Enrollment
251
Elementary
DISTRICT 327 · STATE 443
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·CHAMBERSBURG AREA SD·NCES 420555002192
Buchanan Elementary School
730 E Washington St, Chambersburg, PA 17201 · (717) 261-3432 · Franklin County
GRADES KG–05ELEMENTARY13-CITYTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL251 STUDENTS
Student : Teacher
16.0:1
16 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 14.7:1 · STATE 13.1:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
95%
239 students
DISTRICT 88% · STATE 75%
Community
0
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other elementary schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.
Enrollment by grade, 2024-25
| Grade | Students | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Kindergarten | 42 | 17% |
| Grade 1 | 35 | 14% |
| Grade 2 | 46 | 18% |
| Grade 3 | 45 | 18% |
| Grade 4 | 40 | 16% |
| Grade 5 | 43 | 17% |
Student demographics
67%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 61% · STATE 59% · US 70%
Student head counts by race/ethnicity from federal NCES enrollment data. District, state, and US figures are each group's share of all public school students in that area (US excludes territories). Very small groups may be suppressed in the source, so categories do not always sum exactly to total enrollment.
Gender split
Test scores
PSSA + Keystone 2024-25 . % Proficient or AdvancedEnglish Language Arts
36.3%
PA avg 51.1% . -1.0pp since 2023
Math
43.4%
PA avg 43.0% . +7.0pp since 2023
What this means: On the PSSA + Keystone, Pennsylvania's statewide test, about 36 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 43 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Pennsylvania schools, those numbers are about 51 and 43. Reading and writing scores are down about 1 points since 2023, while math scores are up about 7 points.
PSSA + Keystone results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 36.3% | 43.4% |
| 2023-24 | 37.3% | 36.4% |
% Proficient or Advanced, all students and all tested grades.
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
43.8%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
36.8%
based on PA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+7.0pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 44% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 37% 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 →
Where Buchanan Elementary School ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Pennsylvania | In Franklin County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 43.8% | #1,002 of 1,396 | #21 of 23 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 43.4% | #934 of 1,511 | #17 of 24 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 36.3% | #1,091 of 1,511 | #21 of 24 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 251 | #1,407 of 1,638 | #18 of 25 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 16.0:1 | #1,394 of 1,528 | #17 of 21 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 66.8% | #157 of 1,531 | #3 of 21 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 95.2% | #564 of 1,600 | #13 of 25 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -10.7% | #615 of 1,045 | #10 of 18 |
Ranked against other public elementary schools. Online schools are left out of every list, and test-score lists leave out schools that serve specialized populations. Each rank links to the full list.
4-year change
SY 2020-21 vs SY 2024-25Enrollment
251
+19 (+8%) vs 2020
-13% since 1990-91, when it was 287
Student : Teacher
16.0:1
was 15.5:1
Source: NCES Common Core of Data
Enrollment and staffing by year
| School year | Students | Teachers (FTE) | Students per teacher | Free and reduced lunch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 251 | 15.7 | 16.0:1 | 95% (239) |
| 2023-24 | 239 | 16.2 | 14.8:1 | 100% (239) |
| 2022-23 | 253 | 16.2 | 15.6:1 | 100% (253) |
| 2020-21 | 232 | 15 | 15.5:1 | 63% (147) |
| 2017-18 | 281 | 16.7 | 16.8:1 | 57% (160) |
| 2015-16 | 279 | 16 | 17.4:1 | 100% (279) |
| 2010-11 | 308 | 17 | 18.1:1 | 56% (173) |
| 2000-01 | 271 | 19 | 14.3:1 | 30% (81) |
| 1990-91 | 287 | 15 | 19.1:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Buchanan Elementary School.
About Buchanan Elementary School
The public elementary school Buchanan Elementary School is located in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania. It reported 251 students in kindergarten through 5 in 2024-25. That compares with an average of about 443 students for elementary schools in Pennsylvania.
Chambersburg Area SD counts 9,373 students in its 17 schools, and Buchanan Elementary School is one of them.
No group is above 50% at Buchanan Elementary School; the largest is Hispanic, at 40%. It is also 39% White, 13% multiracial, and 8% Black. Franklin County's residents are about 8% Hispanic, 32 points below the school's share. Measured by the diversity index, the student body scores 67%.
The school's 15.7 full-time-equivalent teachers translate to a student-to-teacher ratio of 16.0:1. Elementary schools in Pennsylvania average 13.1:1, 2.9 fewer students per teacher than here. Income data for the school show 95% of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. That rate is above the 69% average among public schools in Franklin County.
On a poverty-adjusted basis, Buchanan Elementary School falls in the middle 80% of Pennsylvania schools: 43.8% actual against 36.8% predicted.
The county, Franklin County, is where the school is located. Median household income comes to about $77,003, a bachelor's degree or higher is held by about 25% of adults, and the poverty rate is about 6%. The county has 41 public schools and about 21,432 students.
Buchanan Elementary School's nearest public school is Chambersburg Area SHS (about 0.3 miles). Inside a five-mile radius, there are at least 8 other public schools. On average proficiency, Buchanan Elementary School is 6th of 8 nearby schools with test data.
The school is inside a principal city with a population under 100,000, according to its NCES locale (City: Small).
From 2020-21 to 2024-25, enrollment increased from 232 to 251, an 8% rise.
The allk12 page for Buchanan Elementary School lets the school community talk about special education services, counseling, and support programs. Current and former families are welcome to add their experience.
Franklin County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
157,379
Census ACS
Median income
$77,003
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
25%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
6%
Below federal line
Schools in county
41
21,432 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Chambersburg Area SD
- Chambersburg Area SHSHigh · 2,319 students
- Chambersburg Area MS - NorthMiddle · 1,072 students
- Chambersburg Area MS - SouthMiddle · 1,025 students
- Chambersburg Area Career Magnet SchoolHigh · 706 students
- Benjamin Chambers Elementary SchoolElementary · 583 students
- Hamilton Heights Elementary SchoolElementary · 553 students
Other schools in Chambersburg
- Chambersburg Area SHSHigh · 2,319 students
- Chambersburg Area MS - NorthMiddle · 1,072 students
- Chambersburg Area MS - SouthMiddle · 1,025 students
- Chambersburg Area Career Magnet SchoolHigh · 706 students
- Benjamin Chambers Elementary SchoolElementary · 583 students
- Hamilton Heights Elementary SchoolElementary · 553 students
Nearby schools
- Chambersburg Area SHS0.3 mi · 2,319
- Chambersburg Area MS - South0.7 mi · 1,025
- Stevens Elementary School1.1 mi · 305
- Benjamin Chambers Elementary School1.3 mi · 583
- Falling Spring Elementary School1.7 mi · 256
- Chambersburg Area MS - North1.8 mi · 1,072
Frequently asked questions
About Buchanan Elementary SchoolHow large is Buchanan Elementary School?
Buchanan Elementary School enrolls approximately 251 students in grades KG-05.
Is Buchanan Elementary School an elementary, middle, or high school?
Buchanan Elementary School is an elementary school covering grades KG-05.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Buchanan Elementary School?
The student-to-teacher ratio at Buchanan Elementary School is approximately 16.0:1 (16 FTE teachers).
What is the racial breakdown of students at Buchanan Elementary School?
At Buchanan Elementary School, the student body is approximately 39% White, 40% Hispanic, 8% Black, 0% Asian, 13% Two or more.
Is Buchanan Elementary School public or private?
Buchanan Elementary School is a public K-12 school, overseen by Chambersburg Area SD.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.