Abington Heights School District

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Abington Heights School District
The AHSD embraces a culture of excellence and strives to be the best in everything we do.
Type	Public
Region	Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania
Grades	K–12
Superintendent	Michael Mahon
Contact number	570-585-8251
Students	3603 (2006-2007)[when?]
Athletic Conference	PIAA District 2
Location	Clarks Summit, Pennsylvania USA
Information	570-586-2511
Website	http://ahsd.org/

The Abington Heights School District is located in Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania in the United States. The school district serves eight municipalities just north of Scranton, with students in four elementary schools, a middle school, and a high school. The high school was once recognized by Money magazine as one of the top 100 schools in the nation.^[1]

[edit] Students

For the district, the students per FTE teacher ratio is 16:1.^[2] During the 2005-2006 school year, the last time data was available, the overall ethnicity was 95% White (non-Hispanic), 2% Asian/Pacific Islander, Black (non-Hispanic) 1%, Hispanic 1%, American Indian/Alaskan Native <1%.^[3]

[edit] Test Results

In 2007, Abington Heights did very well across the board in standardized testing. Students who took the Pennsylvania System of State Assessments scored on average about 20% better than the state average. 7th graders scored 25% and 24% better than the state average of 67% in reading and math, respectively. The only time AHSD students scored out of the 80s and 90s were 11th grade students who scored 74% and 57% in reading and math, compared to the state average of 65% and 54% respectively. ^[4]

[edit] Municipalities

Eight municipalities make up the Abington Heights School District, including: the boroughs of Clarks Summit and Clarks Green, and the townships of North Abington, Abington, South Abington, Glenburn, Newton, and Ransom.^[5]

These municipalities, except for Ransom Township, but together with Dalton and West Abington Township (which are part of the Lackawanna Trail School District), make up a growing suburban area of Scranton known as "The Abingtons."

[edit] Schools

• Clarks Summit Elementary School (K-4)
• Newton-Ransom Elementary School (K-4)
• South Abington Elementary School (K-4)
• Waverly Elementary School (K-4)
• Abington Heights Middle School (5-8)
• Abington Heights High School (9-12)

Clarks Summit Elementary School covers the student population of the Clarks Summit and Clarks Green areas, while South Abington Elementary School covers mostly South Abington Township. Waverly Elementary School, located in the historic village of Waverly, covers the Waverly and Dalton areas of the Abington Heights School District. Newton, the smallest elementary school in the district, covers the rural regions of Newton and Ransom Townships. All middle school students in the district attend Abington Heights Middle School (off Newton-Ransom Blvd. in Newton Township). Abington Heights High School is off Noble Rd. in Clarks Summit.

[edit] History

Map of Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania School Districts with Abington Heights School District in orange in eastern Lackawanna County.

The origins of the Abington Heights School District date to the founding of Clarks Green (and later Clarks Summit), the two largest boroughs in the district. Both where founded during the early 1800s and attribute their name to Captain William Clark, a revolutionary war veteran from Rhode Island. Col. Ebbings from Connecticut founded the Abington Area in the late 1700s. It was originally called "Ebbington" and later changed to "Abington." Waverly was one of the earliest villages of the Abingtons and later came the establishment of Bailey Hollow (presently called Dalton) in the 19th Century and Clarks Summit and Clarks Green in the early 20th Century.

The first high school in the Abingtons was built in 1875, and was called "Abington High School." In 1883, it was struck by lightning and burned to the ground. Another high school in the Abingtons, the Dalton High School, was completed in 1887 and closed down in 1930. The Abington Heights School District was formed in the early 1950s from four former school districts: Clarks Summit-Abington, Glenburn, South Abington, and Newton-Ransom. Abington Heights High School was completed in 1966. Over the next several decades, renovations and changes were made. Today there are six schools in the district along with one administration building.

The main mascot for Abington Heights is the Comet, while the colors are blue and white. The Comet comes from the original Clarks Summit High School Comets, prior to the establishment of Abington Heights.

[edit] Athletics

Abington Heights is a PIAA District 2 school district which actively participates in the following sports:

[edit] Notable alumni

• Amber Jacobs- women's national basketball association player (Washington Mystics)

[edit] External links

• Abington Heights School District Homepage

[edit] References

• http://www.thetimes-tribune.com/site/news.cfm?BRD=2185&Pag=562&WebSite__ID=3077&dept_id=594802