G A R MS

Set in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, G A R MS is a large junior high, run under Wilkes-Barre Area SD. It educates 1,101 students across grades 6 through 8. Enrollment runs roughly 85% larger than the state mean of about 594.

Wilkes-Barre Area SD comprises 10 schools with combined enrollment of 8,277 students; G A R MS is among them.

Demographically, G A R MS logs that the largest single group is Hispanic, at 61% of enrollment; the rest consists of 20% Black, 13% White, 6% multiracial. By comparison, Luzerne County as a whole is about 17% Hispanic, so the school skews visibly more Hispanic than its surroundings.

On the income-and-resources front, Staff filings list 52 full-time-equivalent teachers, which works out to roughly 21.1:1 students per teacher. That figure is higher than the state norm's 13.2:1 average. Roughly 97% of students at G A R MS qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a number frequently used as a low-income enrollment indicator. That share is above Luzerne County's rate of about 85%.

On a residual basis (actual vs predicted given the student mix), G A R MS performs roughly as the BeatsExpectations model predicts for a school with this FRL share. The predicted value is around 36.1%, the actual is 19.8%, a residual of -16.3 points.

In the broader community, Luzerne County reports that the typical household earns roughly $63,691 per year, about 25% of the adult population holds a bachelor's degree or above, and census figures put the poverty rate at about 11%. Across Luzerne County's 65 public schools (combined enrollment of about 45,209 students), G A R MS is one campus in the mix.

Heights/Murray El Sch is the nearest neighboring public school, about 0.5 miles from this campus. Within five miles, there are 8 other public schools. Ranking that nearby cluster on reported proficiency puts G A R MS at 7th of 7; the average score across the group is 33.7%.

Geographically, the school is in an inner-city area.

Trend over the last 7 years. G A R MS's enrollment has climbed 18% since 2018, when it stood at 937 (now 1,101). Hispanic enrollment moved from 43% to 61% across the same window. The student-to-teacher ratio loosened from 15.5:1 in 2018 to 21.1:1 today.

In the discussion threads here, the page collects discussion, questions, and updates around enrollment questions, classroom assignments, and PTA news. The community welcomes input from current and former families.