Juniata Gap El Sch

Set in Altoona, Pennsylvania, Juniata Gap El Sch is an average-sized elementary campus, part of Altoona Area SD. It teaches 490 students across grades K through 5.

Altoona Area SD runs 10 schools in total, collectively educating 6,852 students. Juniata Gap El Sch is one of those campuses.

On demographics, Juniata Gap El Sch logs that nearly all students (81%) are White. Beyond that, the school records 8% multiracial, 7% Black, 3% Hispanic. That is visibly less White than the county at large, where the share is closer to 92%.

On the resource side, Juniata Gap El Sch shows 35 full-time-equivalent teachers, putting the student-to-teacher ratio at about 13.9:1. The state averages around 13.1:1, so this campus is higher than the state norm typical. Roughly 99% of students at Juniata Gap El Sch qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a number frequently used as a low-income enrollment indicator. That share is north of Blair County's rate of about 74%.

With demographic context factored in, Juniata Gap El Sch sits in the top 10% of Pennsylvania schools after the BeatsExpectations adjustment. Predicted proficiency for the school's FRL share is roughly 35.0%; actual is 55.8%, +20.8 points clear of the demographic baseline.

Around the school, census data for Blair County shows median household earnings sit near $62,382, 24% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and roughly 8% of residents live below the federal poverty line. In all, Blair County runs 33 public schools (combined enrollment of about 15,692 students), of which Juniata Gap El Sch is one.

The closest other public school is Irving El Sch, roughly 1.8 miles away. 8 of the 8 nearest public schools sit inside a five-mile radius. Among the 8 schools in that immediate cluster with test data (this one included), Juniata Gap El Sch ranks 2nd on composite proficiency, above the local average of 48.6%.

The school occupies an outer-ring site.

Five-year trend. Looking back 7 years, enrollment at Juniata Gap El Sch has edged down 29%, going from 693 students in 2018 to 490 in 2025. Over the same period, the White share shrank from 87% to 81%. The student-to-teacher ratio pulled in from 17.6:1 in 2018 to 13.9:1 today.

In the discussion threads here, the feed for Juniata Gap El Sch typically covers classroom updates, athletics, and weather closures. Members of the school community can share what they know.