| Bethlehem Area School District | |
|---|---|
| Location of the Bethlehem Area School District in Lehigh and Northampton Counties, Pennsylvania. | |
| Address | |
| 1516 Sycamore Street Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, Lehigh, Northampton, 18017 United States |
|
| Information | |
| Superintendent | Joseph J. Roy |
| Teaching staff | 1,192 |
| Grades | K-12 |
| Enrolment | 15,354 (2007-2008) |
| Website | http://www.beth.k12.pa.us/ |
The Bethlehem Area School District covers the City of Bethlehem, the Boroughs of Fountain Hill and Freemansburg and Bethlehem Township and Hanover Township in Lehigh County and Northampton County. The district operates two High Schools, four Middle Schools and sixteen Elementary Schools as well as other educational institutions. The enrollment of the school district is 15,036, with 55% White, 9.5% Black, 32.3% Hispanic, 3.1% Asian, and 0.2% Native American.[1]
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In 2011, the school district ranked 356th out of 498 Pennsylvania districts by the Pittsburgh Business Times.[2] 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.
In 2011, the Pittsburgh Business Times reported an Overachievers Ranking for 497 Pennsylvania school districts. Bethlehem Area School District ranked 205th. The paper describes the ranking as: "a ranking answers the question - which school districts do better than expectations based upon economics? This rank takes the Honor Roll rank and adds the percentage of students in the district eligible for free and reduced lunch into the formula. A district finishing high on this rank is smashing expectations, and any district above the median point is exceeding expectations." [5]
Graduation Rate:
In 2010, the Pennsylvania Department of Education issued a new, 4 year cohort graduation rate. Bethlehem Area School Distrct's rate was 82% for 2010.[7]
In 2009, Bethlehem Area School District student academic achievement ranked in the 21st percentile among 500 PA school districts. (0-99; 100 is state best)[12]
College remediation: According to a Pennsylvania Department of Education study released in January 2009, 25% of Bethlehem Area School District 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. [13] 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.[14] 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.