| Altoona Area School District | |
|---|---|
| Address | |
| 1415 Sixth Avenue Altoona, Pennsylvania, Blair, 16602 United States |
|
| Information | |
| Superintendent | Dennis E. Murray |
| Grades | K-12 |
| Enrollment | 8400 |
| Kindergarten | 630 |
| Grade 1 | 604 |
| Grade 2 | 619 |
| Grade 3 | 583 |
| Grade 4 | 648 |
| Grade 5 | 647 |
| Grade 6 | 578 |
| Grade 7 | 610 |
| Grade 8 | 600 |
| Grade 9 | 603 |
| Grade 10 | 695 |
| Grade 11 | 602 |
| Grade 12 | 504 |
| Other | Enrollment project to decline to 7760 by 2020 |
| Website | http://www.aasdcat.com/ |
The Altoona Area School District is a large, urban, public school district based in Altoona, Pennsylvania. The school district encompasses 59.6 square miles which includes all of Altoona, Logan Township and a small portion of Tyrone Township. With a student body of approximately 8,400, it is the 18th largest school district in Pennsylvania. It is one of the largest employers in Blair County with a staff of over 1,500.
In 2002, the Altoona Area School District achieved its long-term goal of becoming ISO 9001 certified. It was the fifth school district in the United States to achieve this designation.
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The Altoona Area School District operates twenty-one campuses, including one senior high, one junior high, and ten elementary schools. There are also several support locations.
After years of planning and preparation, the Altoona Area School District broke ground for the new Altoona Area Junior High School on Friday, April 28, 2006. This school also broke judicial grounds.
The new school replaced Keith, which opened in 1930 and Roosevelt, which opened in 1924. The new junior high school is complete and was open for the 2008-2009 school year. An estimated 1,800 students attend grades 7-9.
The school district is governed by 9 individually elected board members (serve four year terms), the Pennsylvania State Board of Education, the Pennsylvania Department of Education and the Pennsylvania General Assembly. [1] The federal government controls programs it funds like Title I funding for low income children in the Elementary and Secondary Education Act and the No Child Left Behind Act which mandates the district focus resources on student success in acquiring reading and math skills.
The Commonwealth Foundation for Public Policy Alternatives Sunshine Review gave the school board and district administration a "C-" for transparency based on a review of "What information can people find on their school district's website". It examined the school district's website for information regarding; taxes, the current budget, meetings, school board members names and terms, contracts, audits, public records information and more. [2]
The school district operates two television channels for the community on the Atlantic Broadband cable system. Both Educational Access Channel 13 and Public Access Channel 14 provide taped and live programs daily from studios located in Altoona Area High School.
In 2011, the Altoona Area School District ranked 208th out of 498 Pennsylvania districts. The ranking is based on five years of student academic achievement as demonstrated by PSSAs results in reading, writing, math and three years of science. [3]
In 2009, the academic achievement of the students of the Altoona Area School District was in the 35th percentile of Pennsylvania's 500 school districts. Scale (0-99; 100 is state best) [6]
In 2010, the Pennsylvania Department of Education issued a new, 4 year cohort graduation rate. Altoona Area School District's rate was 80% for 2010.[7]
According to traditional graduation rate calculations:
In 2010 the high school achieved Making Progress: in School Improvement I status. In 2009, the school was in School Improvement I status due to chronically low student achievement. [12]
11th Grade Reading
11th Grade Math:
11th Grade Science:
College Remediation: According to a Pennsylvania Department of Education study released in January 2009, 17% of Altoona Area High School graduates required remediation in mathematics and or reading before they were prepared to take college level courses in the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education or community colleges.[19] Less than 66% of Pennsylvania high school graduates, who enroll in a four-year college in Pennsylvania, will earn a bachelor's degree within six years. Among Pennsylvania high school graduates pursuing an associate degree, only one in three graduate in three years.[20] Per the Pennsylvania Department of Education, one in three recent high school graduates who attend Pennsylvania's public universities and community colleges takes at least one remedial course in math, reading or English.
