| York Suburban School District | |
|---|---|
| Address | |
| 1800 Hollywood Drive Susquehanna Valley, PA York, Pennsylvania, York, 17403 United States |
|
| Coordinates | 39.56 N, 76.41 W |
| Information | |
| Superintendent | Dr. Kathryn Orban superintendent since February 2007.[1] |
| Grades | K-12 |
| Other | Enrollment projected to increase to 3230 by 2019[2] |
| Website | http://www.yshs.k12.pa.us/ |
York Suburban School District is a public school district located in York County, Pennsylvania (USA). It encompasses approximately 14 square miles. According to 2000 federal census data, it serves a resident population of 21,067. According to District officials, in school year 2007-08 the YSSD provided basic educational services to 2,808 pupils through the employment of 222 teachers, 135 full-time and part-time support personnel, and 15 administrators.
The district comprises six schools: Yorkshire Elementary School (Valley View at Yorkshire), Valley View Center, East York Elementary School, Indian Rock Elementary School, York Suburban Middle School, and York Suburban Senior High School. Valley View consists of grades K-1. Indian Rock Elementary and East York Elementary both consist of grades 2-5. York Suburban Middle School consists of grades 6-8. York Suburban Senior High School consists of grades 9-12. Yorkshire Elementary School will soon be constructed and open to students in August 2010. The district's colors are orange and black with the Trojan as the mascot. Like most other school districts, York Suburban uses the Schaffer paragraph for response to literature.
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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.[3] 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 its 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 "D-" 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.[4]
York Suburban School District was ranked 54th out of 498 Pennsylvania school districts in 2010 by the Pittsburgh Business Times. The ranking was based on four years of student academic achievement on the PSSA results on: reading, writing, math and two years of science.[5]
2009 - 51st
2008 - 45th
2007 - 43rd of 500 school districts in Pennsylvania.[6]
In 2009, the academic achievement of the students of York Suburban School DIstrict was in the 85th percentile among 500 Pennsylvania School Districts. Scale - (0-99; 100 is state best) [7]
In 2010, the Pittsburgh Business Times reported an Overachievers Ranking for 498 Pennsylvania school districts. York Suburban School District ranked 126th. In 2009 the district was 97th. 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."[8]
Graduation Rate
PSSA Results
11th Grade Reading
2010 - 71% on grade level. In Pennsylvania, 68% of 11th graders on grade level.[13]
2009 - 76%, State - 65%
2008 - 77%, State - 65% [14]
2007 - 77%, State - 65.4% [15]
11th Grade Math:
2010 - 61% on grade level. In Pennsylvania, 59% of 11th graders on grade level.
2009 - 69%, State - 56%[16]
2008 - 65%, State - 56% [17]
2007 - 71%, State - 53%
11th Grade Science:
2010 - 41% on grade level. State - 39% of 11th graders were on grade level.[18]
2009 - 55%, State - 40% [19]
2008 - 45%, State - 39% [20]
2007 - Tested, The state did not make the results public.
The York Suburban School Board has set that a minimum of 23.8 credits, including English 4 credits, Social Studies 3 credits, Math 3 Credits, Science 3 credits, Arts/Humanities 3 credits, Physical Education 1 credit, Health .833 credit, and electives 9 credits. Students are also required to complete a safety course.[21]
Additionally, students must successfully complete the requirements of the Graduation Project which is the cumulative research process demonstrated by the submission of an acceptable English III research project. 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.[22]
Beginning with the class of 2015, students must take the Keystone Exams in Literature and Algebra 1.[23]
According to a Pennsylvania Department of Education study released in January 2009, 31% of York Suburban 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.[24] 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.[25] 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 does not offer the state's dual enrollment program. York Suburban High School is the only York County high school that does not offer the program. Dual Enrollment 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. The students continue to have full access to activities and programs at their high school, including the graduation ceremony. 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.[26] Under the Pennsylvania Transfer and Articulation Agreement, many Pennsylvania colleges and universities accept these credits for students who transfer to their institutions.[27]
The Learning Center provides academic tutoring in a productive working environment for York Suburban students. The center is open to all students before and after school, as well as, during their study hall periods.[28]
York Suburban Middle School (YSMS) is located in the East York section of the school district. The teaching staff of YSMS includes: 49 subject area teachers, five learning support paraprofessionals, four learning support teachers, a reading specialist, a math specialist, and a teacher of the gifted. The teachers are organized in seven teams that meet daily to plan: interdisciplinary, departmental and team activities and to review and monitor student progress.[29]
Eight Grade Reading:
2010 - 88% on grade level. In Pennsylvania, 81% of 8th graders on grade level.
