| Homer-Center School District | |
|---|---|
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"Where Everybody is Somebody!"
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| Location | |
| 65 Wildcat Lane Homer City, Pennsylvania 15748-1602 United States |
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| Information | |
| Type | Public |
| NCES District ID | 4213290[1] |
| Superintendent | Dr. Vincent Delconte |
| Grades | K-12 |
| Enrollment | 964 |
| Campus type | Rural |
| Color(s) | Black and White |
| Total Schools | 2 |
| Title I School | Yes |
| Title I School-Wide Program | No |
| Mascot | Wildcats |
| Website | Homer-Center School District |
Homer-Center School District is a public school district in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The district serves Homer City and Center Township. The district campus is located just south of the Homer City-Center Township border along South Main Street and adjacent to U.S. Route 119.
Homer-Center's High School principal is Jody Rainey and the assistant principal is Gene Raymond. Homer-Center's Elementary Schools principal's Michael Stofa. The district operates two school buildings, with a total enrollment of 964 students, grades K-12. The district's high school building currently accommodates 491 students, while the elementary has an enrollment of 473 students.[2]
Homer-Center's athletic teams - known as the Wildcats - compete in the Heritage Conference, which resides in the PIAA-District VI. The district does not offer athletics programs at the elementary level, however students can participate in programs offered by the Homer City Area Athletic Booster Club (HCAABC). HCAABC-sponsored teams are nicknamed the Homer City Bears.
The Homer-Center School District is ranked 146th out of 576 public school districts in Pennsylvania. It is also ranked first out of seven public school districts in Indiana County.
Contents |
| Homer-Center Elementary School | |
|---|---|
| Location | |
| 45 Wildcat Lane Homer City, PA 15748-1602 United States |
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| Information | |
| NCES School ID | 421329006797[3] |
| Principal | Michael A. Stofa |
| Faculty | 32.50 (on full-time equivalent (FTE) basis)[3] |
| Grades | K-6 |
| Enrollment | 469[3] (2009-2010[3]) |
| Kindergarten | 69 [3] |
| Grade 1 | 76 [3] |
| Grade 2 | 68 [3] |
| Grade 3 | 61 [3] |
| Grade 4 | 71 [3] |
| Grade 5 | 66 [3] |
| Grade 6 | 58 [3] |
| Student to teacher ratio | 15.8[3] |
| Color(s) | Black and White |
| Mascot | Wildcats (HCAABC-sponsored teams are known as the Homer City Bears) |
| Website | Homer-Center Elementary |
The Homer-Center Elementary School serves grades K-6. It is located on Wildcat Lane, just north of the high school building. The elementary building also contains the district administrative offices. The elementary school received two out of a possible five stars from SchoolDigger.com.
State School ID: 6797
The school is ranked 988th out of 1755 elementary schools in Pennsylvania and is ranked fifth out of the 12 elementary schools in Indiana County.
The elementary accounts for 49% of the district's enrollment. The average grade size is 67.6 students. The student/teacher ratio is 15.8 students per teacher. 217 out of 473 students (46%) are eligible for discounted/free lunch. 137 are eligible for free lunch and 80 are eligible for a reduced lunch. Breakfast is free for all students. There are 257 (54.3%) males in the elementary and 216 (45.7%) are females. , and 459 students (97%) are Caucasian/White, (2%) African American, and (1%) other.
Elementary-level athletics teams are operated by the HCAABC - a local non-profit organization. The HCAABC-sponsored football and cheerleading teams are nicknamed the "Homer City Bears". Other HCAABC teams, such as basketball, softball and youth baseball squads, are sponsored by local businesses.
All Sports
Students in grades 3-6 can participate in basketball, baseball, softball, and cheerleading. Soccer is offered in grades 2-6. Several football teams are typically fielded, divided by age groups. Volleyball is offered to girls in sixth grade.
-Art Helpers: Grades 4-6
| Homer-Center Junior/Senior High School | |
|---|---|
| Location | |
| 70 Wildcat Lane Homer City, PA 15748-1602 United States |
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| Information | |
| Established | 1907 |
| NCES School ID | 421329006797[4] |
| Principal | Jody Rainey |
| Faculty | 34.00 (on full-time equivalent (FTE) basis)[4] |
| Grades | 7-12 |
| Enrollment | 438[4] (2009-2010[4]) |
| Grade 7 | 82 [4] |
| Grade 8 | 61 [4] |
| Grade 9 | 73 [4] |
| Grade 10 | 75 [4] |
| Grade 11 | 71 [4] |
| Grade 12 | 76 [4] |
| Student to teacher ratio | 12.88 [4] |
| Color(s) | Black and White |
| Nickname | Wildcats |
| Distinctions | 2008 National Blue Ribbon School of Excellence |
| Yearbook | The Wildcat Tale |
| Newspaper | The Highlighter |
| Website | Homer-Center Junior/Senior High School |
The Homer-Center High School serves grades 7-12, and is located just south of the district's elementary school on Wildcat Lane. Originally constructed in 1959 at a cost of $2.1 million, the building underwent its second complete renovation from 2008-10. The high school has received four out of five stars from SchoolDigger.com.
State School ID: 2331
The high school is ranked 67th out of 607 public high schools in Pennsylvania and is ranked second out of eight high schools in Indiana County.
The high school accounts for 51% of the district's enrollment. The average grade size is 81.8 students. The student/teacher ratio is 14.7 students per teacher. 175 out of 491 students (36%) are eligible for discounted/free lunch. 116 are eligible for free lunch and 59 are eligible for a reduced lunch. There are 260 (52.9%) males in the high school and 231 (47%) are females. 7 students (1%) are of African American descent, 3 students (1%) are Hispanic and 479 students (98%) are Caucasian/White.