The high school offers a Dual Enrollment program. This state program permits high school students to take courses, at local higher education institutions, to earn college credits. Students remain enrolled at their high school. The courses count towards both high school graduation requirements and towards earning a college degree. The students continue to have full access to activities at their high school. The college credits are offered at a deeply discounted rate. The state offers a small grant to assist students in costs for tuition, fees and books.[21] Under the Pennsylvania Transfer and Articulation Agreement, many Pennsylvania colleges and universities accept these credits for students who transfer to their institutions. [22] The Pennsylvania College Credit Transfer System reported in 2009, that students saved nearly $35.4 million by having their transferred credits count towards a degree under the new system.[23]
For the 2009-10 funding year, the school district received a state grant of $20,759 for the program.[24]
The Altoona Area School Board has determined that a high school student must earn 24 credits in order to graduate, including: English 4 credits, Social Studies 4 credits, Mathematics 4 credits, Science 3 credits, Physical Education 1 credits, Health 0.5 credit, Arts/humanities 2 credit and 6.5 elective credits. [25]
By law, all Pennsylvania secondary school students must complete a project as a part of their eligibility to graduate from high school. The type of project, its rigor and its expectations are set by the individual school district. [26] At Altoona High School the Graduation Project is a research project that is accomplished in Senior English classes. Students must make a presentation of their project. They can give a speech, complete a PowerPoint presentation, create a visual, produce videotape, or complete a role-play or demonstration.
By Pennsylvania School Board regulations, for the graduating classes of 2016, students must demonstrate successful completion of secondary level course work in Algebra I, Biology, English Composition, and Literature for which the Keystone Exams serve as the final course exams. Students’ Keystone Exam scores count for at least one-third of the final course grade.[27]
In 2007, the Altoona Area School District employed 515 teachers working 180 days of pupil instruction. The average teacher salary in the district was $50,134. This was the highest average teacher salary in Blair County.[28] As of 2007, Pennsylvania ranked in the top 10 states in average teacher salaries. When adjusted for cost of living Pennsylvania ranked fourth in the nation for teacher compensation.[29]
In 2008, per pupil spending at Altoona Area School District was $10,148 for each child. This ranked 467th among Pennsylvania's 500 school districts.[30] Altoona Area School District administrative costs per pupil in 2008 was $684.14 per pupil. This is ranked 337th among in the 500 school districts in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The lowest administrative cost per pupil in Pennsylvania was $398 per pupil. [31]
In the summer of 2011, the district administration did not apply for School Improvement Grant funding, from the federal government (over $9.9 million available). The grant stipulates the funds be used for improving student achievement using one of four federally dictated strategies. The strategies are: transformation, turnaround, restart with new faculty and administration or closure of failing schools. The Pennsylvania Education Secretary awarded $66 Million to reform Pennsylvania's lowest achieving schools in August 2011. The funding is for three years. [32]
For the 2010-11 school year, Altoona Area School District administration did not apply for a School Improvement Grant. It was eligible for funding due to the chronic, low achievement at five schools including: Juniata Gap Elementary School, Logan Elementary School, Penn-Lincoln Elementary School, Washington-Jefferson Elementary School, and Wright Elementary School. [33]
In 2010, Pennsylvania received $141 million from the federal department of education, to turn around its worst-performing schools. The funds were dispersed via a competitive grant program. Four schools in the Altoona Area School District were eligible for funding, however they did not apply. [34] The Pennsylvania Department of Education has identified 200 Pennsylvania schools as "persistently lowest achieving," making them eligible for this special funding. [35] Pennsylvania required low performing schools to apply or provide documentation about why they had not applied. The funds must be used, by the district, to turn around schools in one of four ways: school closure, restart - close the school and reopen it as a charter school. The other two options involve firing the principal. One would require at least half the faculty in a chronically poor performing school be dismissed. The second involves intensive teacher training coupled with strong curriculum revision or a longer school day. [36]
The district offers a variety of clubs, activities and sports. Eligibility to participate is determined by school board policies. The district owns three fields with artificial turfs enhance physical education, intramural and interscholastic athletic opportunities.
By Pennsylvania law, all K-12 students in the district, including those who attend a private nonpublic school, cyber charter school, charter school and those homeschooled, are eligible to participate in the extracurricular programs including all athletics. They must meet the same eligibility rules as the students enrolled in the district's schools.[37]
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