Enrollment
395
Elementary
DISTRICT 317 · STATE 443
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·LIGONIER VALLEY SD·NCES 421371005361
Mellon Elementary School
559 Bell Street, Ligonier, PA 15658 · (724) 238-5663 · Westmoreland County
GRADES PK–05ELEMENTARY42-RURALTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL395 STUDENTS
A
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 88% of Pennsylvania public elementary schools
- B+Test scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- A+Beats expectations How far test scores land above or below what the share of low-income students predicts for a school in this state.
- ·Three-year trend Not available for this school, so the grade uses the other parts.
Grades compare a school only with schools in the same state, because every state gives its own test. How grades work · Top-graded Pennsylvania public elementary schools
Student : Teacher
13.6:1
29 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 12.6:1 · STATE 13.1:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
97%
382 students
DISTRICT 72% · 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 | 110 | 28% |
| Grade 1 | 68 | 17% |
| Grade 2 | 54 | 14% |
| Grade 3 | 58 | 15% |
| Grade 4 | 48 | 12% |
| Grade 5 | 57 | 14% |
This year's kindergarten class (110) is 93% larger than its 5th grade class (57).
Student demographics
12%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 13% · 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
School pathway
Students here typically continue to
Based on grade levels within Ligonier Valley SD. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
Test scores
PSSA + Keystone 2024-25 . % Proficient or AdvancedEnglish Language Arts
59.5%
PA avg 51.1% . -14.1pp since 2023
Math
61.4%
PA avg 43.0% . -1.1pp since 2023
What this means: On the PSSA + Keystone, Pennsylvania's statewide test, about 60 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 61 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 14 points since 2023, while math scores are down about 1 points.
PSSA + Keystone results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 59.5% | 61.4% |
| 2023-24 | 73.6% | 62.5% |
% 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
OUTPERFORMING
Top 10% of PA schools after controlling for student poverty
Actual proficiency
66.7%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
36.1%
based on PA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+30.5pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 67% of students here test proficient in math and reading, well above the roughly 36% typical for Pennsylvania schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations ranks schools against others at the same poverty level, not by raw scores, so a school can post high scores and still fall short of its prediction, or post lower scores and still beat it. This school clears its prediction by about 31 points, placing it in Pennsylvania's top 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 Mellon Elementary School
Mellon Elementary School's state test result (66.7% proficient) is higher than 5 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mellon Elementary School this school | 395 | 96.7% | 66.7% |
| New Bloomfield Elementary School New Bloomfield | 391 | 98.7% | 36.4% |
| Mifflinburg Area Intrmd School Mifflinburg | 381 | 99.2% | 59.8% |
| SRU Elementary School East Smithfield | 382 | 99.0% | 41.5% |
| Susquehanna Community Elementary School Susquehanna | 415 | 100.0% | 44.8% |
| Northwestern Elementary School Albion | 350 | 96.9% | 64.6% |
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 Mellon Elementary School ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Pennsylvania | In Westmoreland County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 66.7% | #395 of 1,396 | #18 of 37 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 61.4% | #502 of 1,511 ▼ 77 | #19 of 38 ▲ 1 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 59.5% | #448 of 1,511 ▼ 202 | #19 of 38 ▼ 3 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 395 | #903 of 1,638 | #26 of 43 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 13.6:1 | #944 of 1,528 | #17 of 39 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 12.1% | #1,383 of 1,531 | #38 of 39 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 96.7% | #517 of 1,600 | #8 of 42 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -11.2% | #600 of 1,045 | #17 of 33 |
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
395
-10 (-2%) vs 2020
-44% since 1990-91, when it was 705
Student : Teacher
13.6:1
was 14.5:1
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 | 395 | 29.1 | 13.6:1 | 97% (382) |
| 2023-24 | 382 | 29.2 | 13.1:1 | 100% (382) |
| 2022-23 | 389 | 27.3 | 14.3:1 | 100% (389) |
| 2020-21 | 405 | 28 | 14.5:1 | 99% (402) |
| 2017-18 | 445 | 30.8 | 14.4:1 | 36% (162) |
| 2015-16 | 439 | 27 | 16.3:1 | 32% (140) |
| 2010-11 | 480 | 31 | 15.5:1 | 32% (152) |
| 2000-01 | 488 | 28 | 17.4:1 | 24% (119) |
| 1990-91 | 705 | 29 | 24.3:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Mellon Elementary School.
