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Paul Dunbar Lawrence School

Public Grades PK, KG-8

Summary

Paul Dunbar Lawrence School is an elementary school serving grades PK-8 in Phoenix, Arizona, with a student population of 138 as of the 2022-2023 school year. The school's student body is predominantly Hispanic (55.8%) and African American (35.51%), with a high percentage of students from low-income families.

Despite its small size, Paul Dunbar Lawrence School faces significant academic challenges. The school consistently ranks in the bottom 20% of Arizona elementary schools, with proficiency rates well below the state and district averages in core subjects like Science. The school's dropout rates have also been higher than the state average in the past, though the most recent rate of 0% is a positive sign. Compared to nearby schools like Kenilworth Elementary School, Paul Dunbar Lawrence School generally performs worse academically, with lower proficiency rates across multiple grade levels.

The high percentage of students from low-income families at Paul Dunbar Lawrence School, coupled with its relatively low student-teacher ratio, suggest that the school may be in need of additional funding and resources to address the unique challenges faced by its student population. The school's declining statewide ranking over the years and the Phoenix Elementary District's overall low ranking and 1-star rating raise questions about the allocation and distribution of resources within the district, which may be contributing to the persistent achievement gaps at Paul Dunbar Lawrence School.

125

Students ?

8.9

Student/teacher ratio ?

$13,262

Per pupil spending ?

88.4%

Free/discounted lunch ?

707 W Grant St
Phoenix, AZ 85007-3407

(602) 257-3844

District: Phoenix Elementary District

Students who attend Paul Dunbar Lawrence School usually attend:

High:

Central High School

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:

48.0%

African American:

44.8%

Two or more races:

4.8%

See top rated Arizona public schools

Compare Paul Dunbar Lawrence School to nearby elementary schools!

At a glance

▲ Ranking trend: Improving — 4th percentile in 2011 → 22nd in 2023

Strengths

✓Ranking is trending up — up 18 percentile points since 2011

✓Small classes — about 9 students per teacher

Worth a look

!Test scores below the Arizona average (20% vs 39% meeting standards)

!Science scores 26 pts below the Arizona average

Students meeting standards (2022-2023) ?

This school20%

District avg24%

Arizona avg39%

Not ranked this year

Paul Dunbar Lawrence School did not have enough recent test-score data to be ranked. Check the trend below for past years.

135^th of 289Phoenix Elementary District among Arizona districts

Statewide rank percentile over time (100 = the top-ranked school in the state; click a legend item to add a student group)

Elementary school ranking

Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Arizona percentile	Rating
2023	21.7	969 of 1245	22.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	11.3	1186 of 1226	3.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	16.6	971 of 1109	12.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2017	13.1	1015 of 1106	8.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2016	30.7	720 of 1079	33.3%	★★☆☆☆
2015	50.3	412 of 955	56.9%	★★★☆☆
2014	23.1	871 of 1079	19.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2013	15.1	1089 of 1158	6.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2012	20.0	1033 of 1141	9.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2011	8.7	1031 of 1075	4.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2010	7.0	1061 of 1090	2.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2009	7.4	1035 of 1062	2.5%	☆☆☆☆☆

African American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Arizona percentile	Rating
2023	26.9	489 of 607	19.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	32.9	644 of 895	28.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	42.4	54 of 100	46.0%	★★☆☆☆

English Language Learner

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Arizona percentile	Rating
2021	39.3	545 of 975	44.1%	★☆☆☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Arizona percentile	Rating
2023	26.8	865 of 1219	29.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	12.8	1161 of 1219	4.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	16.8	902 of 1023	11.8%	★☆☆☆☆

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Arizona percentile	Rating
2023	35.6	737 of 1170	37.0%	★★☆☆☆
2021	13.0	1181 of 1198	1.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	24.9	734 of 911	19.4%	★☆☆☆☆

Homeless

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Arizona percentile	Rating
2021	32.3	265 of 423	37.4%	★★☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Arizona percentile	Rating
2023	27.0	861 of 1116	22.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	25.0	655 of 820	20.1%	★☆☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Arizona percentile	Rating
2023	21.0	984 of 1216	19.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	12.2	1180 of 1220	3.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	16.4	909 of 1032	11.9%	★☆☆☆☆

Multi-racial

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Arizona percentile	Rating
2021	25.4	845 of 1027	17.7%	★☆☆☆☆

Native American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Arizona percentile	Rating
2021	27.7	628 of 654	4.0%	☆☆☆☆☆

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Arizona percentile	Rating
2021	23.7	1053 of 1201	12.3%	★☆☆☆☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Arizona percentile	Rating
2021	6.2	1155 of 1161	0.5%	☆☆☆☆☆

