Rutherford El Sch

Rutherford El Sch is an elementary campus of mid-tier scale in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, one of the schools within Central Dauphin SD, educateing 461 students in grades K through 5.

Central Dauphin SD runs 19 schools in total, collectively educating 12,389 students. Rutherford El Sch is one of those campuses.

In terms of who attends, Rutherford El Sch logs that the most-represented group is Black (28%), with the rest of the student body spread across multiple groups; the rest reads as 26% Asian, 21% White, 15% Hispanic, 10% multiracial. The wider county runs roughly 17% Black, putting the school's mix visibly more Black than the area baseline.

On the income-and-resources front, Rutherford El Sch logs 30 full-time-equivalent teachers, putting the student-to-teacher ratio at about 15.2:1. The state averages around 13.1:1, so this campus is higher than the state norm typical. An estimated 103% of students are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, often used as a Title I proxy. By comparison, Dauphin County runs at roughly 59%, so the school's eligibility rate is meaningfully above the surrounding baseline.

On a demographically-adjusted basis, Rutherford El Sch sits in the middle band of the BeatsExpectations distribution. Schools with this campus's student mix typically land near 33.6%; this one delivers 46.9%.

Around the school, Dauphin County reports that median household earnings sit near $76,242, 34% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and the poverty rate sits near 9%. Rutherford El Sch is one of 75 public schools in Dauphin County (combined enrollment of about 72,718 students).

The closest other public school is Chambers Hill El Sch, roughly 0.8 miles away. Counting just inside five miles, 8 other public schools cluster around Rutherford El Sch. Among the 7 schools in that immediate cluster with test data (this one included), Rutherford El Sch ranks 3rd on composite proficiency, ahead of the local average of 43.0%.

Rutherford El Sch operates from a residential location.

Five-year trend. Looking back 7 years, enrollment at Rutherford El Sch has edged up 14%, going from 403 students in 2018 to 461 in 2025. Asian enrollment moved from 13% to 26% across the same window. The student-to-teacher ratio grew from 13.7:1 in 2018 to 15.2:1 today.

In the discussion threads here, the feed for Rutherford El Sch typically covers fundraisers, lost-and-found posts, and report-card season. Posting is open to anyone connected to the school.