The top reported proficiency rate is 58% in Science. The lowest is 30% in English language arts.
Original Research by School Decision on John G Whittier #2
John G Whittier #2 is an elementary school serving kindergarten through fourth grade in Scranton, a mid-sized city and former anthracite mining hub in northeastern Pennsylvania. The school sits in a neighborhood setting, part of the Scranton School District, which exited state financial recovery in January 2023 after restructuring its operations and closing some buildings. The city itself has been revitalizing its downtown through adaptive reuse of historic buildings and has anchors like the University of Scranton, Nay Aug Park, and Steamtown National Historic Site nearby.
The school draws an enrollment of roughly 450 students, nearly all of whom qualify for free or reduced-price lunch—reflective of economic pressures in the area. The student body is diverse: roughly half identify as Hispanic, roughly a fifth as white, and smaller shares as Black or Asian, with the remainder identifying as two or more races. Enrollment is distributed fairly evenly across the grade span, with slightly more in first and fourth grades and slightly fewer in kindergarten.
On state assessment results, the school's performance is uneven. In math for grades three and four, a little more than two in five students reached proficiency. In English language arts for the same grades, just over three in ten reached proficiency. Those figures are notably lower than what the field typically sees in elementary settings. In science, tested results from an earlier year showed just over half the students at proficiency, a stronger showing. State testing data for earlier grades is not available because Pennsylvania does not test kindergarten and second grade. The school's overall proficiency index places it above the midpoint among Lackawanna County's district schools, though this reflects performance across the tested grades and subjects where results were available.
Context matters here. The Scranton School District has experienced significant recent structural change. In 2025, the district received a major infusion of state funding tied to Pennsylvania's school-funding adequacy remedy, which allowed it to restore pre-K, expand kindergarten support, and bring back middle school arts, music, and wellness instruction. The district also paused planned elementary school closures in July 2025, recognizing a surge in special education enrollment—roughly one in six students now receives services—which means classroom resources are being absorbed by growing special education and early intervention needs. For a school like Whittier #2, these changes create both opportunity and constraint: new instructional positions have been added, but space and teacher attention must stretch across a wider range of student needs.
The neighborhood surrounding the school reflects the broader character of Scranton. Downtown is highly walkable and home to civic anchors like the Albright Memorial Library, which runs STEM workshops and coding programs for youth. Housing values are below state and national benchmarks, with rent currently around the regional affordability median. Major employers in the city include healthcare systems, the university, state and county government, and logistics operations like Amazon, creating a mixed economic base.
What a parent should know: Whittier #2 serves a predominantly low-income student population in a district navigating recovery and growth simultaneously. The school's English language arts proficiency is a soft spot worth discussing directly with the school and the district about what reading instruction and intervention supports exist. Math proficiency is also below typical benchmarks. The recent influx of district funding for kindergarten support and special education services could create positive shifts, but classroom dynamics during a period of structural change are worth asking about. The school's enrollment appears stable, the neighborhood is compact and accessible by transit, and the broader city offers walkable access to libraries and cultural anchors. This is a school serving high-need students in a district actively working to rebuild after financial constraints.
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