The top reported proficiency rate is 91% in Science. The lowest is 60% in English language arts.
Original Research by School Decision on Culbertson El Sch
Culbertson Elementary School serves kindergarten through fifth grade in Newtown Square, a suburban township west of Philadelphia that has transformed rapidly over the past decade from scattered farmland and strip development into a walkable, mixed-use community anchored by the Ellis Preserve development. The township sits about fifteen miles from Center City Philadelphia and maintains a leafy residential character alongside significant corporate campuses, including the headquarters of SAP America. Day-to-day life here is car-oriented except within the Ellis Preserve walkable node, where Whole Foods, restaurants, and townhomes cluster along pedestrian-friendly streetscapes. Housing values in the area are substantially above both state and national medians, with a significant majority of single-family homes owned by residents.
The school itself enrolls about five hundred students, with stable grade-level populations from kindergarten through fifth grade. A substantial share of families qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, and the student body is predominantly white with smaller populations of Asian, Hispanic, and Black students. The school draws from the Marple Newtown School District, which covers Newtown Square and the adjacent township of Broomall and is actively reshaping its academic pathways. The district recently launched a STEM Academy at the high school level with an advisory council of regional business professionals and, beginning with the Class of 2025, a STEM diploma seal and cord. At the middle school level, the district is piloting new coursework in technology education, family and consumer science, and financial literacy aligned to Pennsylvania's updated STEELS standards. These are district-wide curricular moves that will shape what students experience as they progress from Culbertson into the secondary grades.
On state testing, Culbertson's performance shows strength in science and more moderate results in literacy and mathematics. Among students in grades three through eight tested in 2024-25, about three in five met proficiency in mathematics and English language arts. Science results, measured the prior year, were substantially stronger, with roughly nine in ten students performing at proficient or above. Positioned against the other public districts serving Delaware County, Culbertson's overall proficiency index falls above the midpoint of county schools, suggesting performance that sits in the stronger half of the regional peer group. Because the school serves only elementary grades, it has no graduation rate or high school outcomes to report.
The community Culbertson serves is one of significant economic stability and ongoing change. Housing costs are well above regional benchmarks, and median household income sits in the upper tier for the region. Much of this growth is tied to the Ellis Preserve development, which has added apartments, townhomes, and retail over several years and is now completing its final phases with additional multifamily housing, office space, and a new hotel. Long-time residents report a shift from farmland and traditional homes toward widespread new townhouse communities, including the Liseter development. This growth trajectory means the school's enrollment and peer mix may continue to shift. Families moving to or considering Newtown Square should factor in both the sustained development activity that makes the area increasingly urban and the academic positioning that the district is building from elementary through high school around STEM and practical life skills. A parent may want to look into how Culbertson's curriculum connects to the district's broader pathways so they understand what comes next as their child advances.
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