The top reported proficiency rate is 13% in Science. The lowest is 6% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Johnson (joseph E. Jr) Elementary School
Joseph E. Johnson Jr. Elementary School sits on Gilpin Avenue in Wilmington, part of the Red Clay Consolidated School District. It is a regular public school serving kindergarten through fifth grade, drawing its enrollment from the surrounding neighborhoods of Delaware's largest city. Wilmington functions as the state's corporate, financial, and governmental hub, a place where a dense downtown core of banks and office towers gives way to residential streets with historic character. The city's economy shifted over decades from chemical manufacturing toward national banking and finance, and that legacy shapes the community the school serves. Publicly reported information describes Wilmington as having a compact, grid-patterned downtown with a revitalized Riverfront area, rail connections to Philadelphia via Amtrak and SEPTA, and interstate highways running through the city. Red Clay Consolidated School District is one of the area's major employers, operating schools across the broader Wilmington region rather than from a single centralized campus.
The school's enrollment is modest for its grade band. Its student body is predominantly Black, with a substantial Hispanic presence and smaller proportions of white, multiracial, and American Indian or Alaska Native students. Data on free or reduced-price lunch eligibility was not available, so the economic profile of the student population cannot be characterized from what was provided. Information on special education enrollment and English learner status was also missing.
On state assessments, Johnson Elementary's results are low and have been declining over the past decade. In the most recent year, proficiency rates in both English language arts and math fell near the bottom of what the school has reported going back to the mid-2010s. The trend in English language arts shows a steady slide from levels that were already below most peers, with the most recent results representing a continued drop. Math proficiency has followed a similar downward path over the same period, sitting at a level well below where it stood several years ago. Science and social studies results are also low. Placed against other districts in New Castle County, the school's overall proficiency sits in the bottom quartile. These are difficult numbers to encounter, and a parent considering this school may want to look into what supports and interventions the school and district have in place to address them. The data does not tell us why the decline has been so persistent, only that it has been.
Some data points one might expect are absent because the grade band does not generate them. There is no graduation rate, since the school does not serve high school grades. Chronic absenteeism figures were not available in the provided data. Discipline, course access, staffing, and attendance details were all missing, so those dimensions of school life cannot be described here. Title I status was also not reported.
The housing market around the school offers a relatively accessible entry point compared with state and national benchmarks. Home values in the school's zip code sit below the Delaware statewide typical home value and modestly below the national figure. Rents are also within a range that, relative to prevailing incomes, remains close to what is generally considered affordable. The area has seen home values and rents both rising recently, with year-over-year increases in both measures. For families weighing the cost of living alongside school quality, the housing here is more attainable than in many parts of the state, though the academic data tempers that picture.
Looking ahead, Red Clay Consolidated School District has publicly announced plans to transform Thomas McKean High School into the McKean Innovation Campus, launching in August 2027, with a focus on industry-recognized credentials and restructured secondary learning. That change would not directly affect Johnson Elementary students but signals a district actively rethinking its upper-grade pathways. For now, the elementary school stands as a community institution in a city with deep institutional roots, serving a student population whose academic outcomes, as measured by state testing, are among the lowest in the county.
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