The top reported proficiency rate is 93% in Science. The lowest is 41% in English language arts.
Original Research by School Decision on Fox Twp El Sch
Fox Township Elementary School serves kindergarten through fifth grade in the small rural community of Kersey, in Fox Township in Elk County. The school sits on Main Street, embedded in the village fabric alongside civic buildings and parks rather than isolated on a campus. It is a regular public school within the Saint Marys Area School District.
The enrollment is small, distributed fairly evenly across the grade levels. A defining characteristic of the school population is that every student qualifies for free or reduced-price lunch, indicating that the families served face substantial economic strain. The student body is predominantly white, with very limited racial or ethnic diversity. Data on special education enrollment and English learners was not available.
On state assessments, Fox Township Elementary shows a mixed profile. In science, the school's performance is notably strong, well above proficiency thresholds. In math, about half of tested students in grades three through five reached proficiency. In English language arts, the rate was lower, with fewer than half of students meeting proficiency. The school did not report average scale scores, so a sense of the depth of student learning beyond the proficiency threshold is not available from the data provided. Science results are the most recent data from 2022-23; math and ELA results are current to 2024-25.
Relative to other districts in Elk County, Fox Township Elementary's overall proficiency index places it above the midpoint. The school did not report a graduation rate because it serves only elementary grades, and chronic absenteeism data was not available.
The district has undertaken significant curriculum and instructional work at the elementary level, including new science and math curricula and systematic reading screening. However, this same district has approved three consecutive property tax increases after a long freeze, shifting the cost of homeownership for families, which may affect families already stretched thin economically.
Kersey itself is a stable, small unincorporated community with limited growth. The economy relies on manufacturing and healthcare jobs in nearby towns, with industrial activity concentrated at the Fox Head Industrial Park. The housing market is affordable relative to state and national benchmarks, though home values have risen modestly. Most residents own their homes and commute by private vehicle. The area is rural and auto-dependent, with civic life and schools clustered along Main Street. A parent considering Fox Township Elementary should understand it as a small neighborhood elementary school in a working-class community, with strength in science instruction, a need to look further into why ELA proficiency lags, and a district in the middle of a tax-increase cycle.
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