| Wyoming Area School District | |
|---|---|
| Map of Luzerne County, Pennsylvania School Districts | |
| Address | |
| 20 Memorial Street Northeastern Pennsylvania Exeter, Pennsylvania, Luzerne, 18643 United States |
|
| Information | |
| Superintendent | Raymond J. Bernardi |
| Grades | K-12 |
| Enrollment | 2515 students in 2010[1] |
| Kindergarten | 182 |
| Grade 1 | 173 |
| Grade 2 | 184 |
| Grade 3 | 200 |
| Grade 4 | 168 |
| Grade 5 | 218 |
| Grade 6 | 200 |
| Grade 7 | 201 |
| Grade 8 | 185 |
| Grade 9 | 193 |
| Grade 10 | 200 |
| Grade 11 | 206 |
| Grade 12 | 205 |
| Other | Enrollment projected to be 2123 by 2020 |
| Color(s) | Green and Gold |
| Website | http://www.wyomingarea.org/ |
The Wyoming Area School District is a midsized, public school district located in northeastern Luzerne County, Pennsylvania midway between Wilkes-Barre and Scranton (USA). The district is composed of six municipalities: West Pittston, Exeter, Wyoming, West Wyoming, Harding and Falls Township, covering approximately 26 square miles (67 km2) primarily in Luzerne County. A small portion of the district extends into Wyoming County. Wyoming Area School District encompasses approximately 26 square miles. According to 2000 federal census data, it serves a resident population of 20,386. In 2009, the residents' per capita income was $18,034, while the median family income was $43,321.[2] Per school district officials, in school year 2007-08 the Wyoming Area School District provided basic educational services to 2,860 pupils through the employment of 171 teachers, 127 full-time and part-time support personnel, and 12 administrators.
Wyoming Area is made up of five schools from grades K-12 consisting of the Secondary Center in Exeter, the Tenth Street Elementary School in Wyoming, the John F. Kennedy Elementary School in Exeter, the Montgomery Avenue Elementary School in West Pittson and the Sarah J. Dymond Elementary School in Harding. Wyoming Area offers a full-day kindergarten. The district has aligned the curricula to the state standards.
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The mission of the Wyoming Area School District is to provide educational programs and services which meet the needs of all the youth of the district. These programs and services shall be equitable and accessible so that all students may grow to their full potential and become responsible citizens. In this mission, we shall forge new partnerships with parents, community, groups, businesses, industries, and higher education, so as to enhance the quality of life for students and members of the community.
In 2007, the state conducted a study to determine a cost per pupil, for education K-12. In the study, Wyoming Area School District was as one of 80 high performing school districts. Additionally, the district was recognized as a low spending - high achievement school district. The author went on to suggest that the district should be spending another $3000 per pupil to achieve AYP.[3]
Wyoming Area School District was ranked 66th out of 498 Pennsylvania school districts in 2011 by the Pittsburgh Business Times. The ranking was based on student academic performance based on the PSSAs for: reading, writing, math and two years of science.[4]
In 2009, the academic achievement of the pupils in the district was in the 83rd percentile among Pennsylvanian's 500 school districts. Scale (0-99; 100 is state best)[7]
In 2010, the Pennsylvania Department of Education issued a new, 4 year cohort graduation rate. Wyoming Area School District's rate was 87.84% for 2010.[8]
According to traditional graduation rate calculations:
In order to graduate from the Wyoming Area School District, a student must successfully complete 22 credits which include: 4 credits of English, 4 credits of Social Studies, 3 credits of Mathematics, 3 credits of Science, 2 credits of Arts & Humanities, 4.5 credits of electives and 1.2 credits of Health & Physical Education.[12]
By law, all Pennsylvania secondary school students must complete a graduation 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.[13]
Beginning with the class of 2016, students must take the Keystone Exams in Literature, Biology 1 and Algebra 1.[14]
At the secondary level, students may enroll in an honors program and have a choice of ten Advanced Placement Courses.
