Bethel El Sch

Bethel El Sch, a small K-5 school in Bethel, Pennsylvania, overseen by Tulpehocken Area SD, hosts 286 students, covering grades K through 6. Compared to the state average of about 443 students per school, that is 35% smaller than typical.

Tulpehocken Area SD runs 4 schools in total, collectively educating 1,243 students. Bethel El Sch is one of those campuses.

In terms of who attends, Bethel El Sch logs that 82% of students identify as White, making the school strongly White-majority. Other groups include 13% Hispanic, 2% Black, 2% multiracial. The wider county runs roughly 70% White, putting the school's mix meaningfully more White than the area baseline.

In terms of school funding signals, Staff filings list 28 full-time-equivalent teachers, which works out to roughly 10.1:1 students per teacher. Statewide, the average ratio sits near 13.1:1, putting Bethel El Sch tighter than the state norm the norm. About 63% of enrolled students meet the income threshold for free or reduced-price lunch, often used as a Title I proxy.

After controlling for student poverty, Bethel El Sch performs roughly as the BeatsExpectations model predicts for a school with this FRL share. The predicted value is around 50.5%, the actual is 53.2%, a residual of +2.8 points.

Zooming out to the county, the surrounding county (Berks County) logs that median household income runs about $79,777, roughly 28% of adults have completed at least a four-year degree, and roughly 9% of residents live below the federal poverty line. Across Berks County's 95 public schools (combined enrollment of about 62,375 students), Bethel El Sch is one campus in the mix.

Tulpehocken Area MS is the nearest neighboring public school, about 6.1 miles from this campus. Within ten miles, there are 8 other public schools, a sparser pattern than typical urban areas. Ranking that nearby cluster on reported proficiency puts Bethel El Sch at 4th of 7; the average score across the group is 53.9%.

The campus sits in a small-town setting.

Looking at the recent track record. Over the past 7-year window, the student count declined 24%: 374 students in 2018 compared to 286 in 2025. Class-load math has fell: from 12.8:1 in 2018 to 10.1:1 in 2025.

Within the allk12 community for this school, members of the Bethel El Sch community share and discuss school events, parent volunteer needs, and clubs. Parents, students, alumni, and staff are welcome to weigh in.