Central Dauphin MS

Central Dauphin MS is an intermediate school of average-sized scale in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, one of the schools within Central Dauphin SD, teacheing 834 students in grades 6 through 8. Enrollment runs roughly 40% above the state mean of about 594.

Central Dauphin MS is one of 19 schools operated by Central Dauphin SD, a district that serves 12,389 students overall.

On the student-mix side, Central Dauphin MS lists that 66% of the student body identifies as White. Beyond that, the school records 10% Black, 10% Asian, 8% Hispanic, 6% multiracial. That composition is broadly in line with Dauphin County as a whole.

On the resource side, The school lists 57 full-time-equivalent teachers, for a student-teacher ratio near 14.7:1. That figure is higher than the state norm's 13.2:1 average. An estimated 37% of students are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, often used as a Title I proxy. Set against Dauphin County (around 59%), the school's rate is noticeably below typical.

Adjusting for the school's free-and-reduced-lunch share, Central Dauphin MS performs roughly as the BeatsExpectations model predicts for a school with this FRL share. The predicted value is around 61.9%, the actual is 52.9%, a residual of -9.0 points.

Across the wider county, Dauphin County reports that median household earnings sit near $76,242, 34% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and the poverty rate sits near 9%. In all, Dauphin County runs 75 public schools (combined enrollment of about 72,718 students), of which Central Dauphin MS is one.

Phillips El Sch is the nearest neighboring public school, about 0.4 miles from this campus. Within five miles, there are 8 other public schools. Ranking that nearby cluster on reported proficiency puts Central Dauphin MS at 3rd of 6; the average score across the group is 43.9%.

Central Dauphin MS operates from an outer-ring location.

Looking at the recent track record. Looking back 7 years, enrollment at Central Dauphin MS has edged up 15%, going from 728 students in 2018 to 834 in 2025. The White share of enrollment edged down from 76% to 66% over that span.

On this page, posts here usually surface around science fair prep, picture-day reminders, and bus-route questions. Anyone with firsthand experience at this school can post or comment.