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Honest take: what's the hardest part about being a student at South Western SHS?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
1,380
High
DISTRICT 730 · STATE 738
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·SOUTH WESTERN SD·NCES 422247004608
South Western SHS
200 Bowman Rd, Hanover, PA 17331 · (717) 633-4807 · York County
GRADES 09–12HIGH23-SUBURBREGULAR SCHOOL1,380 STUDENTS
Student : Teacher
15.0:1
92 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 13.9:1 · STATE 12.8:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
35%
480 students
DISTRICT 39% · STATE 75%
Community
1
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other high schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.
Enrollment by grade
Student demographics
Student head counts by race/ethnicity from federal NCES enrollment data. Very small groups may be suppressed in the source, so categories do not always sum exactly to total enrollment.
Gender split
School pathway
Feeds from
Based on grade levels within South Western SD. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
Test scores
PSSA + Keystone 2024-25 . % Proficient or AdvancedEnglish Language Arts
55.6%
PA avg 51.1% . -3.8pp since 2023
Math
58.2%
PA avg 43.0% . -8.6pp since 2023
What this means: On the PSSA + Keystone, Pennsylvania's statewide test, about 56 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 down about 4 points since 2023, while math scores are down about 9 points.
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
57.6%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
62.7%
based on PA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-5.1pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 58% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 63% 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 →
7-year change
SY 2017-18 vs SY 2024-25Enrollment
1,380
+155 (+13%) vs 2017
Student : Teacher
15.0:1
was 14.6:1
% White
81%
was 88%
% Hispanic
7%
was 4%
% Black
7%
was 3%
% Asian
2%
was 3%
Source: NCES Common Core of Data
About South Western SHS
As an expansive high school in Hanover, Pennsylvania, South Western SHS instructs 1,380 students from grades 9 through 12, operated by South Western SD. Compared to the state average of about 738 students per school, that is 87% larger than typical.
South Western SD comprises 6 schools with combined enrollment of 4,378 students; South Western SHS is among them.
Looking at the student body, South Western SHS shows that 81% of students identify as White, making the school strongly White-majority. Beyond that, the school reports 7% Black, 7% Hispanic, 3% multiracial. That composition is broadly in line with York County as a whole.
Looking at the economic backdrop, The school lists 92 full-time-equivalent teachers, for a student-teacher ratio near 15.0:1. That figure is higher than the state norm's 12.8:1 average. Roughly 35% of students at South Western SHS qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a commonly cited indicator of low-income enrollment. Set against York County (around 53%), the school's rate is south of typical.
On a demographically-adjusted basis, South Western SHS performs roughly as the BeatsExpectations model predicts for a school with this FRL share. The predicted value is around 62.7%, the actual is 57.6%, a residual of -5.1 points.
In the broader community, census data for York County shows median household earnings sit near $84,829, 28% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and the poverty rate sits near 6%. In all, York County runs 111 public schools (combined enrollment of about 64,242 students), of which South Western SHS is one.
Nearest neighbor: Emory H Markle MS, around 0.2 miles off. Within five miles, there are 8 other public schools. On composite proficiency, South Western SHS comes 3rd of 9 in the immediate cluster, above the nearby-schools average of 52.3%.
South Western SHS operates from a residential location.
Trend over the last 7 years. Looking back 7 years, enrollment at South Western SHS has ticked up 13%, going from 1,225 students in 2018 to 1,380 in 2025. The White share of enrollment contracted from 88% to 81% over that span.
On this page, posts here usually surface around enrollment questions, classroom assignments, and PTA news. The community welcomes input from current and former families.
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 South Western SD
- Emory H Markle MSMiddle · 1,046 students
- Baresville El SchElementary · 586 students
- Park Hills El SchElementary · 572 students
- West Manheim El SchElementary · 538 students
- Manheim El SchElementary · 256 students
Other schools in Hanover
- Emory H Markle MSMiddle · 1,046 students
- Hanover MSMiddle · 636 students
- Baresville El SchElementary · 586 students
- Hanover SHSHigh · 578 students
- Park Hills El SchElementary · 572 students
- West Manheim El SchElementary · 538 students
Nearby schools
- Emory H Markle MS0.2 mi · 1,046
- Baresville El Sch1.1 mi · 586
- Hanover Street El Sch1.2 mi · 269
- Park Hills El Sch1.3 mi · 572
- West Manheim El Sch1.9 mi · 538
- Washington El Sch2.1 mi · 213
Frequently asked questions
About South Western SHSHow large is South Western SHS?
South Western SHS enrolls approximately 1,380 students in grades 09-12.
What age range does South Western SHS serve?
South Western SHS serves students from grade 09 through grade 12.
How many students per teacher at South Western SHS?
Approximately 15.0:1 students per teacher at South Western SHS.
How diverse is South Western SHS?
South Western SHS reports a student body of 81% White, 7% Hispanic, 7% Black, 2% Asian, 3% Two or more.
Is South Western SHS public or private?
South Western SHS is a public K-12 school, overseen by South Western SD.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.