Pennell Joseph Sch

Set in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Pennell Joseph Sch is a low-enrollment elementary-level community, overseen by Philadelphia City SD. It caters to 301 students across grades pre-K through 5. Compared to the state average of about 443 students per school, that is 32% below typical.

Within Philadelphia City SD, which oversees 220 schools and 116,230 students, Pennell Joseph Sch is one campus in the system.

On demographics, Pennell Joseph Sch records that 88% of students identify as Black, making the school strongly Black-majority. Beyond that, the school logs 5% Hispanic, 5% multiracial. By comparison, Philadelphia County as a whole is about 39% Black, so the school skews noticeably more Black than its surroundings.

On the income-and-resources front, Pennell Joseph Sch shows 26 full-time-equivalent teachers, putting the student-to-teacher ratio at about 11.6:1. Statewide, the average ratio sits near 13.1:1, putting Pennell Joseph Sch tighter than the state norm the norm. About 102% of enrolled students meet the income threshold for free or reduced-price lunch, a number frequently used as a low-income enrollment indicator.

With demographic context factored in, Pennell Joseph Sch tracks the demographic baseline. The model predicts 33.7% given the school's FRL share; actual proficiency is 22.8%.

In the surrounding community, community-level numbers for Philadelphia County indicate median household income runs about $61,953, roughly 35% of adults have completed at least a four-year degree, and roughly 17% of residents live below the federal poverty line. Pennell Joseph Sch is one of 309 public schools in Philadelphia County (combined enrollment of about 182,005 students).

Prince Hall Sch is the nearest neighboring public school, about 0.3 miles from this campus. 8 of the 8 nearest public schools sit inside a five-mile radius. Ranking that nearby cluster on reported proficiency puts Pennell Joseph Sch at 2nd of 7; the average score across the group is 27.3%.

The campus sits in an urban setting.

Looking at the recent track record. Over the past 7-year window, the student count edged down 35%: 464 students in 2018 compared to 301 in 2025. Over the same period, the Black share shrank from 94% to 88%. Class-load math has narrowed: from 17.8:1 in 2018 to 11.6:1 in 2025.

On the community side, members of the Pennell Joseph Sch community share and discuss school events, parent volunteer needs, and clubs. Parents, students, alumni, and staff are welcome to weigh in.