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Which teacher or staff member at South Mountain El Sch deserves more recognition?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
389
Elementary
DISTRICT 368 · STATE 443
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·NORTHERN YORK COUNTY SD·NCES 421776000459
South Mountain Elementary School
711 South Mountain Road, Dillsburg, PA 17019 · (717) 432-8691 · York County
GRADES KG–05ELEMENTARY21-SUBURBREGULAR SCHOOL389 STUDENTS
B-
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 47% of Pennsylvania public elementary schools
- BTest scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- CBeats 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
12.2:1
32 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 12.9:1 · STATE 13.1:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
29%
112 students
DISTRICT 30% · STATE 75%
Community
1
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 | 52 | 13% |
| Grade 1 | 61 | 16% |
| Grade 2 | 70 | 18% |
| Grade 3 | 71 | 18% |
| Grade 4 | 57 | 15% |
| Grade 5 | 78 | 20% |
This year's kindergarten class (52) is 33% smaller than its 5th grade class (78).
Student demographics
19%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 22% · 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 Northern York County SD. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
Test scores
PSSA + Keystone 2024-25 . % Proficient or AdvancedEnglish Language Arts
68.4%
PA avg 51.1% . +6.2pp since 2023
Math
58.1%
PA avg 43.0% . +9.9pp since 2023
What this means: On the PSSA + Keystone, Pennsylvania's statewide test, about 68 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 58 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 6 points since 2023, while math scores are up about 10 points.
PSSA + Keystone results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 68.4% | 58.1% |
| 2023-24 | 62.2% | 48.2% |
% 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
61.5%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
65.3%
based on PA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-3.8pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 61% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 65% 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 →
Schools most like South Mountain Elementary School
South Mountain Elementary School's state test result (61.5% proficient) is higher than 2 of the 4 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| South Mountain Elementary School this school | 389 | 28.8% | 61.5% |
| College Square Elementary School Beaver | 400 | 28.5% | N/A |
| Pennell Elementary School Aston | 415 | 30.6% | 57.5% |
| Scott Primary School Glenshaw | 394 | 28.4% | 81.5% |
| Northwestern Lehigh Elementary School New Tripoli | 396 | 28.5% | 53.9% |
| Lyter Elementary School Montoursville | 382 | 31.9% | 83.5% |
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 South Mountain Elementary School ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Pennsylvania | In York County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 61.5% | #541 of 1,396 | #22 of 62 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 58.1% | #582 of 1,511 ▲ 224 | #23 of 62 ▲ 14 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 68.4% | #236 of 1,511 ▲ 319 | #9 of 62 ▲ 13 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 389 | #927 of 1,638 | #33 of 65 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 12.2:1 | #487 of 1,528 | #16 of 63 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 18.8% | #1,209 of 1,531 | #56 of 63 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 28.8% | #1,342 of 1,600 | #61 of 65 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -13.7% | #496 of 1,045 | #12 of 42 |
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
389
-52 (-12%) vs 2020
-24% since 2000-01, when it was 509
Student : Teacher
12.2:1
was 14.7:1
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 | 389 | 32 | 12.2:1 | 29% (112) |
| 2023-24 | 415 | 30 | 13.8:1 | 27% (112) |
| 2022-23 | 407 | 29 | 14.0:1 | 25% (103) |
| 2020-21 | 441 | 30 | 14.7:1 | 22% (99) |
| 2017-18 | 451 | 29.6 | 15.2:1 | 21% (96) |
| 2015-16 | 426 | 30 | 14.2:1 | 21% (91) |
| 2010-11 | 489 | 29 | 16.9:1 | 11% (54) |
| 2000-01 | 509 | 27 | 18.9:1 | 7% (34) |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for South Mountain Elementary School.
Since 2017-18: students down 14% (451 to 389); teachers up 8% (29.6 to 32).
About South Mountain Elementary School
South Mountain Elementary School runs as a mid-sized elementary school in Dillsburg, Pennsylvania. The school teaches kindergarten through 5 and enrolls 389 students.
