The top reported proficiency rate is 86% in Science. The lowest is 59% in English language arts.
Original Research by School Decision on Foot of Ten El Sch
Foot of Ten Elementary serves kindergarten through sixth grade in Duncansville, a small borough on the edge of Altoona's metropolitan area. The school is located outside the borough's residential core on a campus setting, and feeds into the broader Hollidaysburg Area School District, which spans multiple municipalities.
The school's academic profile shows strength in science. Students in grades three through six performed well on state science assessments, well above the midpoint when compared across districts in Blair County. Math proficiency sits at a level that places the school in the top quartile of county schools. English language arts proficiency is lower than math, with the majority of tested students not yet proficient; a parent may want to look into what support and reading initiatives the school is offering to third through sixth graders in this area.
The school serves a community where about two in five students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. The student body is predominantly white, with very small numbers of Black, Hispanic, Asian, and multiracial students. Enrollment is roughly stable across the grade band, with the upper elementary grades slightly larger. Data on students receiving special education services and English learners was not available.
Duncansville itself is a mixed residential and commercial borough anchored by a busy retail corridor along Route 22 and Plank Road, lined with national chains and auto dealers. The town sits on the edge of the Altoona metropolitan area. Population in the borough has remained essentially flat in recent years, though the surrounding region has grown; a 10-mile radius has added several new residential developments including custom-home communities and manufactured housing. Median home values are below the state benchmark for Pennsylvania and remain affordable relative to the national average. The local job market centers on manufacturing, industrial distribution, and the retail strip; the school district itself is one of the area's larger employers.
The district faces budget pressures that shape the immediate environment. For the 2025-26 school year, the school board enacted a substantial property tax increase driven by a structural deficit that emerged after pandemic emergency funding expired. The board has signaled that additional increases may follow. A more fundamental restructuring is also in discussion: a feasibility study completed in 2024 proposed consolidating Foot of Ten with the district's two other elementary schools into a single new building, moving sixth-grade students into the junior high, and renovating or replacing aging facilities, at substantial cost and over several years. That master plan could affect which school students attend, the grade configuration their children experience, and household taxes. The district has not yet committed to a timeline, so a parent considering the area should ask the school directly about the current status of these plans.
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