Homer-Center is a member of the nine-school Heritage Conference which resides within the PIAA-District VI.
Homer Center offers 10 varsity athletics programs.
As of April 25, 2008, Homer-Center students wishing to participate in wrestling gained the opportunity to do so, via a cooperation agreement with Indiana Area School District. The agreement will allow Homer-Center students to compete on Indiana Area teams in grades 7-12.
Homer-Center students may elect to participate in a variety of extracurricular activities including: Teens Against All Drugs, DDR Club, Youth and Government, Scrapbooking Club, Guitar Club, Eco Club, Varsity Club, National Honor Society, Jr. High Chorus, Sr. High Chorus, Men's Choir, Women's Choir, Concert Band, Jazz Ensemble, Marching Band, Percussion Ensemble, Computer Fairs, Band Fest, Bookworm Club, Chess Club, Christian Fellowship Club, The IUP Math Competition, County Band, County Chorus, District Band and Chorus, FBLA, French and Spanish Clubs, HCF (Hardcore Fans) Health Careers Club, The Highlighter Staff, History Day, Hometown High Q, Junior Achievement, Library Club, Mock Trial, Newspaper in Education, Quiz Bowl, Sign Language Club, SSIM, Stage Crew, Student Council, Ushers Club and the Yearbook Staff.
- Homer-Center is also known for having one of the largest Youth and Government delegations in Pennsylvania.
- The Homer-Center high school newspaper is called "The Highlighter".
- The high school yearbook is called the "Wildcat Tale".
Homer-Center High School English teacher Roxanne Rouse was a semi-finalist for the 2005 Pennsylvania Teacher of the Year Award. Math teacher Mark Butler was a finalist for the 2007 Pennsylvania Teacher of the Year Award.[6] Math teacher Suzanne Mazur was inducted into the Penn State Behrend Lions Athletic Hall of Fame in September 2007.[7]
From Homerdome.com:
The Memorial Field
The Memorial Field is a football stadium located on Lincoln & Harrison Streets in Homer City, PA. It opened in 1945 and has a capacity of 3,000 people, including the standing room. Originally constructed and operated by the Homer City Memorial Association, the field hosted its first night game in 1954 in front of an estimated crowd of 5,000.
Homer-Center Track and Field Stadium
The Homer-Center Track and Field Stadium is the newest facility of Homer-Center High School Athletics, being completed in 2004. It is located right behind the high school, above the student parking lots. It has a capacity of 1,000, including standing room.
"The Homerdome"
The "Homerdome" is the gymnasium located in the Homer-Center High School. It opened in 1959, and has a capacity of 1,000 people, including the standing room. A new floor and bleachers were added in 2008 as a part of a multimillion dollar renovation project.
Floodway Park
Floodway Park was established in the mid-to-late 1980s after a flood-prone Homer City neighborhood was razed. The park features a playground with two softball fields, one of which is home to the high school softball team. But, this park is usually not affiliated with Homer-Center School District.
Risinger Park Risinger Park is the site of a former district elementary school by the same name. The wood-frame building was demolished in the late 1970s to make way for a park with a basketball court, playground equipment and a youth softball field.This area is also not usually affiliated with Homer-Center School District.
FMC Sports Complex
The FMC Sports Complex features three baseball fields and four multipurpose fields (elementary soccer, elementary football practice, etc...). In the summer of 2007, the former Junior Legion field was renovated and renamed First Commonwealth Field, after Indiana-based First Commonwealth Bank, a major donor to the renovation project. The Homer-Center baseball team as well as the local Junior Legion team call the field home. This complex is also not usually affiliated with HCSD.
Parents who elected to home-school their children filed suit alleging that the defendant Pennsylvania school district in charge of administering and enforcing Pennsylvania’s compulsory school attendance laws infringed upon their sincerely held religious beliefs that education is a “religion,” and that the state has no authority to regulate home education programs by religiously motivated homeschoolers. The parents alleged that the state homeschooling act ceded too much control over their children’s religious education to the state in requiring them to submit an affidavit outlining their educational objectives to the defendants at the beginning of the school year and by requiring them to submit an additional log and portfolio containing samples of their children’s work for discretionary administrative review and approval. In granting the defendants’ motion for summary judgment, the federal district court held that the statute, either on its face or as applied, did not violate the First Amendment Free Exercise Clause or the Pennsylvania Religious Freedom Protection Act. The state’s homeschooling requirements did not place a burden, let alone a substantial one, on the parents’ freedom to practice their religion. Any negligible impact on the free exercise of religion was outweighed by the state’s compelling interest in crafting home education programs to satisfy compulsory education laws and ensure that children were receiving an adequate education.
This decision was immediately appealed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit where lawyers for Homer-Center School District presented oral arguments against the homeschooling families in November 2007.
| Breezy Lane School | |
|---|---|
| Location | |
| 9097 Route 259 Highway or 1491 Aulds Road Homer City, PA 15748-1602 United States |
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| Information | |
| School type | Private Regular Elementary or Secondary |
| Religious affiliation(s) | Mennonite |
| NCES School ID | A0502903[8] |
| Head Official Name | Kathy M. Wunder |
| Grades | 1-9 |
| Enrollment | 51 |
| Student to teacher ratio | 17 |
| Associations | No Membership Association |
| Library | Yes |
Breezy Lane School is a rural, co-ed, private school that, although located in Homer City, it is not part of the Homer-Center School District.
This school is also known as Daryl Martin.[8]
Average Grade Size: 5.6 students