Enrollment
301
Elementary
DISTRICT 474 · STATE 443
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·PHILADELPHIA CITY SD·NCES 421899003722
Pennell Joseph School
1800 Nedro Ave, Philadelphia, PA 19141 · (215) 400-3680 · Philadelphia County
GRADES PK–05ELEMENTARY11-CITYTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL301 STUDENTS
D
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 13% of Pennsylvania public elementary schools
- DTest scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- DBeats 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
11.6:1
26 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 12.6:1 · STATE 13.1:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
102%
308 students
DISTRICT 99% · 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Pre-K | 31 | 10% |
| Kindergarten | 32 | 11% |
| Grade 1 | 51 | 17% |
| Grade 2 | 53 | 18% |
| Grade 3 | 35 | 12% |
| Grade 4 | 50 | 17% |
| Grade 5 | 49 | 16% |
This year's kindergarten class (32) is 35% smaller than its 5th grade class (49).
Student demographics
23%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 71% · 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
Test scores
PSSA + Keystone 2024-25 . % Proficient or AdvancedEnglish Language Arts
28.3%
PA avg 51.1% . +10.7pp since 2023
Math
16.0%
PA avg 43.0% . +2.6pp since 2023
What this means: On the PSSA + Keystone, Pennsylvania's statewide test, about 28 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 16 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Pennsylvania schools, those numbers are about 51 and 43. Reading and writing scores are up about 11 points since 2023, while math scores are up about 3 points.
PSSA + Keystone results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 28.3% | 16.0% |
| 2023-24 | 17.6% | 13.4% |
% 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
22.8%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
33.7%
based on PA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-11.0pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 23% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 34% 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 →
Where Pennell Joseph School ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Pennsylvania | In Philadelphia County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 22.8% | #1,264 of 1,396 | #83 of 161 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 16.0% | #1,339 of 1,511 ▲ 4 | #87 of 193 ▼ 3 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 28.3% | #1,231 of 1,511 ▲ 199 | #80 of 193 ▲ 67 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 301 | #1,251 of 1,638 | #155 of 194 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 11.6:1 | #335 of 1,528 | #55 of 189 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 22.5% | #1,130 of 1,531 | #132 of 189 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 102% | #197 of 1,600 | #50 of 193 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -35.1% | #69 of 1,045 | #39 of 135 |
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
301
-49 (-14%) vs 2020
-49% since 1990-91, when it was 595
Student : Teacher
11.6:1
was 13.0:1
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 | 301 | 25.9 | 11.6:1 | N/A |
| 2023-24 | 308 | 23.1 | 13.3:1 | 100% (308) |
| 2022-23 | 311 | 24.3 | 12.8:1 | 100% (311) |
| 2020-21 | 350 | 27 | 13.0:1 | 99% (347) |
| 2017-18 | 464 | 26.1 | 17.8:1 | 100% (464) |
| 2015-16 | 410 | 23 | 17.8:1 | 100% (410) |
| 2010-11 | 472 | 31 | 15.2:1 | 92% (434) |
| 2000-01 | 545 | 31 | 17.6:1 | 87% (474) |
| 1990-91 | 595 | 26 | 22.9:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Pennell Joseph School.
Since 2017-18: students down 35% (464 to 301); teachers down 1% (26.1 to 25.9).
About Pennell Joseph School
Pennell Joseph School is a small elementary school for students in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The school had 301 students in pre-K through 5 in 2024-25. An average school in this group (elementary schools in Pennsylvania) has about 443 students.
Pennell Joseph School is part of Philadelphia City SD, where 220 schools serve 116,230 students.
Black students make up 88% of enrollment at Pennell Joseph School. The remaining students are 5% Hispanic and 5% multiracial. Census figures show Philadelphia County is about 39% Black. Pick two students at random and there is a 23% chance they belong to different racial or ethnic groups; that figure is the school's diversity index.
Pennell Joseph School counts 25.9 full-time-equivalent teachers, about 11.6 students for each one. This ratio sits 1.4 below the 13.1:1 average for elementary schools in Pennsylvania.
allk12 grades Pennell Joseph School a D. The grade compares the school only with Pennsylvania public elementary schools, because each state gives its own test.
In Pennsylvania, Pennell Joseph School is in the middle band of BeatsExpectations: 22.8% actual against a predicted 33.7%.
In the county around the school, Philadelphia County, the median household income is $61,953, roughly 35% of adults have a four-year degree or more, and about 17% of residents live below the federal poverty line. There are 309 public schools in Philadelphia County, enrolling about 182,005 students in all.
Of nearby public schools, Prince Hall School is the closest, at about 0.3 miles. In all, at least 8 other public schools sit within five miles of Pennell Joseph School. Of 7 schools in the immediate area with test results, Pennell Joseph School ranks 2nd on average proficiency.
Under the NCES locale system, Pennell Joseph School is City: Large.
Federal data show a 14% enrollment decrease, from 350 in 2020-21 to 301 in 2024-25. Staffing shifted too: the ratio moved from 13.0:1 to 11.6:1.
Topics for discussion here include science fairs, picture day, and bus routes. Anyone with firsthand experience at this school can post or comment.
Philadelphia County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
1,579,706
Census ACS
Median income
$61,953
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
35%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
17%
Below federal line
Schools in county
309
182,005 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Philadelphia City SD
- Northeast High SchoolHigh · 3,463 students
- Lincoln High SchoolHigh · 2,472 students
- Central High SchoolHigh · 2,329 students
- Northeast Community Propel AcademyElementary · 1,783 students
- Mayfair SchoolElementary · 1,763 students
- Washington George High SchoolHigh · 1,755 students
Other schools in Philadelphia
- Northeast High SchoolHigh · 3,463 students
- Philadelphia Performing Arts CSCombined · 2,572 students
- Lincoln High SchoolHigh · 2,472 students
- Central High SchoolHigh · 2,329 students
- MaST Community CS IICombined · 1,875 students
- First Philadelphia Preparatory CSCombined · 1,831 students
Nearby schools
- Prince Hall School0.3 mi · 360
- Central High School0.4 mi · 2,329
- Girls High School0.4 mi · 592
- Imhotep Institute CHS0.5 mi · 603
- Widener Memorial School0.5 mi · 141
- Howe Julia Ward School0.5 mi · 229
Frequently asked questions
About Pennell Joseph SchoolHow many students attend Pennell Joseph School?
Pennell Joseph School enrolls approximately 301 students in grades PK-05.
What grades does Pennell Joseph School serve?
Pennell Joseph School serves grades PK-05.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Pennell Joseph School?
The student-to-teacher ratio at Pennell Joseph School is approximately 11.6:1 (26 FTE teachers).
What is the racial breakdown of students at Pennell Joseph School?
At Pennell Joseph School, the student body is approximately 0% White, 5% Hispanic, 88% Black, 1% Asian, 5% Two or more.
Who oversees Pennell Joseph School?
Pennell Joseph School is overseen by Philadelphia City SD in Philadelphia County.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.