11th Grade Reading
11th Grade Math:
11th Grade Science:
According to a Pennsylvania Department of Education study released in January 2009, 37% of Wyoming 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.[20] 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.[21] 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 funded 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 high school graduation requirements and towards earning a college degree. Students can enroll at Kings College and Wilkes University. All students in their junior or senior year who rank in the top ten percent of the class are eligible as are other students who have a teacher recommendation.[22] 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.[23] Under the Pennsylvania Transfer and Articulation Agreement, many Pennsylvania colleges and universities accept these credits for students who transfer to their institutions.[24] 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.[25]
For the 2009-10 funding year, the school district received a state grant of 4,737 for its dual enrollment program.[26]
8th Grade Reading
8th Grade Math:
8th Grade Science:
7th Grade Reading
7th Grade Math:
The district administration reported that 371 students or 14% were receiving special education services in 2009.[32][33]
The District engages in identification procedures to ensure that eligible students receive an appropriate educational program consisting of special education and related services, individualized to meet student needs. At no cost to the parents, these services are provided in compliance with state and federal law; and are reasonably calculated to yield meaningful educational benefit and student progress. To identify students who may be eligible for special education, various screening activities are conducted on an ongoing basis. These screening activities include: review of group-based data (cumulative records, enrollment records, health records, report cards, ability and achievement test scores); hearing, vision, motor, and speech/language screening; and review by the Instructional Support Team. When screening results suggest that the student may be eligible, the District seeks parental consent to conduct a multidisciplinary evaluation. Parents who suspect their child is eligible may request a multidisciplinary evaluation from a professional employee of the School District or contact the Special Education Department head.[34]
In 2010, the state of Pennsylvania provided $1,026,815,000 for Special Education services. The funds were distributed to districts based on a state policy which estimates that 16% of the district's pupils are receiving special education services. This funding is in addition to the state's basic education per pupil funding, as well as, all other state and federal funding.[35]
Wyoming Area School District received a $1,361,651 supplement for special education services in 2010.[36]
The District Administration reported that 89 or 3.54% of its students were gifted in 2009.[37] By law, the district must provide mentally gifted programs at all grade levels. Students identified as gifted attending the High School have access to honors and advanced placement courses, and dual enrollment with local colleges. The referral process for a gifted evaluation can be initiated by teachers or parents by contacting the student’s building principal and requesting an evaluation. All requests must be made in writing. To be eligible for mentally gifted programs in Pennsylvania, a student must have a cognitive ability of at least 130 as measured on a standardized ability test by a certified school psychologist. Other factors that indicate giftedness will also be considered for eligibility.[38]
The school district administration reported there were no incidents of bullying in the district in 2009.[39][40]
All Pennsylvania schools are required to have an anti-bullying policy incorporated into their Code of Student Conduct. Wyoming Area School District has posted a Bullying Policy online.[41] The policy must identify disciplinary actions for bullying and designate a school staff person to receive complaints of bullying. The policy must be available on the school's website and posted in every classroom. All Pennsylvania public schools must provide a copy of its anti-bullying policy to the Office for Safe Schools every year, and shall review their policy every three years. Additionally, the district must conduct an annual review of that policy with students.[42] The Center for Schools and Communities works in partnership with the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime & Delinquency and the Pennsylvania Department of Education to assist schools and communities as they research, select and implement bullying prevention programs and initiatives.[43]
Education standards relating to student safety and antiharassment programs are described in the 10.3. Safety and Injury Prevention in the Pennsylvania Academic Standards for Health, Safety and Physical Education.[44]
Wyoming Area has been praised numerous times for its integration of technology into curricula and activities. Furthermore, it provides an outstanding set of extracurricular activities focused around technology. The district has High speed internet connection, wireless technology, Smart and Active Boards, Mobile computer labs and video streaming. The district harnesses an online grading system to communication on demand with students and parents.
The Classroom for the Future state program provided districts with hundreds of thousands of extra state funding to buy laptop computers for each core curriculum high school class (English, Science, History, Math) and paid for teacher training to optimize the computers use. The program also paid for computer integrated white boards and digital projectors for classrooms. CFF was funded from 2006-2009. Wyoming Area School District applied and was denied funding, by the Pennsylvania Department of Education, in 2006-07 and 2007-08. The district received $147,120 in 2008-09.[45]
