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How has Bellefonte Area HS changed in the last five years, for better or worse?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
850
High
DISTRICT 430 · STATE 738
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·BELLEFONTE AREA SD·NCES 420324001343
Bellefonte Area HS
830 E Bishop St, Bellefonte, PA 16823 · (814) 355-4833 · Centre County
GRADES 09–12HIGH31-TOWNREGULAR SCHOOL850 STUDENTS
Student : Teacher
14.3:1
60 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 11.9:1 · STATE 12.8:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
30%
257 students
DISTRICT 33% · STATE 75%
Community
1
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other high schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.
Enrollment by grade
Student demographics
Student head counts by race/ethnicity from federal NCES enrollment data. Very small groups may be suppressed in the source, so categories do not always sum exactly to total enrollment.
Gender split
School pathway
Feeds from
Based on grade levels within Bellefonte Area SD. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
Test scores
PSSA + Keystone 2024-25 . % Proficient or AdvancedEnglish Language Arts
67.2%
PA avg 51.1% . +17.0pp since 2023
Math
53.4%
PA avg 43.0% . -0.2pp since 2023
What this means: On the PSSA + Keystone, Pennsylvania's statewide test, about 67 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 53 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Pennsylvania schools, those numbers are about 51 and 43. Reading and writing scores are up about 17 points since 2023, while math scores have held steady.
Source: PSSA + Keystone. All students, all grades. See all years and grades →
BeatsExpectations
Demographically-adjusted score · methodologyTier
AS EXPECTED
Performing as predicted given the school's student profile
Actual proficiency
56.0%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
64.7%
based on PA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-8.7pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 56% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 65% typical for Pennsylvania schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations measures results against demographically similar schools rather than by raw scores, and this school falls within the typical range, neither among Pennsylvania's top nor bottom 10%.
BeatsExpectations runs a per-state regression of proficiency on free/reduced-lunch share, then scores each school by residual. How this is calculated →
7-year change
SY 2017-18 vs SY 2024-25Enrollment
850
+1 (+0%) vs 2017
Student : Teacher
14.3:1
was 13.2:1
% White
91%
was 96%
% Hispanic
3%
was 1%
% Black
1%
was 1%
% Asian
1%
was 0%
Source: NCES Common Core of Data
About Bellefonte Area HS
Located at 830 E Bishop St, in Bellefonte, Pennsylvania, Bellefonte Area HS is a middle-of-the-pack secondary school that teaches 850 students (grades 9 through 12), overseen by Bellefonte Area SD.
Bellefonte Area SD comprises 6 schools with combined enrollment of 2,579 students; Bellefonte Area HS is among them.
For racial and ethnic makeup, Bellefonte Area HS reports that nearly all students (91%) are White. The remainder breaks down as 4% multiracial, 3% Hispanic.
Looking at the economic backdrop, Bellefonte Area HS reports 60 full-time-equivalent teachers, putting the student-to-teacher ratio at about 14.3:1. That figure is higher than the state norm's 12.8:1 average. Around 30% of the student body qualifies for free or reduced-price meals, a commonly cited indicator of low-income enrollment.
Adjusting for the school's free-and-reduced-lunch share, Bellefonte Area HS performs roughly as the BeatsExpectations model predicts for a school with this FRL share. The predicted value is around 64.7%, the actual is 56.0%, a residual of -8.7 points.
In the area at large, Centre County reports that median household earnings sit near $74,291, roughly 46% of adults have completed at least a four-year degree, and census figures put the poverty rate at about 6%. Across Centre County's 33 public schools (combined enrollment of about 13,674 students), Bellefonte Area HS is one campus in the mix.
Nearest neighbor: Bellefonte Area MS, around 0.0 miles off. Within five miles, there are 7 other public schools. Ranking that nearby cluster on reported proficiency puts Bellefonte Area HS at 4th of 8; the average score across the group is 59.6%.
Bellefonte Area HS operates from a small-town location.
Over the past 7-year window. Over the past 7-year window, the student count remained close to its prior level: 849 students in 2018 compared to 850 in 2025. The White share of enrollment contracted from 96% to 91% over that span. The student-to-teacher ratio rose from 13.2:1 in 2018 to 14.3:1 today.
In the discussion threads here, members of the Bellefonte Area HS community share and discuss fundraisers, lost-and-found posts, and report-card season. Anyone with firsthand experience at this school can post or comment.
Centre County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
158,576
Census ACS
Median income
$74,291
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
46%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
6%
Below federal line
Schools in county
33
13,674 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Bellefonte Area SD
- Bellefonte Area MSMiddle · 591 students
- Marion-Walker El SchElementary · 353 students
- Bellefonte El SchElementary · 318 students
- Benner El SchElementary · 252 students
- Pleasant Gap El SchElementary · 215 students
Other schools in Bellefonte
- Bellefonte Area MSMiddle · 591 students
- Marion-Walker El SchElementary · 353 students
- Bellefonte El SchElementary · 318 students
- Benner El SchElementary · 252 students
Nearby schools
- Bellefonte Area MS0.0 mi · 591
- Bellefonte El Sch1.0 mi · 318
- Central PA Institute of Science and Technology2.4 mi · 5
- Benner El Sch2.9 mi · 252
- Bald Eagle Area MS/SHS3.1 mi · 832
- Wingate El Sch3.1 mi · 365
Frequently asked questions
About Bellefonte Area HSHow large is Bellefonte Area HS?
Bellefonte Area HS enrolls approximately 850 students in grades 09-12.
Is Bellefonte Area HS an elementary, middle, or high school?
Bellefonte Area HS is a high school covering grades 09-12.
How many teachers does Bellefonte Area HS have?
Bellefonte Area HS employs 60 FTE teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of 14.3:1.
What is the student diversity at Bellefonte Area HS?
Student demographics at Bellefonte Area HS are roughly 91% White, 3% Hispanic, 1% Black, 1% Asian, 4% Two or more.
What district is Bellefonte Area HS in?
Bellefonte Area HS is part of Bellefonte Area SD.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.