2009 - 87%, State - 80%
2008 - 83%, State - 78%
Eight Grade Math:
2010 - 87% on grade level. In Pennsylvania, 75% of 8th graders are on grade level.
2009 - 76%, State - 71%[30]
2008 - 80%, State - 70%
Eight Grade Science:
2010 - 69% on grade level. State - 57% of 8th graders were on grade level.
2009 - 64%, State - 55%.[31]
2008 - 69%, State - 52%
Seventh Grade Reading:
2010 - 84% on grade level. In Pennsylvania, 73% of 7th graders are on grade level.
2009 - 85%, State - 71%
2008 - 73%, State - 70%
Seventh Grade Math:
2010 - 91% on grade level. In Pennsylvania, 77% of 7th graders are on grade level.
2009 - 87%, State - 75%
2008 - 75%, State - 70%
Sixth Grade Reading:
2010 - 85% on grade level. State: 68% of 6th graders were on grade level.
2009 - 80%, State - 67%
2008 - 71%, State - 67%
Sixth Grade Math:
2010 - 95% on grade level. State - 78% of 6th graders were on grade level.
2009 - 88%, State - 75%
2008 - 78%, State -72%
In 2009, the administration reported there were zero incidents of bullying in the district.[32][33]
The York Suburban School Board prohibits bullying by district students and faculty. The board policy 249 Bullying/Cyberbullying defines bullying and cyberbullying. The Board directs that complaints of bullying shall be investigated promptly, and corrective action shall be taken when allegations are verified. No reprisals or retaliation shall occur as a result of good faith reports of bullying.[34] The board expects staff members to be responsible to maintain an educational environment free from all forms of bullying. All Pennsylvania schools are required to have an anti-bullying policy incorporated into their Code of Student Conduct. 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.[35] 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.[36]
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.[37]
In December 2009, the district administration reported that 382 pupils or 13% of the district's pupils received Special Education services.[38]
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. When a child experiences difficulty within the classroom, screening information will be gathered by the team located within the child’s school to determine his or her specific needs. 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 or Student Assistance Team.[39] 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 make a written request for a multidisciplinary evaluation to the building principal or the Director of Special Education.[40]
In 2009, the district reported employing over 250 teachers with a salary range of $40,000 to $143,000.[41] The average salary in the district is $76,000.[42] In 2007, the average teacher salary was $66,519. This was the highest average teacher salary in York County school districts.[43] Additionally, the district's teachers receive: a defined benefit pension, health insurance, life insurance, college credit reimbursement, 2 paid personal days, sick days (4 sick days may be taken for illness of a family member), 4 paid bereavement days, a retirement incentive bonus and other benefits.[44]
York Suburban School District administrative costs per pupil in 2008 was $840 per pupil. The lowest administrative cost per pupil in Pennsylvania was $398 per pupil.[45] The Pennsylvania School Boards Association keeps statistics on salaries of public school district employees in Pennsylvania. According to the association's report, the average salary for a superintendent for the 2007-08 school year was $122,165. In 2009, the superintendent's salary was $143,000.[46] Superintendents and administrators receive a benefit package commensurate with that offered to the district's teachers' union.[47]
Reserves In 2008, the district reported a zero balance in a unreserved-undesignated fund. The designated fund balance was reported as $2,079,754.[48]
The district administration reported that per pupil spending in 2008 was $13,937 which ranked 107th in the state' 501 school districts.[49]
In March 2010, the Pennsylvania Auditor General conducted a performance audit of the district. The findings were reported to the administration and the school board.[50]
According to an extensive study of York County school districts conducted by APA Associates in 2008, York Suburban School District achieved a -3 rating based on Performance and Relative Efficiency. Central York School District and Northeastern York School District ranked +10. Eleven of 16 York County districts achieved a positive rating. The district has the highest starting teacher salary and the highest administration salary structure in York County.[51]
