The top reported proficiency rate is 18% in Science. The lowest is 5% in English language arts.
Original Research by School Decision on Propel Cs-hazelwood
Propel CS-Hazelwood is a small K-8 charter school in Pittsburgh serving an enrollment that sits at the lower end for its grade span, with students nearly all economically disadvantaged and almost entirely Black. The school sits in a Pittsburgh neighborhood undergoing major redevelopment, with several large mixed-income housing projects underway nearby.
The academic profile is deeply challenged. On the most recent state tests available, math and reading proficiency are both in the low single digits. Science proficiency, measured two years earlier, was modestly higher but still well below typical benchmarks. Compared to other districts in Allegheny County, the school's overall proficiency index places it in the bottom quartile. State testing data are reported; the school has not released multi-year trend data, so it is not possible to see whether performance is stable, improving, or declining.
This school operates within a strategic context that may matter to parents considering it. Propel Schools has launched a network-wide K-2 Reading Initiative centered on having every student read at or above grade level by the end of second grade. For a school where early proficiency is very low, this curriculum commitment speaks to a deliberate effort to build foundational literacy. The school itself is designated a community school, with a Community Wellness Center backed by more than twenty partner organizations offering fitness, tutoring, job-readiness programming, a children's asthma clinic, and community dinners. Propel has also established school-based mental-health support through a partnership with UPMC Western Behavioral Health, making counseling and wellness services available to students, families and staff.
The student body is economically homogeneous: virtually all students qualify for free or reduced-price meals, and the enrollment is almost entirely Black students with a small population of mixed-race and Hispanic students. No data on special-education or English-learner populations were available.
A parent considering this school would want to look further into what the K-2 Reading Initiative actually entails in the classroom, what the trend in proficiency looks like over the past few years, and how the school's leadership describes its approach to the gap between its current results and its stated goals. The wraparound services and mental-health partnerships are substantive, but academic proficiency remains the core question for any K-8 school, and the numbers here are notably low.
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