The top reported proficiency rate is 59% in Science. The lowest is 2% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Chester Upland Sch of Arts
Chester Upland School of Arts serves pre-kindergarten through fifth grade in a post-industrial city that has faced decades of economic hardship and is still working through a state-imposed financial recovery. The school enrolls a small number of students across its early grade span, nearly all of whom qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. The student body is predominantly Black, with smaller shares of Hispanic, multiracial, and white students.
On state assessments, the school's performance is very low across math and English language arts. In math, fewer than a handful of students tested at proficiency. In English language arts, the proficiency rate was also extremely small. Science results from the prior year showed a notably different picture, with proficiency nearly at the midpoint, though that cohort was much smaller. The overall proficiency index positions this school in the bottom quartile relative to other districts in Delaware County. A parent may want to look into this further with the school to understand what accounts for the gap between science and literacy and math results, and what classroom and support structures exist for the grades this school serves.
The school sits in Chester, a dense city on the Delaware River where most residents rent their homes. Chester experienced major decline from its manufacturing heyday through the late twentieth century; Pennsylvania declared it a financially distressed municipality in the mid-2000s, and the city filed for bankruptcy in 2022. The neighborhood around the school reflects this history. Recent waterfront redevelopment centered on Subaru Park and the Chester Riverwalk has brought some physical investment, though critics have raised concerns about whether existing residents have benefited adequately from these projects. Housing values in the Chester area are well below state and national benchmarks, though rents have ticked upward and remain a substantial share of household income for families renting.
The district itself, Chester-Upland School District, has been under state-appointed receivership since 2019. A major governance decision occurred in 2021 when the receiver rejected all three charter-operator bids that would have converted the district, meaning families today can expect a traditional public-school system. The district subsequently purchased Widener Partnership Charter School from Widener University and converted it to a district-run school, now called Edgmont Scholars Academy. As part of that transaction, Widener University created a scholarship commitment for all Chester-Upland high school graduates who meet admissions requirements—a minimum amount over a time span for undergraduate study—which is a durable, family-facing benefit that did not previously exist for the broader district population.
The school offers arts-focused programming at the early elementary level, though specific details about curriculum breadth and specialist instruction were not available. Given the very low proficiency rates in core subjects, a family considering this school should ask directly about how arts integration supports literacy and math instruction, what assessment data the school uses to track student progress in foundational skills, and what interventions or support are in place for students performing below grade level.
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