Enrollment
377
Elementary
DISTRICT 347 · STATE 443
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·EPHRATA AREA SD·NCES 420927002568
Clay Elementary School
250 Clay School Rd, Ephrata, PA 17522 · (717) 721-1100 · Lancaster County
GRADES KG–04ELEMENTARY41-RURALTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL377 STUDENTS
Student : Teacher
13.1:1
29 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 13.6:1 · STATE 13.1:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
49%
184 students
DISTRICT 56% · 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 | 59 | 16% |
| Grade 1 | 79 | 21% |
| Grade 2 | 75 | 20% |
| Grade 3 | 76 | 20% |
| Grade 4 | 83 | 22% |
| Grade 5 | 5 | 1% |
Student demographics
41%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 41% · 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
School pathway
Students here typically continue to
Based on grade levels within Ephrata Area SD. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
Test scores
PSSA + Keystone 2024-25 . % Proficient or AdvancedEnglish Language Arts
60.5%
PA avg 51.1% . -5.9pp since 2023
Math
57.1%
PA avg 43.0% . -0.4pp since 2023
What this means: On the PSSA + Keystone, Pennsylvania's statewide test, about 61 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 57 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 6 points since 2023, while math scores have held steady.
PSSA + Keystone results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 60.5% | 57.1% |
| 2023-24 | 66.4% | 57.5% |
% 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
64.6%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
56.7%
based on PA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+7.9pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 65% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 57% 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 →
Schools most like Clay Elementary School
Clay Elementary School's state test result (64.6% proficient) is higher than 4 of the 4 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Clay Elementary School this school | 377 | 48.8% | 64.6% |
| Lampeter Elementary School Lampeter | 375 | 49.6% | N/A |
| John R Bonfield Elementary School Lititz | 446 | 46.4% | 53.2% |
| Quarryville Elementary School Quarryville | 346 | 46.0% | 51.3% |
| Reamstown Elementary School Reamstown | 375 | 47.7% | 64.2% |
| Franklin Twp Elementary School Cashtown | 340 | 51.8% | 52.0% |
Matched among Pennsylvania elementary schools on enrollment, the share of students from low-income families (eligible for free or reduced-price lunch), and racial and ethnic makeup. Proficient is the average share of students meeting the state standard across all of the school's state tests in 2023-24 and 2024-25, the same combined score our test-score rankings use. Online schools and schools serving specialized populations are not matched.
Where Clay Elementary School ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Pennsylvania | In Lancaster County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 64.6% | #455 of 1,396 | #19 of 60 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 57.1% | #616 of 1,511 ▼ 67 | #30 of 62 ▼ 4 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 60.5% | #416 of 1,511 ▲ 11 | #19 of 62 no change |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 377 | #962 of 1,638 | #41 of 67 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 13.1:1 | #799 of 1,528 | #29 of 65 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 41.3% | #729 of 1,531 | #37 of 65 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 48.8% | #1,018 of 1,600 | #40 of 65 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -18.9% | #324 of 1,045 | #19 of 49 |
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. Arrows under a test-score rank show places moved since the prior test year, among schools tested both years.
4-year change
SY 2020-21 vs SY 2024-25Enrollment
377
-56 (-13%) vs 2020
+14% since 1990-91, when it was 332
Student : Teacher
13.1:1
was 13.1:1
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 | 377 | 28.7 | 13.1:1 | 49% (184) |
| 2023-24 | 374 | 28.7 | 13.0:1 | 49% (184) |
| 2022-23 | 377 | 29.2 | 12.9:1 | 42% (157) |
| 2020-21 | 433 | 33 | 13.1:1 | 39% (170) |
| 2017-18 | 465 | 29.7 | 15.7:1 | 34% (159) |
| 2015-16 | 461 | 29 | 15.9:1 | 36% (166) |
| 2010-11 | 482 | 24 | 20.1:1 | 25% (120) |
| 2000-01 | 264 | 13 | 20.3:1 | 15% (39) |
| 1990-91 | 332 | 16 | 20.8:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Clay Elementary School.
