Welcome to Charles Kelly Elementary School!

Charles Kelly Elementary School’s mission is to develop young children with active and creative minds, a sense of understanding and compassion for others, and the courage to act on their beliefs. At Charles Kelly Elementary School, we stress the total development of each child: academically, intellectually, socially, emotionally, and physically.

The Charles Kelly Elementary School was established in August 2007. It evolved out of a need and responsibility to reduce the enrollment at the overcrowded Stonehurst Hills and Highland Park Elementary Schools. Although the Upper Darby School District “School Capacity Task Force” investigated and pursued various sites within Upper Darby Township during a study period, no site was more perfectly suited or able to be opened in such a short time as the current home of Charles Kelly Elementary, formerly known as St. Charles Borromeo Elementary School in Drexel Hill.

The school is named in honor of Charles Kelly, a prominent business executive responsible for community growth and the financing of two of the earliest Catholic churches in Delaware County. The students who attend the Charles Kelly School are students who were previously bussed to Highland Park and Stonehurst Hills Elementary Schools from the far ends of the schools’ boundaries. Seven buses deliver over 300 students to the Kelly School each day. The school is proud to maintain the ethnic and cultural richness that is exhibited at Highland Park and Stonehurst Hills.

The small school size of Charles Kelly Elementary allows for personal interaction and the establishment of a true family atmosphere. The 17 classroom teachers are professional and experienced. The school continues the practice of a “Morning Meeting” and a Responsive Classroom philosophy to maintain a community of care and respect for one another.

Through the assistance of a terrific support staff, including two reading specialists, two special education teachers, two English Language Learner teachers, a social worker, guidance counselor and a school psychologist, Charles Kelly Elementary has a vast web of support for its students and staff. 

By taking regular looks at the progress our students are making, we believe we can get a better grasp of both individual and group areas of need. We in turn use the data to drive instruction so we can enrich and remediate as we move forward. We believe this program will continue to assist us in providing an excellent educational program and improve student performance on the Pennsylvania System of School Assessment (P.S.S.A.) test scores for our school.

Charles Kelly Elementary School continues to work diligently at developing a Home and School Association to help promote activities and initiatives to enhance the educational and social opportunities for growth for our students. We look forward to your interest in becoming a part of this effort to encourage our students to be life-long learners.

Charles Kelly Elementary School... Together, We Will Make Our Dreams Realities!