The top reported proficiency rate is 43% in English language arts. The lowest is 11% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Volney Rogers School
Volney Rogers School serves early grades in Youngstown's South Side. The school enrolls a mix of students across pre-kindergarten through fifth grade, drawing from a neighborhood that is roughly half Black, with substantial shares of Hispanic and multiracial students and a smaller white enrollment. The school building itself operates as part of a district reconfiguration: in early 2024, Kirkmere Elementary closed and merged into what is now called Volney Rogers Elementary at McGuffey, a move that reassigned attendance boundaries across the city's west and south sides and produced longer bus rides for some families.
Academically, Volney Rogers reports state assessment results in English language arts, math, and science for its grades three through five. In language arts, proficiency runs below the middle of the county's district range. In math, proficiency is notably lower, sitting in the bottom quartile compared to districts across Mahoning County. The school tested a small group of students in science and reported very low proficiency there, though the tested cohort was small enough that a parent may want to look into how science instruction is structured and resourced at this grade level. The school does not report a free-or-reduced-price lunch rate, nor does it report enrollment of students with IEPs or English learners, so the full economic and support-service picture is not visible in the available data. Trend data are not yet available because this is the first year of reported results under the school's current configuration.
The school's enrollment is small for an elementary building, with roughly even distribution across most grades and somewhat smaller fifth-grade enrollment. The neighborhood context is a city-wide one: Youngstown is a post-industrial Rust Belt city in a decades-long population decline, though downtown and the university corridor have seen recent reinvestment. Housing values in the school's zip code sit well below the state and national benchmarks. The city is branded "Voltage Valley" around a new EV battery plant and a state-designated arts district, and Youngstown State University anchors downtown employment and civic life. The district itself has undergone significant governance change, returning to elected local control in 2022 after years under state-appointed leadership, and is now executing a two-phase high school consolidation beginning in the 2026-27 school year.
For families with early-elementary-age children in this part of Youngstown, Volney Rogers is the designated attendance-zone school following the 2024 reconfiguration. The academic data show room for growth in foundational math and reading. Parent conversations with the school about curriculum, intervention supports, and instructional approach would be valuable, especially around the transition from the merged Kirkmere program and any staffing or continuity that has carried over from that change.
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