Castor Gardens MS

Castor Gardens MS is one of the expansive middle schools in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, one of the schools within Philadelphia City SD, with 1,318 students on its rolls from grades 6 through 8. Compared to the state average of about 594 students per school, that is 122% above typical.

Philadelphia City SD comprises 220 schools with combined enrollment of 116,230 students; Castor Gardens MS is among them.

On the student-mix side, Castor Gardens MS logs that 42% of students identify as Hispanic, with the remaining enrollment distributed across several groups. The remainder is composed of 23% Black, 20% Asian, 11% White, 3% multiracial. By comparison, Philadelphia County as a whole is about 16% Hispanic, so the school skews meaningfully more Hispanic than its surroundings.

Looking at the economic backdrop, Staff filings list 78 full-time-equivalent teachers, which works out to roughly 16.9:1 students per teacher. Statewide, the average ratio sits near 13.2:1, putting Castor Gardens MS higher than the state norm the norm. About 96% of enrolled students meet the income threshold for free or reduced-price lunch, which schools and policymakers use as a rough income-mix signal.

On a demographically-adjusted basis, Castor Gardens MS sits in the middle band of the BeatsExpectations distribution. Schools with this campus's student mix typically land near 36.3%; this one delivers 25.2%.

Zooming out to the county, census data for Philadelphia County shows median household earnings sit near $61,953, roughly 35% of adults have completed at least a four-year degree, and roughly 17% of residents live below the federal poverty line. Castor Gardens MS is one of 309 public schools in Philadelphia County (combined enrollment of about 182,005 students).

The closest other public school is Northeast HS, roughly 0.3 miles away. Counting just inside five miles, 8 other public schools cluster around Castor Gardens MS. Among the 9 schools in that immediate cluster with test data (this one included), Castor Gardens MS ranks 6th on composite proficiency, below the local average of 29.7%.

Castor Gardens MS operates from a metropolitan location.

Looking at the recent track record. Over the past 7-year window, the student count showed little movement: 1,319 students in 2018 compared to 1,318 in 2025. Over the same period, the Hispanic share rose from 24% to 42%. The student-to-teacher ratio narrowed from 18.0:1 in 2018 to 16.9:1 today.

On the community side, the feed for Castor Gardens MS typically covers science fair prep, picture-day reminders, and bus-route questions. Posting is open to anyone connected to the school.