Enrollment
253
Elementary
DISTRICT 341 · STATE 443
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·BETHLEHEM AREA SD·NCES 420357003442
James Buchanan Elementary School
1621 Catasauqua Road, Bethlehem, PA 18017 · (610) 865-1766 · Lehigh County
GRADES KG–05ELEMENTARY13-CITYTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL253 STUDENTS
Student : Teacher
12.1:1
21 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 12.0:1 · STATE 13.1:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
67%
170 students
DISTRICT 64% · 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 | 45 | 18% |
| Grade 1 | 32 | 13% |
| Grade 2 | 45 | 18% |
| Grade 3 | 46 | 18% |
| Grade 4 | 39 | 15% |
| Grade 5 | 46 | 18% |
This year's kindergarten class (45) is about the same size as its 5th grade class (46).
Student demographics
64%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 63% · 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
QUIET COMMUNITY
Be the first to start a discussion at James Buchanan Elementary School.
START A DISCUSSIONTest scores
PSSA + Keystone 2024-25 . % Proficient or AdvancedEnglish Language Arts
31.9%
PA avg 51.1% . -7.0pp since 2023
Math
30.1%
PA avg 43.0% . -6.9pp since 2023
What this means: On the PSSA + Keystone, Pennsylvania's statewide test, about 32 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 30 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 7 points since 2023, while math scores are down about 7 points.
PSSA + Keystone results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 31.9% | 30.1% |
| 2023-24 | 38.9% | 37.0% |
% 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
38.9%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
48.8%
based on PA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-9.9pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 39% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 49% 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 James Buchanan Elementary School
James Buchanan Elementary School's state test result (38.9% proficient) is higher than 0 of the 4 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| James Buchanan Elementary School this school | 253 | 67.2% | 38.9% |
| Wilson Borough Elementary School Easton | 285 | 64.6% | 61.4% |
| Barkley Elementary School Phoenixville | 281 | 58.7% | 57.0% |
| Avona Elementary School Easton | 205 | 63.9% | 64.3% |
| Calypso Elementary School Bethlehem | 222 | 55.0% | 59.2% |
| Lyndwood Elementary School Hanover Township | 268 | 77.2% | N/A |
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 James Buchanan Elementary School ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Pennsylvania | In Lehigh County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 38.9% | #1,078 of 1,396 | #30 of 43 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 30.1% | #1,150 of 1,511 ▼ 142 | #32 of 45 ▼ 3 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 31.9% | #1,169 of 1,511 ▼ 36 | #30 of 45 no change |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 253 | #1,399 of 1,638 | #46 of 50 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 12.1:1 | #462 of 1,528 | #5 of 48 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 64.2% | #230 of 1,531 | #7 of 48 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 67.2% | #745 of 1,600 | #24 of 48 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -12.8% | #527 of 1,045 | #9 of 23 |
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
253
-23 (-8%) vs 2020
+22% since 1990-91, when it was 208
Student : Teacher
12.1:1
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 | 253 | 20.9 | 12.1:1 | 67% (170) |
| 2023-24 | 262 | 20.8 | 12.6:1 | 65% (170) |
| 2022-23 | 263 | 19.4 | 13.6:1 | 61% (160) |
| 2020-21 | 276 | 21 | 13.1:1 | 61% (168) |
| 2017-18 | 290 | 20.8 | 13.9:1 | 58% (168) |
| 2015-16 | 274 | 20 | 13.7:1 | 52% (143) |
| 2010-11 | 265 | 17 | 15.6:1 | 51% (135) |
| 2000-01 | 277 | 21 | 13.2:1 | 29% (81) |
| 1990-91 | 208 | 14 | 14.9:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for James Buchanan Elementary School.
Since 2017-18: students down 13% (290 to 253); teachers unchanged (20.8 to 20.9).
About James Buchanan Elementary School
James Buchanan Elementary School is a low-enrollment elementary school that serves part of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Grades offered run from kindergarten through 5, with 253 students enrolled. For comparison, elementary schools in Pennsylvania average about 443 students.
The 22 schools of Bethlehem Area SD, including James Buchanan Elementary School, enroll 12,717 students.
James Buchanan Elementary School has no majority group; Hispanic students are the largest, at 45%. Beyond that, enrollment is 37% White, 11% Black, and 4% Asian. In Lehigh County overall, about 28% of residents are Hispanic. James Buchanan Elementary School's diversity index is 64%, against a US figure of 70%.
The school reported 20.9 full-time-equivalent teachers in 2024-25 and a ratio of 12.1:1. The school has fewer students per teacher than the 13.1:1 average for elementary schools in Pennsylvania. Eligible students account for 67% of enrollment in the free or reduced-price lunch program.
Based on student poverty, the model expects 48.8% at James Buchanan Elementary School; the school's average proficiency rate on state tests is 38.9%.
Federal survey data for Lehigh County show that the median household income is $80,079, about 34% of adults have at least a bachelor's degree, and roughly 8% of residents are in poverty. Lehigh County is home to 83 public schools and about 56,984 public school students.
The nearest other public school, Clearview Elementary School, is about 0.6 miles away. There are at least 8 more public schools inside five miles. By average proficiency, James Buchanan Elementary School is 6th among 8 schools close by.
The school is inside a principal city with a population under 100,000, according to its NCES locale (City: Small).
2024-25 enrollment was 253, an 8% decrease from 276 in 2020-21. The number of students per teacher fell from 13.1 to 12.1 over 4 years.
Discussion on this page can cover school events, clubs, and volunteer needs. Posting is open to anyone connected to the school.
Lehigh County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
378,792
Census ACS
Median income
$80,079
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
34%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
8%
Below federal line
Schools in county
83
56,984 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Bethlehem Area SD
- Liberty High SchoolHigh · 2,541 students
- Freedom High SchoolHigh · 1,792 students
- East Hills Middle SchoolMiddle · 966 students
- Nitschmann Middle SchoolMiddle · 731 students
- Northeast Middle SchoolMiddle · 715 students
- Spring Garden Elementary SchoolElementary · 532 students
Other schools in Bethlehem
- Liberty High SchoolHigh · 2,541 students
- Lehigh Valley Academy Regional CSCombined · 1,878 students
- Freedom High SchoolHigh · 1,792 students
- East Hills Middle SchoolMiddle · 966 students
- Nitschmann Middle SchoolMiddle · 731 students
- Northeast Middle SchoolMiddle · 715 students
Nearby schools
- Clearview Elementary School0.6 mi · 384
- Nitschmann Middle School0.9 mi · 731
- Sonia Sotomayor Dual Lang Immersion Academy1.2 mi · 112
- Asa Packer Elementary School1.3 mi · 314
- Calypso Elementary School1.5 mi · 222
- William Penn Elementary School1.5 mi · 242
Frequently asked questions
About James Buchanan Elementary SchoolHow many students attend James Buchanan Elementary School?
James Buchanan Elementary School enrolls approximately 253 students in grades KG-05.
Is James Buchanan Elementary School an elementary, middle, or high school?
James Buchanan Elementary School is an elementary school covering grades KG-05.
How many teachers does James Buchanan Elementary School have?
James Buchanan Elementary School employs 21 FTE teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of 12.1:1.
What is the student diversity at James Buchanan Elementary School?
Student demographics at James Buchanan Elementary School are roughly 37% White, 45% Hispanic, 11% Black, 4% Asian, 2% Two or more.
What district is James Buchanan Elementary School in?
James Buchanan Elementary School is part of Bethlehem Area SD.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.