it became the Briarcliff Community Center, a social organization established by the village.

The enlarged school accepted students from Croton, Hawthorne, North White Plains, Valhalla, and as far as Granite Springs.

The Grade School building was demolished in 1996, and a retirement home was built on its site the following year.

The models were being kept in the basement of the former middle school, and were moved to the lobby of the Supreme Court Building in 1974, where they have been on display since.

Parts of Briarcliff Manor not covered by the school district include Scarborough and Chilmark; these areas (about 28 percent of Briarcliff Manor) are part of the Ossining Union Free School District.

[15] In the 2015–16 school year, the Briarcliff Manor Union Free School District enrolled approximately 1,469 students; of which 16 (1 percent) were eligible for free lunch and 6 students were eligible for reduced-price lunch.

The current elementary school building opened in 1953 and is named after George A. Todd, Jr.[6]: 31  who was the village's first teacher, first superintendent and taught for over 40 years.

[26] The school runs the Greenhouse Club, which donated to charities, fixed old laptops, and started a recycling and composting program.

[30] The club runs an annual Charity: Water fundraiser, and has held coat drives, collected funds for Hurricane Sandy victims, and organized a holiday boutique to raise money for the American Cancer Society.

[31] As well, the students of the club have helped to create and maintain Academia, the school's outdoor education center, greenhouse and garden built around 2008.

[32] The club also created a five-part video miniseries on planting and gardening for instructional use at Hawthorne Country Day School.

The school is noted for student achievement, testing scores, its science research, world language, and performing arts programs, university in the High School and Advanced Placement courses, and graduation and college attendance rates.

[36] The student body primarily consists of incoming graduates of Briarcliff Middle School.

[6]: 154 The district offers transportation to students through Briarcliff Bus Company, which holds its vehicles at a private lot of the Scarborough train station.