The top reported proficiency rate is 52% in Science. The lowest is 12% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Millmont El Sch
Millmont Elementary serves a dense urban neighborhood on Reading's north side, enrolling roughly six hundred students from pre-kindergarten through fourth grade. Virtually all of its students qualify for federal free and reduced-price lunch, and the student body is predominantly Hispanic, with a substantial portion Spanish-speaking. The school draws from a densely populated residential area typical of Reading's rowhouse neighborhoods.
Academic results at Millmont are quite low in English language arts and math. On the most recent state assessments available, only about one in eight students in grades three through four met proficiency in reading, and similarly few met the standard in math. The picture in science is markedly stronger: roughly half of students tested met proficiency when the school last reported science results, suggesting the school's curriculum or teaching in that domain is working differently. A parent evaluating Millmont should understand that literacy and numeracy performance are well below where the state expects them to be, and may want to ask the school directly how it is addressing these gaps and what interventions are in place for struggling readers and mathematicians. The science performance indicates teaching capacity exists; understanding why that strength has not transferred to math and reading would be a useful conversation.
Comparing Millmont to other schools in Berks County, its overall proficiency index places it in the bottom quartile among the county's schools. Reading School District, where Millmont sits, serves the urban core of the county's fourth-largest city, a majority-Latino community with very high poverty. The district itself is undergoing transition: it just locked in a budget with no property tax increase for 2025-26 while most surrounding Berks County districts raised taxes, and the state's recent school-funding reforms have directed additional adequacy supplements to high-poverty districts like Reading. A new STEM-focused high school opening for 2026-27 is designed to relieve crowding and broaden options for older students. These district-level moves may eventually affect elementary schools, though they do not change current classroom conditions at Millmont.
Reading as a place is densely walkable in the downtown and rowhouse neighborhoods, with strong public transit via BARTA, the Schuylkill River Trail for recreation, and a historic downtown anchored by Penn Street. The broader region is anchored by manufacturing and healthcare employers. Downtown revitalization projects are underway, including the CRIZ (City Revitalization and Improvement Zone) approved in late 2024 and major residential redevelopment of historic buildings on Penn Street. Housing values in the zip code are moderate relative to the state and nation, and rental costs are considerably below state and national medians, making Reading affordable for families on lower incomes, though poverty remains structurally high in the city itself.
For a family with young children choosing between schools in Reading or the surrounding area, Millmont offers traditional public elementary education in a walkable neighborhood with Spanish-language support baked into a predominantly Latino school community. The academic foundation in literacy and math appears to need substantial strengthening. Families should directly explore what reading interventions, English-learner services, and math support the school offers, and whether those align with their child's needs.
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