Best Public Schools in Zip Code 18249

Summary:

The 18249 zip code is home to a single school, Valley El/Middle School, which serves grades K-8 and is part of the Hazleton Area School District. The school faces significant challenges, with low academic performance, high poverty levels, and potential resource constraints.

Valley El/Middle School has a student enrollment of 910 and a student-teacher ratio of 13.5:1. The school's proficiency rates on the PSSA tests are consistently lower than the state averages, particularly in math, where only 26.4% of students were proficient in 2024-2025, compared to the state average of 41.7%. In English Language Arts, the school's proficiency rate of 43.5% was also below the state's 48.5%.

The school's performance is reflected in its declining ranking on SchoolDigger, dropping from 1057 out of 1526 Pennsylvania elementary schools in 2023-2024 to 1071 out of 1511 in 2024-2025. Additionally, 100% of the school's students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, indicating high poverty levels in the community. The school's spending per student of $11,823 may also contribute to the academic challenges it faces.

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

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2025)				Ranking (2024)				PSSA Math (2025)							PSSA English Language Arts (2025)							Per Pupil Expenditures (2024)
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	PSSA Math 3rd Grade	PSSA Math 4th Grade	PSSA Math 5th Grade	PSSA Math 6th Grade	PSSA Math 7th Grade	PSSA Math 8th Grade	PSSA Math All Grades	PSSA English Language Arts 3rd Grade	PSSA English Language Arts 4th Grade	PSSA English Language Arts 5th Grade	PSSA English Language Arts 6th Grade	PSSA English Language Arts 7th Grade	PSSA English Language Arts 8th Grade	PSSA English Language Arts All Grades	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
Valley El/Middle School	Public	K-8	100 Rock Glen Rd	Sugarloaf	18249	Luzerne County	Hazleton Area School District	No	No	No	No	(570) 459-3111	957	68	14.0	95.1%	680 (71.1%)	13 (1.4%)	222 (23.2%)	12 (1.3%)	3 (0.3%)	1 (0.1%)	26 (2.7%)	31.3	1071^st of 1511 public elementary schools	29.1%		36.1	1057^th of 1526 public elementary schools	30.7%	14	31.1	20.0	28.6	14.0	29.8	32.3	26.4	36.8	40.0	46.4	50.6	45.9	43.3	43.5	$12,686	$341	$12,345

Cities Near Zip Code 18249

City	Distance	# of Schools	Statewide Rank
Sugarloaf	0.25 mi	1	580^th
Drums	3.99 mi	1	489^th
Hazle Township	4.29 mi	4	705^th
West Hazleton	4.41 mi	1	685^th
Hazleton	5.57 mi	3	713^th

See the top PA Pennsylvania cities

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