Since 2017-18: students down 11% (445 to 395); teachers down 6% (30.8 to 29.1).
About Mellon Elementary School
Mellon Elementary School serves students in Ligonier, Pennsylvania, as a mid-sized elementary school. In all, 395 students attend the school in pre-K through 5.
Ligonier Valley SD counts 4 schools and 1,335 students, including Mellon Elementary School.
White students account for 94% of the school's enrollment. The school is also 3% Hispanic and 3% multiracial. Among Westmoreland County residents, the White share is about 92%. On a 0 to 100 scale, the school's diversity index is 12, compared with 70 nationally.
The school had 29.1 full-time-equivalent teachers in 2024-25. Its student-to-teacher ratio is 13.6:1. That is in line with the 13.1:1 average for elementary schools in Pennsylvania. The school reported 97% of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch in 2024-25. That is higher than the 53% average for public schools in Westmoreland County.
Mellon Elementary School earns an A on the allk12 Grade, which blends test scores, results against poverty-based expectations, and the three-year trend. It scored higher than 88% of Pennsylvania public elementary schools.
Mellon Elementary School outperforms its prediction by 30.5 points. The model expects 36.1% for a school with its free or reduced-price lunch share in Pennsylvania; the school's rate is 66.7%.
American Community Survey estimates for Westmoreland County show that the median household earns about $74,109 a year, about 33% of adults have at least a bachelor's degree, and roughly 7% of residents are in poverty. Westmoreland County has 85 public schools with about 41,302 students, including Mellon Elementary School.
Measured in a straight line, Ligonier Valley Middle School is less than a tenth of a mile from Mellon Elementary School. Within five miles are 2 other public schools. Of 9 schools in the immediate area with test results, Mellon Elementary School ranks 1st on average proficiency.
The National Center for Education Statistics classifies the school's location as Rural: Distant, meaning it is in rural territory some distance from an urban area.
There was little change in enrollment from 2020-21 (405) to 2024-25 (395).
People can post here about homework, tutoring, and testing dates and other school topics. Members of the school community can share what they know.
Westmoreland County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
352,500
Census ACS
Median income
$74,109
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
33%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
7%
Below federal line
Schools in county
85
41,302 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Ligonier Valley SD
- Ligonier Valley High SchoolHigh · 434 students
- Ligonier Valley Middle SchoolMiddle · 268 students
- Laurel Valley Elementary SchoolElementary · 238 students
Other schools in Ligonier
- Ligonier Valley High SchoolHigh · 434 students
- Ligonier Valley Middle SchoolMiddle · 268 students
Nearby schools
- Ligonier Valley Middle School0.1 mi · 268
- Ligonier Valley High School1.1 mi · 434
- Derry Area SHS8.0 mi · 598
- Derry Area Middle School8.1 mi · 440
- Baggaley Elementary School8.1 mi · 510
- Grandview Elementary School8.2 mi · 753
Frequently asked questions
About Mellon Elementary SchoolWhat is the total enrollment at Mellon Elementary School?
Mellon Elementary School enrolls approximately 395 students in grades PK-05.
What grades does Mellon Elementary School serve?
Mellon Elementary School serves grades PK-05.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Mellon Elementary School?
The student-to-teacher ratio at Mellon Elementary School is approximately 13.6:1 (29 FTE teachers).
How diverse is Mellon Elementary School?
Mellon Elementary School reports a student body of 94% White, 3% Hispanic, 1% Black, 3% Two or more.
Is Mellon Elementary School public or private?
Mellon Elementary School is a public K-12 school, overseen by Ligonier Valley SD.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.