The top reported proficiency rate is 78% in Science. The lowest is 37% in English language arts.
Original Research by School Decision on Everett Area El Sch
Everett Area Elementary is a school serving kindergarten through fifth grade in a small, rural Pennsylvania town anchored by historic architecture and surrounded by farmland and forested ridges. The school sits near downtown, within walking distance of local businesses and civic life, in a borough where residents tend to know one another.
The school serves a small enrollment typical for a rural elementary building. Every student in the building qualifies for free or reduced-price lunch, a measure of economic hardship that applies uniformly across the enrollment. The student body is predominantly white, with small numbers of Hispanic, multiracial, Black, and Asian students. Data on students with individualized education plans and English learners was not available, so a parent may want to ask the school directly about those populations and the support services available.
Beginning with the 2025-26 school year, the school and its district became a Community Eligibility Provision school, meaning breakfast and lunch are free to all students regardless of family income. This is a sustained budget benefit for families. In summer of 2024, the school completed an energy systems upgrade that improved building infrastructure.
On Pennsylvania's standardized assessments, the school's math proficiency, as measured most recently, sits in the upper range compared to other schools in Bedford County. Reading and language arts proficiency is lower; roughly one-third of tested students met the state benchmark. Science proficiency, measured in the previous school year, was notably strong. Science scale score data was reported, but math and reading scale scores were not available. Trend data was not available, so it is unclear whether results are moving up, down, or holding steady.
Testing applies to grades three through five only, so grades K-2 have no state assessment data. For families considering this school, asking the principal about early literacy approaches and how the school bridges those early years into the tested grades would be instructive. A parent may also want to look into the specific strategies the school is using in math and reading instruction to understand where the gaps are and what support looks like for students who are not yet meeting proficiency.
The town itself is stable rather than growing. Everett sits in a quiet location along the Raystown Branch of the Juniata River, surrounded by rolling hills and largely rural landscape. Housing values are below both the state and national average, reflecting the rural character and population stability. Most jobs require some travel; major local employers include a hardwood flooring mill and the school district itself, with many residents commuting to work in nearby Bedford. The closest Pennsylvania Turnpike access is several miles away. There is no fixed-route public transit, so families are car-dependent for most activities. The borough has a public library, a community park with hiking trails, and access to regional trail systems. No major new residential developments were identified, suggesting incremental community change rather than rapid growth.
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