Petersham, Massachusetts
The Petersham Schools by the Numbers
A snapshot of the town’s own elementary district, which educates about 133 students, and of the regional district its older students join. Detailed figures come from the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE).
District Snapshot
Sources: Massachusetts DESE, school and district profiles.
High needs is a state count, not a score. It includes every student who is from a low income household, learning English, or receiving special education services, and counts each one only once. The median across all 395 Massachusetts districts is 46.6 percent.
District Overview
| District | Petersham |
| Enrollment | 133 |
| Schools | 1 (Petersham Center) |
| Grades 7 to 12 | Ralph C. Mahar Regional, Orange |
Student Population
For the precise current breakdown, see the DESE district profile.
| English learners | 2.3% |
| Students with disabilities | 16.5% |
| Low income | 30.8% |
| Per-pupil spending (in-district) | $19,590.81 |
Academic Performance & Context
Petersham Center is a kindergarten through grade 6 district, so it has no graduation rate of its own. Its students continue to the Ralph C. Mahar Regional School District in Orange, shared with New Salem, Orange, and Wendell. MCAS results and accountability data for both districts are published and updated each year by DESE, so this guide links to the live state profile rather than reprinting numbers that quickly go stale.
Sources
MA DESE, Petersham Student Profile (code 02340000). Accessed 2026.