The top reported proficiency rate is 17% in Science. The lowest is 5% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Hartranft John F Sch
Hartranft John F School is a regular public elementary and middle school serving kindergarten through eighth grade in Philadelphia's Kensington neighborhood, located in a historically working-class part of the city with close ties to the industrial Delaware waterfront. The school enrolls a small population with very high concentration of poverty and students of color: nearly all students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, and the student body is predominantly Black with a substantial Hispanic population and a very small number of white students.
Academic performance at Hartranft is significantly below grade-level benchmarks across tested subjects. In the most recent state testing data available, math proficiency stood at well below five percent, English language arts proficiency at around ten percent, and science proficiency (from the prior year) at roughly seventeen percent. These results reflect a school population facing very steep academic challenges. The school's state testing results place it well below the midpoint among districts in Philadelphia County. Parents should expect that most students are reading and performing mathematics significantly below what Pennsylvania considers grade-level mastery.
The school serves fewer than three hundred students spread across nine grades, making it a small to mid-sized elementary-middle building. Enrollment is fairly balanced across grades, with slightly higher counts in the middle grades, though the kindergarten through second-grade cohorts are smaller. There are no available data on the school's special education enrollment, English learner population, chronic absenteeism, or graduation rate (the last does not apply to a school that does not serve high school). This means a parent should ask the school directly about these populations and what supports exist for students with disabilities and those learning English.
The school district recently overhauled its core curricula, adopting Illustrative Mathematics for all grades starting in 2023-24 and rolling out a new science-of-reading English language arts approach (EL Education for K-8) in 2024-25. These changes standardize how reading and math are taught across all district schools for the first time in years. Reading scores dipped slightly in the first year under the new model, and the district reports that two-thirds of students citywide are still not reading at grade level. This curriculum foundation now shapes daily classroom instruction at Hartranft, and the school's very low current proficiency numbers likely predate or are in transition under these new methods. A parent may want to ask the school how teachers have been trained in the new materials and what early results they are seeing.
The surrounding Kensington neighborhood offers the walkability and civic amenities typical of Philadelphia rowhouse communities, with street-level neighborhood commerce, local parks, and SEPTA transit access. Housing in the school's ZIP code is substantially more affordable than Philadelphia and state averages. The neighborhood has experienced the economic pressures common to many older industrial sections of the city, though Philadelphia overall is in a period of moderate growth concentrated mainly in Center City.
In 2026 the district board approved a major ten-year facilities master plan that will reshape school boundaries, modernize dozens of campuses, and close a number of schools beginning in the coming school year. Parents should confirm with the school or district office whether Hartranft is affected by these changes and, if so, how it may be reorganized or relocated.
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