Elementary school (grades K-5) · West Chester, PA

Hillsdale El Sch

Federal NCES profile for Hillsdale El Sch, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 47/100.

2024-25 NCES dataElementary school (grades K-5)NCES 422529006910
0/100100/10047/100
👥 S:T ratio
50
🌟 Gifted program
70
🎓 Counselors
0
📋 Attendance
69
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →

The verdict

Hillsdale El Sch earns 47/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the Pennsylvania median.

#7 of 12
elementary schools in West Chester · Resource Index
47
Resource Index · Typical
12.5:1
students per teacher
16.3%
free-lunch eligible

Hillsdale El Sch has class sizes near the Pennsylvania median. Computed live against every Pennsylvania school reporting to NCES.

By Resource Investment Index, Hillsdale El Sch ranks #7 of 12 elementary schools in West Chester, PA.

Enrollment

537

Pennsylvania · 2024-25 NCES data

Teachers (FTE)

43.0

Federal CCD staff survey

Students per teacher

12.5:1

vs 13.6:1 Pennsylvania avg

-8% vs state

Free-lunch eligible

16.3%

vs 58.1% Pennsylvania avg

-72% vs state

Student-teacher ratio in context

How Hillsdale El Sch compares with Pennsylvania and U.S. medians

At or below state median

Source: NCES Common Core of Data As of 2024-25 federal staff survey Total enrollment ÷ full-time-equivalent classroom teachers

What stands out at Hillsdale El Sch

Hillsdale El Sch is a lower-poverty, mid-sized elementary school in West Chester, Pennsylvania, enrolling 537 students.

Class sizes run a bit leaner than typical: 12.5:1 puts it in the smaller third of Pennsylvania schools by student-teacher ratio.

Comparatively few students face economic hardship here, 16.3% free-meal eligibility runs 72% below the Pennsylvania average.

With 537 students, its enrollment sits close to the Pennsylvania median campus size.

Its Resource Investment Index sits near the middle of the pack among 2,889 scored Pennsylvania schools.

Against 421 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks mid-pack at #295.

Its student body is led by White (74%) and Hispanic or Latino (18%) (diversity index 42/100).

Counselor access is stretched at roughly 537 students per counselor, well above the ASCA-recommended 250:1 ceiling.

12.5% of students were chronically absent in the 2021-22 collection, in line with the post-pandemic national range.

Among West Chester's elementary schools, it stands alongside Sarah W Starkweather El Sch (576 students): Hillsdale El Sch is smaller than that campus by headcount and runs leaner classes (12.5:1 vs 14:1).

West Chester Area Sd also operates West Chester Henderson Hs (1,444 students) and West Chester East Hs (1,216 students) alongside Hillsdale El Sch.

Sourced from NCES CCD, CRDC, and F-33 (federal records, not a quality verdict). How we source and compute this.

Source: National Center for Education Statistics Common Core of Data + CRDC + F-33 · 2024-25

How Hillsdale El Sch compares

Hillsdale El Sch on the metrics families compare, against Pennsylvania and U.S. means.

Metric This school vs Pennsylvania Pennsylvania avg U.S. avg
Students per teacher 12.5:1 ▼ 8% 13.6:1 15.7:1
Free-lunch eligible 16.3% ▼ 72% 58.1% 51.7%
Enrollment 537 top 38% - -

Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25

12.5:1
Leaner classes than 71% of US schools, among the more generously staffed nationally.
537
Bigger than 66% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.

Equity indicators (what these measure)

Economic need
16.3%
free-lunch eligible - 72% below the Pennsylvania average of 58.1%
Below the 40% Title I threshold, among the lower-need profiles in the state; federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
12.5:1
students per teacher - 8% below state mean
Top 36% in Pennsylvania - lower ratio than 64% of state schools
Well under the widely cited 15:1 individualized-attention benchmark, among the leaner class loads nationally.
Engagement
12.5%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
In the 10-15% range, above the pre-pandemic national baseline but within the broader post-pandemic picture.
Funding equity
$17,702
per pupil, district-wide - below Pennsylvania avg of $17,970
Somewhat above the U.S. public-school average, reflecting higher local or state investment per enrolled student.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 537 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
1
in-school suspensions + 7 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.2 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 1.5 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.

Overview

  • Common Core of Data (June 2026): enrollment, staffing, and the student-teacher ratio above.
  • Civil Rights Data Collection: discipline counts and program access (AP, gifted, special education).
  • F-33 School District Finance Survey: the district-wide per-pupil spending figures below.