Middle school ranking

Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Arizona percentile	Rating
2021	12.4	807 of 832	3.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	12.0	658 of 711	7.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2017	14.7	632 of 695	9.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2016	27.1	487 of 677	28.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2014	21.6	573 of 690	17.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2013	12.2	736 of 787	6.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2012	16.9	701 of 772	9.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2011	9.5	649 of 685	5.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2010	18.4	614 of 692	11.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2009	17.4	591 of 663	10.9%	★☆☆☆☆

African American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Arizona percentile	Rating
2021	26.1	483 of 573	15.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	41.2	57 of 125	54.4%	★★★☆☆

English Language Learner

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Arizona percentile	Rating
2021	41.7	298 of 606	50.8%	★★★☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Arizona percentile	Rating
2021	10.4	798 of 820	2.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	12.4	577 of 624	7.5%	☆☆☆☆☆

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Arizona percentile	Rating
2021	18.5	750 of 802	6.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	19.7	465 of 543	14.4%	★☆☆☆☆

Homeless

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Arizona percentile	Rating
2021	32.5	205 of 257	20.2%	★☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Arizona percentile	Rating
2018	18.4	445 of 503	11.5%	★☆☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Arizona percentile	Rating
2021	17.5	733 of 818	10.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	18.2	519 of 617	15.9%	★☆☆☆☆

Native American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Arizona percentile	Rating
2021	42.5	180 of 390	53.8%	★★★☆☆

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Arizona percentile	Rating
2021	28.1	644 of 789	18.4%	★☆☆☆☆

How student groups rank statewide ? (each group's percentile vs the same group at other schools — higher is better; the +/- beside each compares the group with this school's overall percentile)

Elementary school

English Language Learner (2021)44th percentile+41 vs school

Homeless (2021)37th percentile+34 vs school

Hispanic (2023)37th percentile+15 vs school

Female (2023)29th percentile+7 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2023)23rd percentile~ school

African American (2023)19th percentile-3 vs school

Male (2023)19th percentile-3 vs school

Multi-racial (2021)18th percentile+14 vs school

Special Education (2021)12th percentile+9 vs school

Native American (2021)4th percentile~ school

White (2021)1st percentile-3 vs school

Middle school

Native American (2021)54th percentile+51 vs school

English Language Learner (2021)51st percentile+48 vs school

Homeless (2021)20th percentile+17 vs school

Special Education (2021)18th percentile+15 vs school

African American (2021)16th percentile+13 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2018)12th percentile+4 vs school

Male (2021)10th percentile+7 vs school

Hispanic (2021)6th percentile+3 vs school

Female (2021)3rd percentile~ school

By subject vs Arizona (2022-2023) ?

Mathematics30%-10 vs state

English Language Arts17%-24 vs state

Science8%-26 vs state

1.0

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What people are saying

by a parent
Saturday, November 18, 2017

Teachers amazing however the front staff is horrible and should not even be aloud to be in a school, my son was hit multiple times in the head and the did nothing because it was on his way to school and then didn't bother to call me till 3 pm and tell me my son had been in the nurses office all day due to it. This school is honestly one of the worst school's in Phoenix. Close Quote

Schools Near Paul Dunbar Lawrence School

Choose columns to see: Summary School Students/Teachers Ranking Test Scores Finance All

