The top reported proficiency rate is 29% in Science. The lowest is 5% in English language arts.
Original Research by School Decision on Edison El Sch
Edison Elementary serves prekindergarten through fifth grade in Erie, a mid-sized lakefront city anchored by downtown civic and higher-education institutions, older residential neighborhoods of close-set 19th-century homes, and a manufacturing-based economy. The school sits on East Lake Road on the city's south side.
The school's student body is economically disadvantaged across the board: all students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. Racial and ethnic composition is diverse, with substantial shares of Black students, students identifying as two or more races, and smaller populations of white, Asian, and Hispanic students. The total enrollment sits in the low-hundreds range.
State assessment results are very weak. On the Pennsylvania System of School Assessment in the most recent year, proficiency in math among students in grades three through five was single-digit; in English language arts it was also single-digit. Science proficiency, tested in an earlier year, reached about one in three students. When measured against districts in Erie County using the overall proficiency index, Edison sits in the bottom quartile. A parent reading these numbers should understand that this school is not meeting grade-level standards for most students in tested subjects and grades.
The Erie City School District, Edison's parent district, is operating under significant fiscal pressure. The district has raised property taxes in three consecutive years as federal COVID relief funds wound down and to address a persistent gap in state funding. The board's financial consultants recommended this pattern as part of a five-year balanced-budget plan, so families moving into the district should expect further tax increases absent a major change in state education funding in Pennsylvania. Additionally, in early 2026 the school board approved a resolution directing the superintendent to study whether to reverse a prior consolidation that converted East and Strong Vincent high schools into middle schools, leaving Erie High as the city's only comprehensive high school, which has become overcrowded. This signals possible changes to the district's grade configuration and building assignments over the next several years.
Erie itself is experiencing population decline, with the city and county both shrinking over the past decade, though downtown has entered a sustained reinvestment cycle with new mixed-use development, apartment conversion, and waterfront improvements led by the Erie Downtown Development Corporation. Housing values are below the state benchmark, and the cost of living is moderate relative to national averages.
No data on special-education enrollment, English learner populations, staffing, attendance, or detailed course offerings was available for this school. Parents considering Edison should contact the school directly to understand what interventions or supports are in place to address the low proficiency picture, and to ask what recent changes or initiatives the school may have undertaken.
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