The top reported proficiency rate is 85% in Science. The lowest is 61% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on H W Good El Sch
H W Good Elementary serves kindergarten through fourth grade in Herminie, a small former coal-mining village in Sewickley Township, Westmoreland County. The school enrolls a small student body, with roughly even cohorts across the grade span. Just over half of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, placing the school in a solidly working-class community context. The student population is predominantly white, with a very small number of Black, Hispanic, and multiracial students.
The most recent state assessment data show mixed performance. In English language arts across grades three and four, proficiency sits in the low-to-mid range. Mathematics proficiency is notably lower, falling below the ELA result and below the midpoint of the range across districts in Westmoreland County. Science proficiency from the most recent available year is substantially stronger. Taken together, the school's overall proficiency index places it in the top quartile relative to other districts in the county, though this reflects an uneven profile across subjects. A parent may want to look into the school's approach to elementary mathematics instruction and ask the school directly about how it is addressing the gap in that area.
Herminie itself is a tight, walkable village core that grew around coal mines opened by the Berwind-White Company in the 1890s and still contains much pre-World War II housing stock, including the doubled miners' houses that give the place its distinctive small-town texture. The broader Sewickley Township is rural and car-dependent. Employment has shifted away from mining; residents now work in retail, food service, healthcare, and other sectors in nearby North Huntingdon and Greensburg. The Yough School District itself is a sizable local employer. Housing values in the area are well below state and national benchmarks, making homeownership affordable relative to median household income in the region. Population and housing growth have been flat or declining over the long term; the township's zoning explicitly prioritizes maintaining rural character and revitalizing existing villages rather than spurring new development. The result is a stable, established small-town environment with modest turnover and little new construction.
The school sits outside the village core on Herminie-West Newton Road, part of the district's separated campus footprint. Crabapple Community Park in the village center offers an outdoor pool, paved walking trails, and athletic fields; the Sewickley Township Public Library serves the area. There is no public transit, so families rely on personal vehicles for daily life beyond the village. The nearest larger services and shopping are in North Huntingdon and Greensburg.
Data on special education enrollment, English learner status, staffing, attendance, and discipline were not available. Because H W Good serves only grades K-4, state testing applies only to grades 3-4, so the school's full reach is not reflected in assessment results.
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