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2025)				Ranking (2024)				AASA English Language Arts (2025)						AASA Mathematics (2025)				AzSCI Science (2025)	Per Pupil Expenditures (2022)
Name	Type	Grades	Address	City	Zip	County	District	Is Charter	Is Magnet	Is Virtual	Is Title I	Phone	Enrollment	Full-time Teachers	Student/ Teacher Ratio	Free/Discounted Lunch Recipients	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	SchoolDigger Rating (2025)	Average Standard Score (2024)	Statewide Rank (2024)	State Percentile (2024)	Rank Change from Previous Year	AASA English Language Arts 3rd Grade	AASA English Language Arts 4th Grade	AASA English Language Arts 5th Grade	AASA English Language Arts 6th Grade	AASA English Language Arts 7th Grade	AASA English Language Arts 8th Grade	AASA Mathematics 3rd Grade	AASA Mathematics 4th Grade	AASA Mathematics 5th Grade	AASA Mathematics 6th Grade	AzSCI Science 8th Grade	Per Pupil Expenditures: Total	Personnel Spending from Federal Funds	Non-Personnel Spending from Federal Funds	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Personnel Spending from State and Local Funds	Non-Personnel from State and Local Funds	Sub-total Spending from State and Local Funds
Paul Dunbar Lawrence School	Public	PK, KG-8	707 W Grant St	Phoenix	85007	Maricopa County	Phoenix Elementary District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(602) 257-3844	125	14	8.9		2 (1.6%)	56 (44.8%)	60 (48.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.8%)	0 (0.0%)	6 (4.8%)								(n/a)												$13,262	$1,186	$463	$2,834	$10,308	$1,305	$11,614
Vista College Preparatory - Hadley	Public, Charter	K-8	812 S 6th Ave	Phoenix	85003	Maricopa County	Vista College Preparatory Inc.	Yes	(n/a)	No	Yes	(602) 374-7159	228	14	16.2		6 (2.6%)	36 (15.8%)	176 (77.2%)	1 (0.4%)	2 (0.9%)	0 (0.0%)	7 (3.1%)	53.4	356^th of 909 public elementary schools	60.8%		34.8	525^th of 912 public elementary schools	42.4%	169		46.0					39.0	60.0				$9,842	$913	$1,521	$3,347	$5,352	$2,056	$7,408
Lowell Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-8	1121 S 3rd Ave	Phoenix	85003	Maricopa County	Phoenix Elementary District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(602) 257-3902	282	18	15.6		4 (1.4%)	35 (12.4%)	234 (83.0%)	0 (0.0%)	6 (2.1%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (1.1%)								(n/a)						32.0						$11,321	$994	$690	$2,679	$9,097	$540	$9,636
Mary Mcleod Bethune School	Public	PK, KG-8	1310 S 15th Ave	Phoenix	85007	Maricopa County	Phoenix Elementary District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(602) 257-3830	324	25	12.9		6 (1.9%)	47 (14.5%)	260 (80.2%)	3 (0.9%)	5 (1.5%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (0.9%)								(n/a)					32.0	35.0	31.0					$11,698	$1,306	$448	$3,060	$9,489	$456	$9,944
Capitol Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-8	330 N 16th Ave	Phoenix	85007	Maricopa County	Phoenix Elementary District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(602) 257-3835	373	27	13.8		18 (4.8%)	21 (5.6%)	325 (87.1%)	0 (0.0%)	5 (1.3%)	1 (0.3%)	3 (0.8%)								(n/a)		34.0			25.0							$9,024	$938	$424	$2,300	$7,048	$613	$7,661
Friendly House Academia Del Pueblo Elementary	Public, Charter	K-8	201 E Durango St	Phoenix	85004	Maricopa County	Friendly House Inc.	Yes	(n/a)	No	Yes	(602) 258-4353	245	20	12.2		7 (2.9%)	13 (5.3%)	223 (91.0%)	1 (0.4%)	1 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)								(n/a)													$00			$00
Faith North Early Childhood Learning Center	Public	PK-K	910 E Washington St	Phoenix	85034	Maricopa County	Phoenix Elementary District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(602) 257-3901	103	6	17.9		9 (8.7%)	16 (15.5%)	74 (71.8%)	3 (2.9%)	1 (1.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)								(n/a)												$40,707	$14,110	$749	$28,970	$22,731	$3,117	$25,848
Silvestre S Herrera School	Public	PK, KG-8	1350 S 11th St	Phoenix	85034	Maricopa County	Phoenix Elementary District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(602) 257-3885	449	29	15.5		9 (2.0%)	36 (8.0%)	390 (86.9%)	0 (0.0%)	9 (2.0%)	1 (0.2%)	4 (0.9%)	33.6	533^rd of 909 public elementary schools	41.4%		34.9	524^th of 912 public elementary schools	42.5%	9		41.0					41.0	32.0				$11,867	$1,457	$461	$3,376	$9,329	$619	$9,948
ASU Preparatory Academy- Phoenix Elementary	Public, Charter	K-4	735 E Fillmore St	Phoenix	85006	Maricopa County	ASU Preparatory Academy	Yes	(n/a)	No	Yes	(602) 496-3100	443	31	14.2		25 (5.6%)	56 (12.6%)	332 (74.9%)	3 (0.7%)	9 (2.0%)	1 (0.2%)	17 (3.8%)								(n/a)		30.0					18.0						$00			$00
Kenilworth Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-8	1210 N 5th Ave	Phoenix	85003	Maricopa County	Phoenix Elementary District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(602) 257-3889	0	29	.0		0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	25.8	610^th of 909 public elementary schools	32.9%		26.1	622^nd of 912 public elementary schools	31.8%	12	29.0	45.0	35.0	27.0	41.0	39.0	33.0	22.0	26.0	27.0	20.0	$9,653	$1,156	$336	$2,648	$7,289	$872	$8,161

Frequently Asked Questions about Paul Dunbar Lawrence School

How many students attend Paul Dunbar Lawrence School?

In the 2024-25 school year, 125 students attended Paul Dunbar Lawrence School.

What is the racial makeup of Paul Dunbar Lawrence School?

Students at Paul Dunbar Lawrence School are 48% Hispanic, 45% African American, 5% Two or more races, 2% White.

What district is Paul Dunbar Lawrence School in?

Phoenix Elementary District

What schools do graduates of Paul Dunbar Lawrence School attend?

Students who attend Paul Dunbar Lawrence School usually go on to attend:

High : Central High School

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SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau and the Arizona Department of Education.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERS: Not all boundaries are included. We make every effort to ensure that boundaries are up-to-date. But it's important to note that these are approximations and are for general informational purposes only. To verify legal descriptions of boundaries or school locations, contact your local tax assessor's office and/or school district.