Clarion Area El Sch

Set in Clarion, Pennsylvania, Clarion Area El Sch is an intimate elementary campus, operated by Clarion Area SD. It caters to 352 students across grades K through 5. By comparison, Pennsylvania's public schools average about 443 students each, so Clarion Area El Sch sits 21% below that benchmark.

Across the 2 schools in Clarion Area SD (778 students total), Clarion Area El Sch accounts for its share of the district's footprint.

On the student-mix side, Clarion Area El Sch lists that 87% of students identify as White, making the school strongly White-majority. Other groups include 6% multiracial, 3% Black, 2% Asian.

In terms of school funding signals, The school lists 32 full-time-equivalent teachers, for a student-teacher ratio near 11.1:1. The state averages around 13.1:1, so this campus is tighter than the state norm typical. Around 99% of the student body qualifies for free or reduced-price meals, a commonly cited indicator of low-income enrollment. By comparison, Clarion County runs at roughly 72%, so the school's eligibility rate is meaningfully above the surrounding baseline.

Adjusting for the school's free-and-reduced-lunch share, Clarion Area El Sch ranks in the top 10% of Pennsylvania public schools. The BeatsExpectations model, a per-state regression of composite proficiency on FRL share, predicts schools with this student profile to land around 35.1%; Clarion Area El Sch posts 57.2%, +22.1 points above that line.

In the surrounding community, census data for Clarion County shows the typical household earns roughly $62,649 per year, about 24% of the adult population holds a bachelor's degree or above, and census figures put the poverty rate at about 7%. In all, Clarion County runs 16 public schools (combined enrollment of about 5,023 students), of which Clarion Area El Sch is one.

The closest other public school is Clarion Area JSHS, roughly 1.0 miles away. Within five miles, there are 2 other public schools. Ranking that nearby cluster on reported proficiency puts Clarion Area El Sch at 4th of 8; the average score across the group is 56.1%.

The school occupies a small-town site.

Over the past 7-year window. Over the past 7-year window, the student count shrank 14%: 409 students in 2018 compared to 352 in 2025. The student-to-teacher ratio fell from 13.4:1 in 2018 to 11.1:1 today.

In the discussion threads here, the feed for Clarion Area El Sch typically covers open house dates, ride-share offers, and field-trip permission slips. Contributors range from current parents to recent graduates and teachers.