Summary:
Petersham has one elementary school in the available data: Petersham Center, a K–6 school serving 142 students at 31 Spring Street, part of the Petersham district. Because it is the only elementary school in the area, this is a profile of that single school rather than a comparison among local options.
Petersham Center has been climbing steadily in the state's school rankings. It moved from 460 of 916 schools (50th percentile, 3 stars) in 2023–2024 to 323 of 906 (64th percentile, 3 stars) in 2024–2025, and then to 270 of 899 (70th percentile, 4 stars) in 2025–2026. Its district rating is also 4 stars, ranking 106 of 351, or the 70th percentile. In 2025–2026 MCAS testing, the school scored above the state in all three subjects: English language arts at 56.58% proficient versus 40.03% statewide (+16.55 points), math at 51.32% versus 41.11% (+10.21 points), and science at 60% versus 40.98% (+19.02 points).
Science is the standout subject, reaching 76.19% in 2024–2025 — 34.68 points above the state — and staying 19.02 points above in 2025–2026. Upper grades are especially strong, with 6th grade ELA at 77.78% and 6th grade math at 72.22%. The relative soft spot is lower-grade math, where 3rd grade (40.91%) and 4th grade (37.50%) landed near or slightly below state levels. Class sizes are small, with a student-teacher ratio of 11.3 in 2024–2025, and per-student spending was $18,199 in 2020–2021. Free/reduced lunch data is not reported for 2024–2025.
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