The district is funded by a combination of: a local earned income tax 1%, a property tax, a real estate transfer tax, coupled with substantial funding from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the federal government. 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 level of personal wealth.[52]
For the 2010-11 budget year, the York Suburban School District received a 2% increase in Basic Education Funding for a total of $1,726,755. One hundred fifty Pennsylvania school districts received the base 2% increase. The highest increase in York County was awarded to Hanover Public School District at 8.39%. 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.[53] 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.[54]
In the 2009-2010 budget year, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania provided a 2% increase in Basic Education funding for a total of $1,692,926. Four school districts in York County received increases of over 6% in Basic Education Funding in 2009. The highest increase was awarded to Central York School District which received 12.54% in 2009. In York County, 12 school districts received a less than 6% increase in state basic education funding in 2009 and three districts received the base 2% increase. Ninety school districts in the commonwealth were given the base 2% increase. Among the 500 school districts in Pennsylvania, Muhlenberg School District in Berks County received the highest with a 22.31% increase in funding.[55] In 2008, the York Suburban School District received $1,659,731 in state basic education funding.
According to the Pennsylvania Department of Education, 389 students, in the district, received free or reduced lunches due to low family income in the 2007-2008 school year.[56]
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 York Suburban School District applied for and received $125,385 in addition to all other state and federal funding. The district used the funding to provide full day kindergarten for the 7th year.[57][58]
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 was funded from 2006-2009. York Suburban School District was denied for funding in 2006-07. In 2007-08, it received $110,667 and in 2008-09 it received $45,413 for a total of $156,080 in state funding. Of the 501 public school districts in Pennsylvania, 447 of them received Classrooms for the Future grant awards [59]
The district received an extra $338,739 in ARRA - Federal Stimulus money to be used in specific programs like special education and meeting the academic needs of low income students.[60] The Pennsylvania Department of Education advised the districts to use the money for nonrecurring expenses like purchasing equipment and teaching resources like books, and software.
School district officials applied for the Race to the Top federal grant. When approved for the grant, the district would have received millions in additional federal dollars for improving student academic achievement.[61] 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. Six [[York County school districts applied to participate. Pennsylvania was not approved for the grant. The failure of districts to agree to participate was cited as one reason that Pennsylvania was not approved.[62]
The York Suburban 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.[63] 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 20.1710 mills in 2010-11.[64] 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.[65]
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.[68]
The School District Adjusted Index for the York Suburban School District 2006-2007 through 2011-2012.[69]
The York Suburban School Board applied for several exceptions to exceed the Act 1 index for the budget in 2011 for special education costs and pension obligation.[70] In the Spring of 2010, 135 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.[71]
In 2010, the Homestead/Farmstead Property Tax Relief from gambling for the Suburban York School District was $113 per approved permanent primary residence. In the district, 5,853 property owners applied for the tax relief.[72] In 2009, the district's property tax relief amount was set at $114 to 6,816 approved homestead owners.[73] In 2010 within York County, the highest amount went to York City School District set at $495 per approved homestead. The property tax relief was subtracted from the total annual school property tax bill. 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.[74] CUSD was given $632 in 2009. This was the third 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.
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%).[75]
The district's students have access to a variety of clubs, activities and sports. Eligibility for participation is determined by the school board policy.[76]
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.[77][78]