Northern York County SD counts 3,209 students in its 6 schools, and South Mountain Elementary School is one of them.
The share of White students at South Mountain Elementary School is 90%. The next largest groups are 4% Hispanic and 2% Asian. The school's White share is 9 points above the 81% share among York County residents. The diversity index for South Mountain Elementary School is 19%. For US public schools as a whole it is 70%.
The student-to-teacher ratio at South Mountain Elementary School is 12.2:1, based on 32 full-time-equivalent teachers. The average for elementary schools in Pennsylvania, 13.1:1, is higher. South Mountain Elementary School counts 29% of students as eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. Among public schools in York County, the average eligibility rate is 53%.
Among Pennsylvania public elementary schools, South Mountain Elementary School outscored 47%, which works out to a B- on the allk12 Grade.
BeatsExpectations compares each school's average proficiency rate across its state test results with a prediction based on free or reduced-price lunch eligibility. For South Mountain Elementary School, the prediction is 65.3% and the result is 61.5%.
York County is the school's county. There, the median household earns about $84,829 a year, a bachelor's degree or higher is held by about 28% of adults, and the share of residents below the poverty line is 6%. Public schools in York County number 111, with about 64,242 students.
About 1.6 miles separate South Mountain Elementary School from the closest public school, Northern Middle School. Within five miles are 4 other public schools. The average proficiency across nearby scored schools is 55.8%; South Mountain Elementary School's is 61.5%, ranking 2nd of 9.
Its location is classified as Suburb: Large by the National Center for Education Statistics.
In 2020-21, South Mountain Elementary School enrolled 441 students. By 2024-25, that number had fallen to 389. The student-to-teacher ratio dropped from 14.7:1 in 2020-21 to 12.2:1 in 2024-25.
The South Mountain Elementary School discussion page is a place for special education services, counseling, and support programs. Teachers and staff are welcome to share updates too.
York County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
462,924
Census ACS
Median income
$84,829
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
28%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
6%
Below federal line
Schools in county
111
64,242 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Northern York County SD
- Northern High SchoolHigh · 982 students
- Northern Middle SchoolMiddle · 757 students
- Dillsburg Elementary SchoolElementary · 440 students
- Northern Elementary SchoolElementary · 397 students
- Wellsville CampusElementary · 244 students
Other schools in Dillsburg
- Northern High SchoolHigh · 982 students
- Northern Middle SchoolMiddle · 757 students
- Dillsburg Elementary SchoolElementary · 440 students
- Northern Elementary SchoolElementary · 397 students
Other South Mountain Elementary schools
3 other US public schools in 4 states are named South Mountain Elementary. South Mountain Elementary School is the 2nd largest of the 4.
- South Mountain Elementary SchoolS ORANGE, NJ · 613 students
- SOUTH MOUNTAIN ELEMENTARYMORIARTY, NM · 303 students
- South Mountain ElementaryWausau, WI · 235 students
Nearby schools
- Northern Middle School1.6 mi · 757
- Dillsburg Elementary School1.6 mi · 440
- Northern High School1.6 mi · 982
- Northern Elementary School1.7 mi · 397
- Monroe Elementary School5.0 mi · 512
- Iron Forge Elementary School5.5 mi · 468
Frequently asked questions
About South Mountain Elementary SchoolWhat is the total enrollment at South Mountain Elementary School?
South Mountain Elementary School enrolls approximately 389 students in grades KG-05.
Is South Mountain Elementary School an elementary, middle, or high school?
South Mountain Elementary School is an elementary school covering grades KG-05.
How many teachers does South Mountain Elementary School have?
South Mountain Elementary School employs 32 FTE teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of 12.2:1.
What is the student diversity at South Mountain Elementary School?
Student demographics at South Mountain Elementary School are roughly 90% White, 4% Hispanic, 2% Black, 2% Asian, 2% Two or more.
What district is South Mountain Elementary School in?
South Mountain Elementary School is part of Northern York County SD.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.