In 2008, the district reported $1,088,066 in a unreserved-undesignated fund balance. The designated fund balance was reported as zero.[46]
In 2007, the district employed over 157 teachers. The average teacher salary in the district was $52,842 for 186 days worked.[47]
In 2009, the district reported employing over 170 teachers with a salary range of $39,699 to $116,986 and a median teacher salary of $59,616.[48][49] Teachers work 7 hours per day with a duty free 30 minute lunch period and a daily prep period. In addition to salary, the teachers' compensation includes: health insurance, life insurance, paid funeral leave, 10 paid sick, 2 personal days, and reimbursement for college courses. At retirement, teachers receive $30 per unused sick day and can receive district funded 40% of final salary retirement bonus and health insurance until age 65. Teachers receive extra compensation for additional duties and for extracurricular advising and sports coaching. The teacher's union is given 10 days with pay to use at its discretion for teachers to conduct union business.[50]
In 2008, Wyoming Area School District reported spending $9,812 per pupil. This ranked 487th among the 500 school districts, in the commonwealth.[51]
Wyoming Area School District administrative costs per pupil in 2008 was $599 in 2008. This ranked 440th in Pennsylvania public schools. The lowest administrative cost per pupil in Pennsylvania was $398 per pupil.[52]
In 2009, the district reported having over $27 million in outstanding debt in General Obligation bonds and over $1 million in other long term debt.[53]
In December 2009, the Pennsylvania Auditor General conducted a performance audit of the district. Findings were reported to the school board and the school district administration[54]
The district is funded by a combination of: a local earned income tax, a property tax, a real estate transfer tax of 0.5%, coupled with substantial funding from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the federal government. Grants can provide an opportunity to supplement school funding without raising local taxes. In the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, pension income and Social Security income are exempted from state personal income tax and local earned income tax regardless of the individual's level of wealth.[55]
For the 2010-11 school year, the state basic education funding to Wyoming Area School District was increased 8.59% for a total of $7,956,525. The highest increase in Luzerne County was awarded to Hazleton Area School District at 12,61%. Sixteen Pennsylvania school districts received an increase over 10%. One hundred fifty Pennsylvania school districts received the base 2% increase. Among Pennsylvania school districts, the highest increase in 2010-11 went to Kennett Consolidated School District in Chester County which received a 23.65% increase in state funding.[56] The amount of increase each school district receives is determined by the Governor and the Secretary of Education through the allocation set in the state budget proposal made in February each year.[57]
For the 2009-2010 budget year the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania provided a 7.65% increase in Basic Education Funding for Wyoming Area School District a total of $7,327,023. The state Basic Education Funding to the district in 2008-09 was $6,793,486.28. The highest increase in BEF for the school districts in Luzerne County was awarded to Hazleton Area School District at a 13.36% increase. The highest increase in Pennsylvania went to Muhlenberg School District of Berks County which received an increase of 22.31 percent. Sixteen school districts received an increase in funding of over 10 percent in 2009.[58]
In 2009, the district reported that 741 students were eligible for a federal free or reduced lunch due to low family income.[59]
Beginning in 2004-2005, the state launched the Accountability Block Grant school funding. This program has provided $1.5 billion to Pennsylvania’s school districts. The Accountability Block Grant program requires that its taxpayer dollars are focused on specific interventions that are most likely to increase student academic achievement. These interventions include: teacher training, All Day Kindergarten, lower class size K-3rd grade, literacy and math Coaching programs that provide teachers with individualized job-embedded professional development to improve their instruction, before or after school tutoring assistance to struggling students, For 2010-11 the Wyoming Area School District applied for and received $321,629 in addition to all other state and federal funding. The district used the funding to provide all day kindergarten for the seventh year.[60][61]
Wyoming Area School District received an extra $2,039,495 in ARRA - Federal Stimulus money to be used only in specific programs like special education and meeting the academic needs of low income students.[62]
School district officials did not apply for the Race to the Top federal grant which would have brought the district over $1 million in additional federal dollars for improving student academic achievement.[63] Participation required the administration, the school board and the local teachers' union to sign an agreement to prioritize improving student academic success. In Pennsylvania, 120 public school districts and 56 charter schools agreed to participate. Pennsylvania was not approved for the grant. The failure of a majority of school districts to agree to participate was cited as one reason that Pennsylvania was not approved.[64]
The Wyoming Area School Board decided to not participate in the Pennsylvania Department of Education Common Cents program. The program called for the state to audit the district, at no cost to local taxpayers, to identify ways the district could save tax dollars.[65] After the review of the information, the district was not required to implement the recommended cost savings changes.
