Derry Area MS

Located at 994 North Chestnut St Ext, in Derry, Pennsylvania, Derry Area MS is a compact middle school that teaches 440 students (grades 6 through 8), operated by Derry Area SD. Compared to the state average of about 594 students per school, that is 26% below typical.

Within Derry Area SD, which oversees 3 schools and 1,791 students, Derry Area MS is one campus in the system.

In terms of who attends, Derry Area MS logs that the student body is overwhelmingly White (91%). Beyond that, the school reports 5% multiracial, 2% Black. That composition is broadly in line with Westmoreland County as a whole.

In terms of school funding signals, The school employs 37 full-time-equivalent teachers, for a student-teacher ratio near 11.8:1. Statewide, the average ratio sits near 13.2:1, putting Derry Area MS tighter than the state norm the norm. Roughly 96% of students at Derry Area MS qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a commonly cited indicator of low-income enrollment. By comparison, Westmoreland County runs at roughly 53%, so the school's eligibility rate is higher than the surrounding baseline.

With demographic context factored in, Derry Area MS sits in the middle band of the BeatsExpectations distribution. Schools with this campus's student mix typically land near 36.6%; this one delivers 49.0%.

Across the wider county, community-level numbers for Westmoreland County indicate median household income runs about $74,109, about 33% of the adult population holds a bachelor's degree or above, and census figures put the poverty rate at about 7%. Across Westmoreland County's 85 public schools (combined enrollment of about 41,302 students), Derry Area MS is one campus in the mix.

Derry Area SHS is the nearest neighboring public school, about 0.1 miles from this campus. Counting just inside five miles, 5 other public schools cluster around Derry Area MS. On composite proficiency, Derry Area MS comes 6th of 8 in the immediate cluster, below the nearby-schools average of 52.5%.

Derry Area MS operates from a bedroom-community location.

Looking at the recent track record. Derry Area MS's enrollment has showed little movement since 2018, when it stood at 439 (now 440). The White share of enrollment contracted from 96% to 91% over that span. Class-load math has fell: from 13.2:1 in 2018 to 11.8:1 in 2025.

On this page, members of the Derry Area MS community share and discuss sports schedules, lunch menu changes, and school spirit week. Anyone with firsthand experience at this school can post or comment.