Washington Heights El Sch

Washington Heights El Sch is an elementary-level community of intimate scale in Lemoyne, Pennsylvania, run under West Shore SD, serveing 324 students in grades K through 4. That puts it 27% smaller than the typical public school in Pennsylvania, which averages around 443 students.

Within West Shore SD, which oversees 15 schools and 7,705 students, Washington Heights El Sch is one campus in the system.

For racial and ethnic makeup, Washington Heights El Sch shows that 46% of students identify as White, with the remaining enrollment distributed across several groups; the rest breaks down as 20% Black, 17% Hispanic, 10% multiracial, 6% Asian. That is considerably less White than the county at large, where the share is closer to 82%.

On the income-and-resources front, Staff filings list 26 full-time-equivalent teachers, which works out to roughly 12.7:1 students per teacher. That tracks the state average closely. About 69% of enrolled students meet the income threshold for free or reduced-price lunch, often used as a Title I proxy. Set against Cumberland County (around 41%), the school's rate is meaningfully above typical.

With demographic context factored in, Washington Heights El Sch tracks the demographic baseline. The model predicts 48.2% given the school's FRL share; actual proficiency is 50.0%.

Zooming out to the county, ACS estimates for Cumberland County put median household earnings sit near $87,494, roughly 40% of adults have completed at least a four-year degree, and roughly 5% of residents live below the federal poverty line. In all, Cumberland County runs 57 public schools (combined enrollment of about 33,044 students), of which Washington Heights El Sch is one.

Nearest neighbor: Highland El Sch, around 1.2 miles off. Counting just inside five miles, 8 other public schools cluster around Washington Heights El Sch. On composite proficiency, Washington Heights El Sch comes 7th of 8 in the immediate cluster, below the nearby-schools average of 63.9%.

The campus sits in a suburban setting.

Five-year trend. Over the past 7-year window, the student count shrank 24%: 428 students in 2018 compared to 324 in 2025. The White share of enrollment declined from 62% to 46% over that span. The student-to-teacher ratio fell from 14.6:1 in 2018 to 12.7:1 today.

In the discussion threads here, members of the Washington Heights El Sch community share and discuss sports schedules, lunch menu changes, and school spirit week. Posting is open to anyone connected to the school.