The top reported proficiency rate is 82% in Science. The lowest is 47% in English language arts.
Original Research by School Decision on Bellefonte El Sch
Bellefonte Elementary serves kindergarten through fifth grade in a Victorian-era borough that functions as Centre County's seat, a small residential community about a short drive northeast of State College. The school is embedded in a town with preserved 19th-century homes, a walkable downtown centered on the county courthouse, and civic anchors like Talleyrand Park and locally-owned shops along Allegheny Street. Street life is supported by recurring events and everyday gathering places; the borough's population has remained essentially flat for decades, though new housing developments on the borough edges and in surrounding townships are beginning to shift the area's growth trajectory.
The school serves a student body where a substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, and the enrollment is diverse primarily within the white racial category, with smaller numbers of Hispanic students, students of two or more races, and very small populations of Black, Asian, and American Indian students. Data on special education services and English learners was not available. The school's overall enrollment sits around a figure typical for a K-5 building of its grade band.
State testing results show areas of relative strength and areas where the school is performing below the midpoint. In science, the school's proficiency rate is substantially higher, placing it in a strong position against other elementary schools tested in Centre County. In math and English language arts, however, proficiency rates for grades three through five fall below the median for the county's tested elementary grades. A parent may want to look into the school's specific literacy and mathematics instruction with the building, particularly how the district's new elementary ELA curriculum adopted in spring 2025 is being implemented and whether the school has plans to address the math results.
Against the broader set of county districts, Bellefonte Elementary's overall proficiency index places it in the top quartile, a position driven upward by its strong science result. Graduation rate and chronic absenteeism data do not apply to elementary schools and are not reported here.
A significant change is underway in the Bellefonte Area School District that will directly affect this school's future. A new K-5 elementary facility is opening in fall 2026 along Airport Road near the high school. When that building opens, the current Bellefonte Elementary and Benner Elementary will both close, and the district will redraw elementary attendance boundaries. This is a generational shift in school facilities and a redrawing of which building students attend. Families in the district should expect that enrollment and peer composition may shift once the new building opens and boundaries are set.
Bellefonte is experiencing modest affordability pressure as remote workers discover the area, though housing costs remain below the national benchmark. The borough's civic life centers on downtown and the surrounding historic district rather than on separated institutional campuses; the school itself sits on a separate campus location. The district's 2025-26 property tax rate reflects a modest increase driven largely by rising health insurance costs, a context parents will see in their annual tax bills.
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