The top reported proficiency rate is 72% in Science. The lowest is 59% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on William Penn School
William Penn School is a public elementary school in Salt Lake City, serving kindergarten through sixth grade as part of Granite District. It sits in a residential setting in the city’s eastern side, near the Sugar House neighborhood. The school is not a charter or magnet, and it operates as a standard district school for its attendance zone.
On state assessments, William Penn School posts results that place it among the stronger elementary schools in the area. The school’s overall proficiency across tested subjects – math, English language arts, and science – falls in the top quartile when measured against all districts in Salt Lake County. In both math and ELA, the share of students meeting the state’s proficiency benchmarks is above what is typical for the county. Science results follow the same pattern. These scores come from Utah’s RISE assessment, which is the regular state test for grades three through eight. A parent looking at the numbers will see a school where the majority of students are performing at or above grade level in the core subjects, and where the academic floor is relatively high compared to many peers in the county. Multi-year trend data was not available for this school, so we cannot say whether these results represent a stable pattern or a recent shift.
The student body is predominantly white, with a noticeable but smaller share of Hispanic students, and smaller still numbers of Black, Asian, multiracial, and Native American students. About a quarter of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a share that is moderate for an urban elementary school and suggests a mix of middle-income and lower-income households in the attendance area. Enrollment information for students with disabilities and English learners was not reported in the data we received, so a parent wanting to understand how the school serves those groups would need to ask the school directly.
The housing market in the zip code that covers William Penn School is comparatively expensive, with home values well above the national typical level. Rents are also above average. This reflects the broader Salt Lake City market, where prices have risen in recent years as the region grows. The area is well served by public transit including TRAX light rail, and many parts of the city are walkable. Household incomes in the city are above the national median, though the school’s quarter of low-income families shows that not all families in the zone share that affluence. Unemployment nationally is low, and the Salt Lake region has a diversified economy anchored by the University of Utah, healthcare, and tech sectors.
William Penn School is a neighborhood elementary with solid academic results and a largely white, mixed-income student body. Because it serves only grades K through six, there is no high school graduation rate to report, and there is no state testing for the youngest grades. We looked for information on programs such as gifted, arts, or language offerings and found none reported. Data on discipline, staffing ratios, teacher qualifications, and chronic absenteeism were also absent from the available records. A parent evaluating this school will likely want to speak with the school about those details, as well as about how the school supports students with special needs given the missing counts.
Granite District, the governing body, has been active in recent years with capital projects and facility improvements, though we found little on specific district-level strategic shifts that directly affect William Penn. The school’s own website was not part of the material provided. In summary, William Penn School offers a strong academic profile for an elementary school in the Salt Lake City area, set in a growing urban community with relatively high housing costs. The missing data on student support programs and staffing mean a family should follow up with the school to fill those gaps before making a decision.
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