Since 2017-18: students down 19% (465 to 377); teachers down 3% (29.7 to 28.7).
About Clay Elementary School
Clay Elementary School is a medium-sized elementary school in Ephrata, Pennsylvania. The school's 377 students are in kindergarten through 4.
Ephrata Area SD is the local district for Clay Elementary School. It runs 7 schools with 3,904 students.
A majority of students at Clay Elementary School, 75%, are White. Beyond that, enrollment is 11% Hispanic, 7% multiracial, 3% Black, and 3% Asian. Clay Elementary School has a diversity index of 41%, compared with 70% for all US public school students.
Clay Elementary School's 28.7 full-time-equivalent teachers put its ratio at 13.1:1. Elementary schools in Pennsylvania have a similar average ratio of 13.1:1. Eligibility for subsidized school meals is 49%.
On a poverty-adjusted basis, Clay Elementary School falls in the middle 80% of Pennsylvania schools: 64.6% actual against 56.7% predicted.
Census estimates describe Lancaster County this way: median household income is about $86,959, the share of adults with a bachelor's degree or higher is 32%, and roughly 5% of residents are in poverty. The public schools of Lancaster County number 114 and enroll about 62,719.
Nearest public school: Ephrata Middle School, about 3.4 miles away. Other public schools within five miles: at least 8. Clay Elementary School is 4th of 9 nearby schools by average proficiency rate.
The school's locale code, Rural: Fringe, means it is in rural territory close to an urban area.
The number of students declined from 433 to 377 over 4 years.
Threads on this page can be about school events, clubs, and volunteer needs. Anyone with firsthand experience at this school can post or comment.
Lancaster County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
557,931
Census ACS
Median income
$86,959
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
32%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
5%
Below federal line
Schools in county
114
62,719 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Ephrata Area SD
- Ephrata SHSHigh · 1,347 students
- Ephrata Middle SchoolMiddle · 601 students
- Ephrata Intermediate SchoolMiddle · 568 students
- Highland Elementary SchoolElementary · 438 students
- Fulton Elementary SchoolElementary · 297 students
- Akron Elementary SchoolElementary · 276 students
Other schools in Ephrata
- Ephrata SHSHigh · 1,347 students
- Ephrata Middle SchoolMiddle · 601 students
- Ephrata Intermediate SchoolMiddle · 568 students
- Highland Elementary SchoolElementary · 438 students
- Fulton Elementary SchoolElementary · 297 students
- Lancaster County Career and Technology Center - BrownstownHigh · 25 students
Other Clay Elementary schools
7 other US public schools in 8 states are named Clay Elementary. Clay Elementary School is the 5th largest of the 8.
- Clay ElementaryAltoona, IA · 700 students
- Clay Elementary SchoolClay, AL · 606 students
- Clay Elementary SchoolChicago, IL · 578 students
- Clay Elementary SchoolClay, WV · 431 students
- Clay Elementary SchoolPortsmouth, OH · 326 students
Nearby schools
- Ephrata Middle School3.4 mi · 601
- Ephrata Intermediate School3.4 mi · 568
- John Beck Elementary School3.6 mi · 432
- Ephrata SHS3.7 mi · 1,347
- Highland Elementary School4.1 mi · 438
- Fulton Elementary School4.4 mi · 297
Frequently asked questions
About Clay Elementary SchoolHow many students attend Clay Elementary School?
Clay Elementary School enrolls approximately 377 students in grades KG-04.
What age range does Clay Elementary School serve?
Clay Elementary School serves students from grade KG through grade 04.
How many students per teacher at Clay Elementary School?
Approximately 13.1:1 students per teacher at Clay Elementary School.
How diverse is Clay Elementary School?
Clay Elementary School reports a student body of 75% White, 11% Hispanic, 3% Black, 3% Asian, 7% Two or more.
Who oversees Clay Elementary School?
Clay Elementary School is overseen by Ephrata Area SD in Lancaster County.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.