Howard El Sch

Howard El Sch is a primary school of very small scale in Howard, Pennsylvania, run under Bald Eagle Area SD, educateing 87 students in grades K through 5. That puts it 80% below the typical public school in Pennsylvania, which averages around 443 students.

Across the 5 schools in Bald Eagle Area SD (1,482 students total), Howard El Sch accounts for its share of the district's footprint.

On demographics, Howard El Sch logs that 97% of students identify as White, making the school strongly White-majority; the rest reads as 2% multiracial. By comparison, Centre County as a whole is about 84% White, so the school skews noticeably more White than its surroundings.

On the income-and-resources front, Howard El Sch lists 8 full-time-equivalent teachers, putting the student-to-teacher ratio at about 10.3:1. The state averages around 13.1:1, so this campus is tighter than the state norm typical. Roughly 47% of students at Howard El Sch qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a number frequently used as a low-income enrollment indicator. That share is noticeably above Centre County's rate of about 31%.

Adjusting for the school's free-and-reduced-lunch share, Howard El Sch is in the OUTPERFORMING tier of the BeatsExpectations model, which fits a per-state line through proficiency and FRL share. Schools with this campus's poverty mix typically land near 57.4%; this one delivers 78.7%, a residual of +21.3 points.

Around the school, ACS estimates for Centre County put median household earnings sit near $74,291, 46% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and the poverty rate sits near 6%. Across Centre County's 33 public schools (combined enrollment of about 13,674 students), Howard El Sch is one campus in the mix.

The closest other public school is Marion-Walker El Sch, roughly 4.5 miles away. 2 of the 8 nearest public schools sit inside a five-mile radius. Ranking that nearby cluster on reported proficiency puts Howard El Sch at 1st of 8; the average score across the group is 54.3%.

Howard El Sch operates from an outlying location.

Five-year trend. Looking back 7 years, enrollment at Howard El Sch has rose 10%, going from 79 students in 2018 to 87 in 2025.

In the discussion threads here, the page collects discussion, questions, and updates around fundraisers, lost-and-found posts, and report-card season. Posting is open to anyone connected to the school.