The top reported proficiency rate is 44% in Science. The lowest is 8% in English language arts.
Original Research by School Decision on Jefferson El Sch
Jefferson Elementary serves prekindergarten through fifth grade in Erie, a mid-sized lakefront city anchored by a downtown of offices, civic institutions, and a hospital, with residential neighborhoods of close-set 19th-century houses spreading outward. The school sits in a city experiencing long-term population loss, though downtown has entered a sustained reinvestment cycle with mixed-use redevelopment and improved pedestrian connections. Manufacturing, insurance, and healthcare anchor the local economy; major employers include Erie Insurance, UPMC Hamot, and Wabtec.
The school's enrollment is small for its grade band, with students distributed fairly evenly across the primary grades. All students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, reflecting the economic profile of the neighborhood. The student body is racially mixed, with substantial shares identifying as White, Black, and multiracial, along with smaller shares of Asian and Hispanic students. Data on the share of students with individualized education plans or learning English as an additional language was not available.
Academic performance on state assessments is weak across the school. In English language arts, fewer than one in ten students in grades three through five scored at proficiency levels on the most recent test. In math, the proficiency share was modestly higher but still single-digit in percentage terms. Science performance was noticeably stronger, with about four in ten students reaching proficiency on the prior year's assessment. Across tested subjects and grades, Jefferson's proficiency index places it in the bottom quartile among districts in Erie County.
State assessment data does not provide scale scores or trend information, so it is not possible to measure whether proficiency is moving. A parent may want to look into this further with the school to understand the trajectory and what instructional supports or interventions are in place for struggling readers and mathematicians.
The Erie City School District itself has raised property taxes in three consecutive years, tied to the expiration of pandemic-era federal relief funds and what the district describes as a state-funding gap; district leadership notes that Erie ranks among Pennsylvania's ten most underfunded districts. The board's financial consultants recommended a five-year balanced-budget plan tied to these increases, so families should expect the pattern to continue absent state intervention. Additionally, in early 2026 the school board directed the superintendent to study whether to undo a consolidation that converted East and Strong Vincent high schools into middle schools and left Erie High as the city's sole comprehensive high school. While this does not directly affect Jefferson, it signals possible structural changes to the district's building assignments in coming years.
Housing in the Erie ZIP code where Jefferson sits is modestly priced relative to the national benchmark and to Pennsylvania's state median, though affordability varies by what portion of household income goes to rent versus mortgage. The school's early-grade focus and neighborhood location make it a neighborhood school rather than a choice-enrollment or specialized program.
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