18 public K-12 schools in New Castle from NCES Common Core of Data: enrollment, grade span, demographics, and Civil Rights Data Collection statistics for every active campus.
National city placement
According to NCES CCD 2024-25, New Castle has more public-school enrollment than 76% of the 4,487 US cities in this directory. New Castle sits in the broad middle of the national city distribution rather than at a single obvious extreme. Its scale, average Resource Investment Index, and staffing position need to be read together: a middle placement on one measure does not cancel a stronger or weaker result on another. The percentile panel makes those dimensions explicit, and the school table shows where the city aggregate breaks into materially different campus profiles.
New Castle's list includes 6 elementary, 4 middle, and 5 high-school campuses, plus 3 combined-grade records. The city average spans every major grade stage, so the ranked table is more informative when read within level than as one interchangeable queue.
The 39-point gap between Laurel Hs and Harry W Lockley Early Learning Center shows the range hidden by New Castle's average Resource Investment Index. The city figure is useful for national placement, but families ultimately choose among campuses with different grade spans, enrollment, district affiliations, and reported support fields. Start with schools serving the relevant grade level, then compare the index components rather than assuming the city average describes any one classroom.
New Castle school enrollment ranges from 160 students (lowest) to 740 students (highest), a spread of 580 students. That relatively narrow ratio reflects an unusually homogeneous school portfolio for a city this size. Per-school staffing and program breadth can differ sharply at opposite ends of that enrollment range, so the city average should not be treated as a typical campus.
Source: NCES Common Core of Data
The reported share sits between 62.5% and 75%, above a simple majority but below the highest descriptive band used here. Title I operates under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA, 2015), but its statutory allocation uses additional LEA-level counts and rules not represented by this average. This percentage is an economic-need context measure; it does not establish a Title I award, show dollars received, or describe how funds are distributed among campuses.
Source: NCES Common Core of Data
Each school district has independent budgeting, hiring, and service delivery authority. The fragmentation reflects historical patterns of inter-municipal boundary lines that pre-date modern city growth, students in different parts of the same city can attend different districts with different per-pupil spending, calendars, and graduation requirements. Per-region variation is largest in fragmented systems because each school district sets its own budget, contracts, and priorities without higher-level coordination above the regulatory floor.
Source: NCES Common Core of Data
student-teacher ratio is the simplest comparative metric but it does not capture the full picture: the ratio counts FTE classroom teachers against total enrollment, push-in specialists, English-language aides, special-education co-teachers, and counselors are not included in most reporting Variation between sub-units within New Castle is typically wider than the New Castle-aggregate figure suggests.
| # | School | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Laurel Hs | 57 |
| 2. | Mohawk El Sch | 56 |
| 3. | Laurel El Sch | 55 |
| 4. | Union Area Hs | 55 |
| 5. | Union Memorial El Sch | 53 |
| 6. | Union Area Ms | 53 |
| 7. | Laurel Ms | 52 |
| 8. | Shenango Hs | 46 |
| 9. | Mohawk Shs | 46 |
| 10. | Mohawk Jhs | 42 |
| 11. | Neshannock Jshs | 41 |
| 12. | New Castle Shs | 34 |
| 13. | Shenango El Sch | 34 |
| 14. | Neshannock Memorial El Sch | 33 |
| 15. | Washington Intrmd Sch | 28 |
| 16. | New Castle Jhs | 26 |
| 17. | Lawrence County Ctc | 23 |
| 18. | Harry W Lockley Early Learning Center | 18 |
Ranked by the Simpson student-body diversity index (0-100) from NCES race and ethnicity data, where higher means a more evenly mixed student body. It measures mix, not quality.
Laurel Hs has the highest Resource Investment Index among the New Castle schools in this federal-data comparison at 57/100. The index summarizes reported staffing, counseling, gifted-program, and attendance inputs; it is not an academic rating.
New Castle has 18 public schools with a total enrollment of 8,564 students. Average student-teacher ratio: 14.8:1.
Side-by-side: Compare any two schools or districts in Pennsylvania →
Data from NCES Common Core of Data (CCD) 2024-25 and Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC) 2021-22. The Resource Investment Index uses reported student-teacher ratio, counselor access, gifted programs, and attendance; it is not an academic rating. Cities must include at least five schools to be listed. This public-data comparison is for informational purposes: verify current enrollment, attendance boundaries, and programs with the school district before acting. See the guide to understanding NCES data.
