Old Forge El Sch

Old Forge El Sch is one of the average-sized primary schools in Old Forge, Pennsylvania, part of Old Forge SD, with 532 students on its rolls from grades K through 6. Enrollment runs roughly 20% above the state mean of about 443.

Old Forge SD comprises 2 schools with combined enrollment of 966 students; Old Forge El Sch is among them.

On the student-mix side, Old Forge El Sch records that 69% of the student body identifies as White. Beyond that, the school lists 16% Hispanic, 6% multiracial, 5% Black, 3% Asian. By comparison, Lackawanna County as a whole is about 81% White, so the school skews meaningfully less White than its surroundings.

Looking at the economic backdrop, The school lists 41 full-time-equivalent teachers, for a student-teacher ratio near 12.9:1. That tracks the state average closely. About 55% of enrolled students meet the income threshold for free or reduced-price lunch, which schools and policymakers use as a rough income-mix signal. By comparison, Lackawanna County runs at roughly 72%, so the school's eligibility rate is somewhat below the surrounding baseline.

Adjusting for the school's free-and-reduced-lunch share, Old Forge El Sch performs roughly as the BeatsExpectations model predicts for a school with this FRL share. The predicted value is around 53.9%, the actual is 44.7%, a residual of -9.2 points.

Zooming out to the county, ACS estimates for Lackawanna County put median household earnings sit near $66,223, roughly 31% of adults have completed at least a four-year degree, and roughly 10% of residents live below the federal poverty line. Old Forge El Sch is one of 47 public schools in Lackawanna County (combined enrollment of about 27,006 students).

The closest other public school is Old Forge JSHS, roughly 0.0 miles away. 8 of the 8 nearest public schools sit inside a five-mile radius. Ranking that nearby cluster on reported proficiency puts Old Forge El Sch at 3rd of 7; the average score across the group is 41.2%.

The school occupies a bedroom-community site.

Trend over the last 7 years. Over the past 7-year window, the student count rose 6%: 503 students in 2018 compared to 532 in 2025. The White share of enrollment contracted from 82% to 69% over that span. The student-to-teacher ratio narrowed from 14.1:1 in 2018 to 12.9:1 today.

In the discussion threads here, the page collects discussion, questions, and updates around open house dates, ride-share offers, and field-trip permission slips. Contributors range from current parents to recent graduates and teachers.