The bulletin board for America's public schools. Parents, teachers, students, and staff. One community per school.
Schools›Pennsylvania›York
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·YORK CITY SD·NCES 422682004647

William Penn SHS

101 W College Ave, York, PA 17403 · (717) 849-1218 · York County
GRADES 09–12HIGH13-CITYTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL1,681 STUDENTS
Enrollment
1,681
High
DISTRICT 701 · STATE 738
Student : Teacher
17.1:1
98 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 13.7:1 · STATE 12.8:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
96%
1,609 students
DISTRICT 99% · 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, 2024-25

GradeStudentsShare
Grade 952831%
Grade 1050630%
Grade 1134020%
Grade 1230718%
Student demographics
62%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 60% · STATE 59% · US 70%
White
1117%
DISTRICT 6% · STATE 60% · US 43%
Hispanic
79147%
DISTRICT 46% · STATE 16% · US 30%
Black
65839%
DISTRICT 42% · STATE 14% · US 15%
Asian
101%
DISTRICT 0% · STATE 5% · US 6%
Two+
1117%
DISTRICT 5% · STATE 5% · US 5%
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
Male
86151%
Female
82049%

School pathway

Feeds from
Davis SchoolPK–08Devers SchoolPK–08Edgar Fahs Smith STEAM AcademyPK–08Ferguson SchoolPK–08Goode SchoolPK–08Hannah PennPK–08Jackson SchoolPK–08McKinley SchoolPK–08
Based on grade levels within York City SD. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.

Discussions

HotNewTop
+ POST

Test scores

PSSA + Keystone 2024-25 . % Proficient or Advanced
English Language Arts
27.9%
PA avg 51.1% . -11.5pp since 2023
Math
9.0%
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 9 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 12 points since 2023, while math scores are down about 3 points.

PSSA + Keystone results by year

School yearEnglish Language ArtsMath
2024-2527.9%9.0%
2023-2439.4%11.6%
% 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 · methodology
Tier
UNDERPERFORMING
Bottom 10% of PA schools after controlling for student poverty
Actual proficiency
19.4%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
36.6%
based on PA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-17.2pp
below demographic expectation

What this means: About 19% of students here test proficient in math and reading, below the roughly 37% typical for Pennsylvania schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations compares each school with others at the same poverty level, not by raw scores, so a school lands here when its results trail those comparable schools, which is not the same as having low scores. A higher-scoring school can still fall in this tier if similar schools score higher still.

BeatsExpectations runs a per-state regression of proficiency on free/reduced-lunch share, then scores each school by residual. How this is calculated →

Where William Penn SHS ranks

Among high schools
MeasureThis schoolIn PennsylvaniaIn York County
State test proficiency
ranked highest first
19.4%#532 of 576#17 of 17
Math proficiency
ranked highest first
9.0%#567 of 626#17 of 17
Reading proficiency
ranked highest first
27.9%#572 of 626#17 of 17
Enrollment
ranked largest first
1,681#56 of 713#3 of 18
Students per teacher
ranked fewest first
17.1:1#529 of 601#16 of 17
Diversity index
ranked most diverse first
61.7%#81 of 604#2 of 17
Free and reduced lunch
ranked highest share first
95.7%#212 of 619#2 of 17
Enrollment change since 2017-18
ranked fastest growth first
+55.5%#4 of 221#1 of 6
Ranked against other public high 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.

4-year change

SY 2020-21 vs SY 2024-25
Enrollment
1,681
+194 (+13%) vs 2020
+12% since 1990-91, when it was 1,507
Student : Teacher
17.1:1
was 17.3:1
Source: NCES Common Core of Data

Enrollment and staffing by year

School yearStudentsTeachers (FTE)Students per teacherFree and reduced lunch
2024-251,68198.317.1:196% (1,609)
2023-241,6119916.3:1100% (1,609)
2022-231,5349616.0:1100% (1,534)
2020-211,4878617.3:174% (1,107)
2017-181,0817015.4:181% (878)
2015-161,1386916.5:1100% (1,138)
2010-111,28510112.7:135% (452)
2000-011,65610715.5:158% (954)
1990-911,50710813.9:1N/A
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for William Penn SHS.

About William Penn SHS

William Penn SHS is a large high school in Pennsylvania, located in York. The school reports 1,681 students in grades 9 through 12. The typical figure for high schools in Pennsylvania is about 738 students.

Besides William Penn SHS, York City SD runs 8 other schools. The district enrolls 6,306 students.

The most common group at William Penn SHS is Hispanic students, at 47%. It is also 39% Black, 7% White, and 7% multiracial. York County's residents are about 10% Hispanic, 37 points below the school's share. Pick two students at random and there is a 62% chance they belong to different racial or ethnic groups; that figure is the school's diversity index.

Teachers at William Penn SHS total 98.3 full-time equivalents, and the ratio is 17.1:1. On average, high schools in Pennsylvania have 12.8:1, compared with 17.1:1 here. William Penn SHS's free or reduced-price lunch eligibility rate is 96%. The gap from the 53% average for public schools in York County is 43 points.

On a poverty-adjusted basis, William Penn SHS is in the bottom 10% of Pennsylvania schools: 19.4% actual against 36.6% predicted.

Census Bureau estimates for York County show that the median household income is $84,829, about 28% of adults have at least a bachelor's degree, and roughly 6% of residents are in poverty. William Penn SHS is one of 111 public schools in the county.

McKinley School is located about 0.4 miles from William Penn SHS. The five-mile area around William Penn SHS holds at least 8 other public schools. Among 8 nearby schools that report test results, William Penn SHS ranks 2nd on proficiency.

For locale, NCES codes William Penn SHS as City: Small.

Compared with 2020-21, the school had 194 more students in 2024-25.

Discussions about William Penn SHS may include science fairs, picture day, and bus routes. Alumni can share how the school prepared them.

York County at a glance

View full county profile
Population
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

School name
William Penn SHS
District
York City SD
Address
101 W College Ave, York, PA 17403
Phone
(717) 849-1218
County
York County
Level
High
Grade range
09–12
Total enrollment
1,681
Teachers (FTE)
98
Student–teacher ratio
17.1:1
Free and reduced lunch
1,609 (96%)
Locale
13-City: Small
NCES ID
422682004647
Charter school
No
Virtual school
No

Related schools

Other schools in York City SD
Other schools in York
Nearby schools

Frequently asked questions

About William Penn SHS
What is the total enrollment at William Penn SHS?
William Penn SHS enrolls approximately 1,681 students in grades 09-12.
What age range does William Penn SHS serve?
William Penn SHS serves students from grade 09 through grade 12.
How many teachers does William Penn SHS have?
William Penn SHS employs 98 FTE teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of 17.1:1.
What is the student diversity at William Penn SHS?
Student demographics at William Penn SHS are roughly 7% White, 47% Hispanic, 39% Black, 1% Asian, 7% Two or more.
Who oversees William Penn SHS?
William Penn SHS is overseen by York City SD in York County.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.
＋ Post