The top reported proficiency rate is 78% in Science. The lowest is 27% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Lee Park El Sch
Lee Park Elementary serves third and fourth graders in Hanover Township, a sprawling, polycentric community of quiet residential neighborhoods, industrial parks, and small villages on the eastern edge of Luzerne County. The school sits within Hanover Area School District, which is undergoing a major structural transformation that will reshape elementary education for families in the area.
The most immediate change is consolidation. Lee Park and three other neighborhood elementary schools—Lyndwood, Memorial, and Hanover Green—will merge into a single Pre-K–6 building in 2026–27, relocating to a renovated office campus in the Hanover Industrial Estates. This move ends the neighborhood-school model that has defined the district for generations. Parents with children currently at Lee Park will need to transition to the new facility, which will be substantially larger and centrally located rather than embedded in the community where the current Lee Park sits. The district is also restructuring its secondary schools, converting Memorial into a STEM academy for grades 7–12, which may signal the instructional direction the consolidated elementary building will take.
Academically, Lee Park's profile reflects the challenges and strengths of a school serving a community with substantial economic need. About three-quarters of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, and the school's peer group is diverse: roughly half white students, a meaningful share of Hispanic and Black students, and a small number of Asian and multiracial students. The school tested about that size for its grades in the most recent cycle.
Recent state assessment results show an uneven picture. In science, the school's proficiency rate was strong relative to broader benchmarks. In English language arts, about a third of students met proficiency. In mathematics, proficiency was notably lower, at around one quarter of students. Across tested subjects, the school's overall proficiency index places it in the top quartile among districts in Luzerne County, which is the relevant peer group. That said, the math results suggest a parent may want to look into further what supports and instruction the school is providing in that area, and what the transition to the consolidated building might mean for continuity of any specialized programs or interventions.
The township itself is auto-oriented and sparse, with civic anchors spread across twelve small villages rather than concentrated in a single center. Jobs are growing in logistics and e-commerce warehousing in the industrial corridor, anchored by major employers like CVS/Caremark and newer tenants such as Chewy and Adidas. Housing values are below the state average, and rents are modest relative to median household income. The school district historically relied on some of the highest property tax rates in the county, though it recently received additional state funding under Pennsylvania's fair funding formula, which may ease that burden going forward.
For families with children at Lee Park now, the immediate reality is change. The neighborhood school is closing in less than a year, and the consolidated elementary campus will be a different physical and possibly pedagogical environment. For families considering the area as a place to settle, the transformation offers a newly built facility and represents the district's investment in infrastructure, but the loss of walkable neighborhood schools is a trade-off that will shape how and where children spend their school day.
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