The top reported proficiency rate is 65% in Science. The lowest is 32% in English language arts.
Original Research by School Decision on William Prescott #38
William Prescott #38 is a kindergarten-through-fourth-grade elementary school in Scranton, serving a student body that is economically vulnerable and racially diverse. Nearly all students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. The school's enrollment is small for its grade band, and the student population is split roughly evenly among Hispanic, white, Black, and Asian students, with a sizable share identifying as two or more races.
Academic performance, measured by recent state testing results in grades 3 through 4, shows mixed outcomes. In mathematics, about two-fifths of tested students reached proficiency. English language arts results were lower, with roughly one-third of students meeting the proficiency bar. Science results from an earlier year were markedly stronger, with about two-thirds of students proficient. Across all tested subjects, the school's overall proficiency index places it above the midpoint among districts in Lackawanna County, though parents may want to look into the school's support structures, particularly in reading and writing, with administrators directly.
The school sits within the Scranton School District, which exited Pennsylvania's financial recovery status in January 2023 after nearly a decade and a half under that designation. The district restructured significantly during that recovery period, including closing Bancroft Elementary and moving fifth-graders into intermediate schools. Those changes have since stabilized. Beginning in the 2024-25 school year, the district received a substantial state funding increase tied to Pennsylvania's adequacy remedy, which enabled restoration of pre-K, expanded kindergarten support, and addition of counselors and social workers. However, the district is now pausing previously planned elementary school consolidations due to a surge in special education enrollment. William Prescott had been slated for closure in a later phase of a prior reconfiguration plan, but that closure is now indefinitely suspended.
Housing in the Scranton zip code is affordable by national standards. Median home values sit well below both the state and national benchmarks, and monthly rent is substantially lower than estimated mortgage payments. The area's economy is anchored by health care, education, government, and logistics, with major employers including Geisinger Community Medical Center, the University of Scranton, Amazon, and Chewy. Downtown Scranton is highly walkable, and the city center offers libraries, parks, transit hubs, and cultural institutions within close reach of residential neighborhoods.
William Prescott draws from a dense residential area of Scranton. For families choosing this school, the primary consideration is that it serves the early elementary grades only; students move on to intermediate school for fifth grade onward. The school's strength in science, paired with its position above county-median proficiency, suggests solid baseline instruction. The lower results in reading and writing warrant direct conversation with school leadership about instructional approaches and available interventions, especially given the economic and linguistic diversity of the enrollment.
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