Three separate federal collections, each on its own reporting cadence - which is why this school's numbers line up on a consistent basis against every other school and state on this site, rather than mixing figures pulled from different survey years.

Student demographics

White 73.7%
Hispanic or Latino 18.2%
Two or More 5.4%
African American 2.0%
Asian 0.6%

Largest group: White at 73.7% of enrollment.

Student-body diversity index 42.0/100

Simpson diversity index - at 42.0, Hillsdale El Sch is more mixed than the Pennsylvania school average of 37.3.

Programs

Gifted & talented Yes

Funding & spending

District-wide per-pupil expenditure for West Chester Area Sd, which includes Hillsdale El Sch.

$17,702
Per student
-1%
vs Pennsylvania
Avg $17,970
+7%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 80.2%
State 16.5%
Federal 3.4%

Source: NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey District-level finance · FY 2021-22 Per-pupil expenditure reflects the district-wide average. Individual school budgets are not reported at the federal level.

How Hillsdale El Sch Compares to District-Mates

School Enrollment Economic Profile Student-Teacher Ratio
West Chester Henderson Hs Larger Similar economic need Higher S:T ratio
West Chester East Hs Larger Similar economic need Similar S:T ratio
West Chester Bayard Rustin Hs Larger Similar economic need Similar S:T ratio
E N Peirce Ms Larger Similar economic need Similar S:T ratio
J R Fugett Ms Larger Similar economic need Similar S:T ratio

Comparisons are relative to Hillsdale El Sch's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.

Other Schools in This District

West Chester Area Sd · 5 sibling schools

View district profile

Similar elementary schools in West Chester

6 comparable elementary schools (grades K-5) serving the same city.

Similar elementary schools statewide

Matched by enrollment size and by staffing ratio across all of Pennsylvania, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.

Next steps

Verify locally before acting on Hillsdale El Sch's federal record.

Federal record (CCD 2024-25, CRDC 2021-22) - PlainSchools assigns no subjective rating; the composite quality score is a transparent, reproducible index computed from this cited federal data.

Frequently asked questions about Hillsdale El Sch

How many students attend Hillsdale El Sch?

Hillsdale El Sch has 537 students enrolled. It is an elementary school in West Chester, PA.

What is the student-teacher ratio at Hillsdale El Sch?

The student-teacher ratio at Hillsdale El Sch is 12.5:1, which is 8% lower than the Pennsylvania average of 13.6:1 and 20% lower than the national average of 15.7:1. Lower ratios generally mean more individual attention per student.

What percentage of students receive free lunch at Hillsdale El Sch?

16.3% of students at Hillsdale El Sch are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Pennsylvania average of 58.1%.

What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Hillsdale El Sch?

The largest demographic group at Hillsdale El Sch is White at 73.7% of enrollment, in West Chester, PA.

What is the Resource Investment Index for Hillsdale El Sch?

Hillsdale El Sch has a Resource Investment Index of 47/100 (typical reported resources relative to schools nationally) based on 4 factors: student-teacher ratio, counselor availability, attendance rates. Not a test-score or academic measure (national median ~41/100, see methodology).

How does Hillsdale El Sch rank among elementary schools in West Chester?

By Resource Investment Index, Hillsdale El Sch ranks #7 of 12 elementary schools in West Chester, PA. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all elementary schools in West Chester on the city page.

Is Hillsdale El Sch a good school?

Hillsdale El Sch earns 47/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the Pennsylvania median. This is a resource snapshot, not an academic rating; see the Resource Investment Index question above for what the number does and doesn't measure.

What other schools are in West Chester Area Sd?

Besides Hillsdale El Sch, West Chester Area Sd also operates West Chester Henderson Hs (1,444 students), West Chester East Hs (1,216 students), and West Chester Bayard Rustin Hs (1,159 students). See the West Chester Area Sd district page for the complete list.

Source: National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) CCD + Public School Universe (2024-25), CRDC (2021-22), F-33 District Finance Survey (FY 2021-22) · 2024-25 Data as of the 2024-25 school year. Coverage from U.S. Department of Education NCES Common Core of Data. Varies by entity type; administrative districts and certain charter networks may report only a subset of fields.

All federal data sources used on this page

Full source list and how we compute each figure: methodology page.

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Every figure on PlainSchools is rendered directly from the source NCES, CRDC and F-33 federal records, no number is typed in by an editor. Each school's figures reflect its most recent NCES/CRDC submission on file. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of June 2026.