Summary:
The 16946 zip code area is home to two schools, Williamson Senior High School and Russell B Walter Elementary School, both part of the Northern Tioga School District. These schools face significant socioeconomic challenges, with 100% of their students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch, indicating high levels of poverty in the community. Additionally, the student bodies are overwhelmingly white, with over 95% of students identifying as such, suggesting a lack of racial diversity.
Academically, the elementary school performs relatively well on PSSA tests compared to the district and state averages, but the high school struggles, particularly in math proficiency. Only 20.5% of Williamson Senior High students scored proficient or better on the PSSA Math test, compared to 36.2% for the district and 39.3% for Pennsylvania. This disparity in academic performance between the two school levels warrants further investigation into curriculum alignment, instructional quality, and resource allocation.
Despite the challenges, the schools have some positive metrics, such as a 90.6% four-year graduation rate and a 1.5% dropout rate at Williamson Senior High School. The district also allocates more resources to the high school, with $15,843 spent per student compared to $12,863 per student at the elementary school. However, the higher per-student spending at the high school may not be translating into improved academic outcomes, and the district should explore ways to ensure equitable distribution of resources to support student learning across all grade levels.
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