The school board levied a real estate tax of 12.3741 mills, Wyoming County residents - 66.5355 mills in 2010-11.[66] A mill is $1 of tax for every $1,000 of a property's assessed value. Irregular property reassessments have become a serious issue in the commonwealth as it creates a significant disparity in taxation within a community and across a region. On the local level, Pennsylvania district revenues are dominated by two main sources: 1) Property tax collections, which account for the vast majority (between 75-85%) of local revenues; and 2) Act 511 tax collections, which are around 15% of revenues for school districts.[67]
In 2008, Luzerne County conducted a county wide property value reassessment. The previous county wide assessment had been done in 1965[69]
The Act 1 of 2006 Index regulates the rates at which each school district can raise property taxes in Pennsylvania. Districts are not allowed to raise taxes above that index unless they allow voters to vote by referendum, or they seek an exception from the state Department of Education. The base index for the 2011-2012 school year is 1.4 percent, but the Act 1 Index can be adjusted higher, depending on a number of factors, such as property values and the personal income of district residents. Act 1 included 10 exceptions including: increasing pension costs, increases in special education costs, a catastrophe like a fire or flood, increase in health insurance costs for contracts in effect in 2006 or dwindling tax bases. The base index is the average of the percentage increase in the statewide average weekly wage, as determined by the PA Department of Labor and Industry, for the preceding calendar year and the percentage increase in the Employment Cost Index for Elementary and Secondary Schools, as determined by the Bureau of Labor Statistics in the U.S. Department of Labor, for the previous 12-month period ending June 30. For a school district with a market value/personal income aid ratio (MV/PI AR) greater than 0.4000, its index equals the base index multiplied by the sum of .75 and its MV/PI AR for the current year.[71]
The School District Adjusted Index for the Wyoming Area School District 2006-2007 through 2011-2012.[72]
The Wyoming Area School Board did not apply for any exceptions to exceed the Act 1 index for the budget in 2011.[73] In the Spring of 2010, 135 of 500 Pennsylvania school boards asked to exceed their adjusted index. Approval was granted to 133 of them and 128 sought an exception for pension costs increases.[74]
In 2010, the Homestead/Farmstead Property Tax Relief from gambling for the Wyoming Area School District was $83 per approved permanent primary residence. In the district, 5,750 property owners applied for the tax relief.[75] In 2010 within Luzerne County, the highest reported amount went to Wilkes-Barre Area School District set at $210 per approved homestead. The property tax relief was subtracted from the total annual school property tax bill for each property. Property owners apply for the relief through the county Treasurer's office. Farmers can qualify for a farmstead exemption on building used for agricultural purposes. The farm must be at least 10 contiguous acres and must be the primary residence of the owner. Farmers can qualify for both the homestead exemption and the farmstead exemption. Pennsylvania awarded the highest property tax relief to residents of the Chester-Upland School District in Delaware County at $641 per homestead and farmstead in 2010.[76] CUSD was given $632 in 2009. This was the second year they were the top recipient.
Additionally, the Pennsylvania Property Tax/Rent Rebate program is provided for low income Pennsylvanians aged 65 and older; widows and widowers aged 50 and older; and people with disabilities age 18 and older. The income limit is $35,000 for homeowners. The maximum rebate for both homeowners and renters is $650. Applicants can exclude one-half (1/2) of their Social Security income, consequently individuals who have income substantially greater than $35,000, may still qualify for a rebate. Individuals must apply annually for the rebate. This can be taken in addition to Homestead/Farmstead Property Tax Relief.[77]
Property taxes in Pennsylvania are relatively high on a national scale. According to the Tax Foundation, Pennsylvania ranked 11th in the U.S. in 2008 in terms of property taxes paid as a percentage of home value (1.34%) and 12th in the country in terms of property taxes as a percentage of income (3.55%).[78]
The district's students have access to a variety of clubs, activities and sports. Eligibility for participation is determined by the school board policy.[79]
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.[80]
Wyoming Area School District has a strong tradition of excellence on the field.
Football has traditionally been the school's most competitive program. In addition to having won the Wyoming Valley Conference numerous times, the program won the PIAA District 2 AA titles in 1992 and 1998, and the PIAA District 2 AAA title in 2003. Several football players have also gone on to play NCAA Division I Football at schools such as Brown University, Bucknell University, Columbia University, Cornell University, the University of Massachusetts, Penn State University, William and Mary, and Yale University. Paul Marranca, the head coach at Wyoming Area for 27 seasons (1976-86, 1992-2007), was inducted into the Pennsylvania Scholastic Football Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 2010.
Baseball is also a major sport at Wyoming Area and students have been recruited by schools such as Bucknell University and Temple University to play at their institution. In the 2006-2007 school year, the Wyoming Area golf team took a perfect record of 12-0 into the playoffs. Other sports include basketball, volleyball, soccer, field hockey, cross country, swimming, track and field, ice hockey and tennis.
The Wyoming Area Secondary Center provides its students with various extracurricular activities aside from sports. These activities include Chess Club, Key Club, Builder's Club, Student Council, Art Club, FBLA, SADD, TATU, Marching Band, Concert Band, Jazz Ensemble, Indoor Percussion, Chorus and Drama. Students may also participate in Young Scholars, Scholastic Scrimmage, Brain Bee, Shore Bowl, Science Olympiad, American Chemical Society Contest, Bloomsburg Science Iditarod, Kane Physics Competition, JETS Contest, Envirothon and History Day. The Journalism Club, Yearbook, and the WAVE(Warrior audio visual entertainment) allow students to showcase their creative writing and reporting skills.
Current Board of Education[81]
There are 37 public schools in Northeastern Pennsylvania and Wyoming Area is ranked the #1 school district with 75% performing at proficient levels or higher in Math and Reading. Of the 500 school districts statewide, Wyoming Area's fifth grade rated sixth in Math with 93% proficiency. The third grade students at Montgomery Avenue Elementary School achieved 100% proficiency level in math.
There are soccer fields, baseball fields, field hockey facilities, tennis courts and a lighted track at the football stadium in West Pittston that is open to the public until 10 p.m.