The top reported proficiency rate is 52% in Science. The lowest is 15% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on John F. Kennedy #7
John F. Kennedy #7 serves kindergarten through fourth grade in Scranton, a mid-sized city and county seat in northeastern Pennsylvania. The school sits in a dense residential neighborhood in a city with a walkable downtown core anchored by historic commercial blocks and civic institutions including the University of Scranton and Lackawanna College. The wider Scranton metro has experienced recent revival through adaptive reuse of historic downtown buildings into apartments, though affordable housing remains limited and most new single-family construction occurs outside the city proper.
The school enrolls about a third of students in the county's elementary-grade span. All students at Kennedy #7 qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. The student body is diverse, with roughly half identifying as Hispanic, and smaller shares identifying as Asian, white, Black, and multiracial. The school's grade band—kindergarten through fourth—means it does not participate in state assessments; Pennsylvania tests grades three and eight, so only the school's third and fourth graders are assessed. No enrollment data on English learners or students with individualized education plans was available.
On the most recent state assessments for grades three and four combined, Kennedy #7's proficiency rates in English language arts and mathematics were notably low. In English language arts, less than a third of tested students reached proficiency. In mathematics, the rate fell to roughly one in six students. Science assessment data is older and less recent; when the school last reported science results, about half the tested students reached proficiency, a notably stronger showing than in the other subjects. Across tested subjects, the school's overall proficiency index positioned it in the bottom quartile among Lackawanna County's districts, a signal that academic support needs are substantial relative to peers in the immediate region.
The Scranton School District, Kennedy #7's parent district, exited Pennsylvania's financial recovery status in January 2023 after more than a decade under that designation—an outcome that reshaped the district through school closures, structural reconfiguration (including moving fifth graders into intermediate schools), and tax increases. In the 2024-25 school year, the district received a major increase in state adequacy funding that allowed it to restore pre-K, expand kindergarten support, bring back middle school electives in art, music, and health/PE, and add counselors and social workers. Those restorations improve resources available district-wide, though how fully they reach the elementary level remains a school-by-school question. In July 2025, the district paused a long-standing plan to close additional elementary schools after seeing a surge in special education enrollment, so Kennedy #7 is not under immediate closure threat. The district also operates a STEMM Academy at the high school serving grades seven through twelve by application, a distinctive magnet-style pathway for families interested in science and medical careers.
Kennedy #7 is a small neighborhood elementary school in a high-poverty area. Its test results indicate students are entering grades three and four significantly below proficiency benchmarks in core academics. A parent considering this school would want to understand its specific classroom practices, support structures for students reading and computing below grade level, and how it works with families on literacy and numeracy at home. The school's location in Scranton means access to city transit via COLTS buses, downtown civic resources including the Albright Memorial Library with its Creation Station, and the emerging cultural revival of downtown itself, though the surrounding neighborhood is economically stretched. The district's recent funding increase and program restorations signal renewed investment in elementary-grade supports, yet Kennedy #7's proficiency gap suggests substantial work ahead.
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