The top reported proficiency rate is 93% in Science. The lowest is 68% in English language arts.
Original Research by School Decision on Garnet Valley El Sch
Garnet Valley Elementary is a public school serving third through fifth grade in Glen Mills, Pennsylvania, located in a suburban area about twenty-five miles west of Philadelphia. The school sits in Concord Township within Delaware County's Garnet Valley School District.
The student body is about seven hundred students, with a composition that leans toward white and Asian students, each making up a substantial share of enrollment. Roughly one in eight students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. The school does not report data on students with individualized education plans or English learners, which is common for elementary schools in this state's assessment framework.
Academically, Garnet Valley Elementary's recent state testing results show strength in science, where proficiency runs very high. In English language arts and mathematics, proficiency sits in the mid-range. When measured against other elementary schools in Delaware County, the school's overall proficiency index places it in the top quartile, meaning it performs above the median. A parent reviewing these numbers should understand that the school meets grade-level benchmarks for a meaningful share of students, though room exists in reading and math to support more students reaching proficiency. The school conducted a district-wide curriculum shift toward science-of-reading instruction in English language arts that affects all elementary classrooms, so literacy teaching is undergoing intentional redesign.
Glen Mills itself is an unincorporated community within Concord Township, car-oriented and spread across commercial corridors and residential neighborhoods rather than concentrated in a walkable downtown. The area has grown steadily, with new apartment and townhome communities near the Concordville Town Centre shopping complex anchored by Target, Home Depot, and other regional retailers. The historic train station no longer runs SEPTA service, though a new regional rail stop opened at nearby Wawa Station in 2022 with parking and bus connections. A library, municipal offices, and parks are dispersed across separate campuses rather than gathered around a single civic center.
Housing in the area is appreciating, with home values in the mid-range for the region and rents rising notably year over year. Many residents own their homes outright or carry mortgages rather than rent. The median household income in the county sits comfortably above the national level, and unemployment is moderate.
The Garnet Valley School District is undertaking a major facilities project to renovate the former Pennington Elementary building into district offices and ancillary classrooms plus new athletic infrastructure, financed through existing reserves and bonds without raising property taxes. This is material context for families considering the district: substantial change is underway in district administration and facilities that will reshape how the organization operates over the next several years.
See more original research from School Decision →