The top reported proficiency rate is 57% in Science. The lowest is 19% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Roy A. Hunt El Sch
Roy A. Hunt Elementary serves grades three through six in Arnold, a small, densely built former industrial city on the Allegheny River northeast of Pittsburgh. The school sits in a residential neighborhood on Alcoa Drive and enrolls a substantial student body drawn entirely from the immediate area.
The student population reflects Arnold's economic condition. All students in the school qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, marking universal economic need. The enrollment is racially and ethnically mixed: white students form the largest group, followed by Black students, with smaller populations of students identifying as two or more races, Hispanic, and other groups.
The school's academic performance is weak in literacy and mathematics. On the most recent state assessment results available, proficiency in math and English language arts both hovered around one in five students reaching grade-level standard. Science performance, measured in the prior year, was substantially stronger at roughly half the students, suggesting the school's instructional capacity may vary across subjects. Relative to other districts in Westmoreland County, Roy A. Hunt's overall proficiency index places it in the bottom quartile, well below the county median. A parent may want to look into further with the school what literacy and math support structures are in place, whether recent changes in instruction or staffing have occurred, and what interventions or tutoring are available for students working below grade level.
Arnold itself is a distressed older town with good walkable street bones but limited active commercial life and a poverty rate roughly double the county average. The population has declined over decades from its industrial peak. In 2022 the city joined a county blight-remediation program, and in 2024 the county approved funding for demolition projects aimed at stabilizing neighborhoods. Housing stock is aged bungalows and cottages on tight lots. No major new housing development is underway; the market is anchored by modest single-family homes and public housing operated by the Westmoreland County Housing Authority.
The New Kensington-Arnold School District, which operates Roy A. Hunt, has raised property taxes steadily over the past several years. Any family purchasing a home in Arnold faces an ongoing cost climb tied to school operations. The district is also working through a governance change, moving toward at-large school board elections after difficulty recruiting candidates for region-based seats.
Roy A. Hunt sits within a network of four schools split between Arnold and neighboring New Kensington. Younger students attend H.D. Berkey School (grades 1–2) in Arnold before transitioning to Hunt. After sixth grade, students move to Valley Junior-Senior High School, which sits in New Kensington. Public transit between the towns exists but is limited, so family transportation or walking may be the primary way students reach school.
This is a school serving an economically strained community with low academic proficiency in core subjects. For families considering Arnold, the school's performance gap and the district's property tax trajectory are both material considerations.
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