Dr David W Kistler El Sch

Dr David W Kistler El Sch is a heavily attended primary school in Wilkes Barre, Pennsylvania, operated by Wilkes-Barre Area SD. The school hosts 961 students in grades K through 5. By comparison, Pennsylvania's public schools average about 443 students each, so Dr David W Kistler El Sch sits 117% bigger than that benchmark.

Across the 10 schools in Wilkes-Barre Area SD (8,277 students total), Dr David W Kistler El Sch accounts for its share of the district's footprint.

On the student-mix side, Dr David W Kistler El Sch reports that Hispanic students make up the majority at 61%. Other groups include 16% Black, 13% White, 9% multiracial. That is meaningfully more Hispanic than the county at large, where the share is closer to 17%.

In terms of school funding signals, Staff filings list 55 full-time-equivalent teachers, which works out to roughly 17.4:1 students per teacher. That figure is higher than the state norm's 13.1:1 average. Around 101% of the student body qualifies for free or reduced-price meals, which schools and policymakers use as a rough income-mix signal. Set against Luzerne County (around 85%), the school's rate is noticeably above typical.

Adjusting for the school's free-and-reduced-lunch share, Dr David W Kistler El Sch sits in the middle band of the BeatsExpectations distribution. Schools with this campus's student mix typically land near 34.3%; this one delivers 39.4%.

In the area at large, ACS estimates for Luzerne County put median household income runs about $63,691, about 25% of the adult population holds a bachelor's degree or above, and census figures put the poverty rate at about 11%. In all, Luzerne County runs 65 public schools (combined enrollment of about 45,209 students), of which Dr David W Kistler El Sch is one.

Nearest neighbor: Lee Park El Sch, around 0.8 miles off. 8 of the 8 nearest public schools sit inside a five-mile radius. Among the 6 schools in that immediate cluster with test data (this one included), Dr David W Kistler El Sch ranks 2nd on composite proficiency, ahead of the local average of 28.5%.

The campus sits in an urban setting.

Over the past 7-year window. Dr David W Kistler El Sch's enrollment has remained close to its prior level since 2018, when it stood at 963 (now 961). The Hispanic share of enrollment increased from 37% to 61% over that span. The student-to-teacher ratio rose from 15.9:1 in 2018 to 17.4:1 today.

On the community side, members of the Dr David W Kistler El Sch community share and discuss fundraisers, lost-and-found posts, and report-card season. Contributors range from current parents to recent graduates and teachers.