East Pennsboro High School

2013 school performance profile

East Pennsboro Area High School achieved 77.8 out of 100. Reflects on grade level reading, mathematics and science achievement. In reading/literature - only 67% were on grade level. In Algebra 1, 70% showed on grade level skills at the end of the course. In Biology, just 58% showed on grade level science understanding at the end of the course. According to the Pennsylvania Department of Education, 2,181 public schools (less than 73 percent of Pennsylvania public schools), achieved an academic score of 70 or higher. Pennsylvania 11th grade students no longer take the PSSAs. Instead, beginning in 2012, they take the Keystone Exams at the end of the associated course.

AYP history

In 2012, East Pennsboro Area Senior High School declined to Warning Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) status when it missed 4 academic metrics. In 2011, East Pennsboro Area Senior High School achieved Adequate Yearly Progress status. East Pennsboro Area High School achieved AYP status under No Child Left Behind each school year 2003-2010.

Graduation rate

In 2013, the graduation rate at East Pennsboro Area School District declined to 90%. In 2012, the graduation rate at East Pennsboro Area School District was 91%. In 2011, the District's graduation rate rose to 95%. In 2010, the Pennsylvania Department of Education issued a new, 4 year cohort graduation rate. East Pennsboro Area School District's rate was 92% for 2010.

According to traditional graduation rate calculations:

In 2006, 34% of the graduates from East Pennsboro High School had not achieved proficient or better on the PSSA's for Mathematics and Reading.

PSSA results

Pennsylvania System of School Assessments, commonly called PSSAs are No Child Left Behind Act related examinations which were administered from 2003 through 2012, in all Pennsylvania public high schools. The exams were administered in the Spring of each school year. The goal was for 100% of students to be on grade level or better in reading and mathematics, by the Spring of 2014. The tests focused on the state's Academic Standards for reading, writing, mathematics and science. The Science exam included content in science, technology, ecology and the environmental studies. The mathematics exam included: algebra I, algebra II, geometry and trigonometry. The standards were first published in 1998 and are mandated by the Pennsylvania State Board of Education.

In 2013, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania changed its high school assessments to the Keystone Exams in Algebra 1, Reading/literature and Biology1. The exams are given at the end of the course, rather than all in the spring of the student's 11th grade year.

Science in Motion East Pennsboro Area High School did not take advantage of a state program called Science in Motion which brought college professors and sophisticated science equipment to the school to raise science awareness and to provide inquiry-based experiences for the students. The Science in Motion program was funded by a state appropriation and cost the school nothing to participate. Gettysburg College provides the experiences to schools in the region.

College remediation

According to a Pennsylvania Department of Education study released in January 2009, 36% of East Pennsboro 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. 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. 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.

Dual enrollment

East Pennsboro Area 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 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 offered a small grant to assist students in costs for tuition, fees and books. Under the Pennsylvania Transfer and Articulation Agreement, many Pennsylvania colleges and universities accept these credits for students who transfer to their institutions. In 2010, Governor Edward Rendell eliminated the grants to students, from the Commonwealth, due to a state budget crisis. Other students that reside in the district, who attend a private nonpublic school, charter school or are homeschooled are eligible to participate in this program.

For the 2009-10 funding year, the school district received a state grant of $8,581 for the program.

SAT scores

In 2013, East Pennsboro Area School District students took the SAT exams. The District's Verbal Average Score was 505. The Math average score was 510. The Writing average score was 496. The College Board reported that statewide scores were: 494 in reading, 504 in math and 482 in writing. The nationwide SAT results were the same as in 2012.

In 2012, 126 East Pennsboro Area School District students took the SAT exams. The District's Verbal Average Score was 494. The Math average score was 499. The Writing average score was 486. The statewide Verbal SAT exams results were: Verbal 491, Math 501, Writing 480. In the USA, 1.65 million students took the exams achieving scores: Verbal 496, Math 514, Writing 488. According to the College Board the maximum score on each section was 800, and 360 students nationwide scored a perfect 2,400.

In 2011, 138 East Pennsboro students took the SAT exams. The district's Verbal Average Score was 490. The Math average score was 505. The Writing average score was 480. Pennsylvania ranked 40th among states with SAT scores: Verbal - 493, Math - 501, Writing - 479. In the United States 1.65 million students took the exam in 2011. They averaged 497 (out of 800) verbal, 514 math and 489 in writing.

Graduation requirements

The East Pennsboro Area School Board has determined that a student must earn 27 credits to graduate, including: English 5 credits, Social Studies 4 credits, Mathematics 4 credits, Science 3 credits, Physical Education 2 credits, Safety/Computers - 0.5 credits, Family Consumer Science/Industrial Technology 0.5 credit, Careers 0.5 credits and Electives 7.5 credits.

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. At East Pennsboro Area High School the it has been dubbed Project Independence. Effective with the graduating class of 2017, the Pennsylvania State Board of Education eliminated the state mandate that students complete a culminating project in order to graduate.

By Pennsylvania School Board regulations, beginning with the class of 2017, public school students must demonstrate successful completion of secondary level course work in Algebra I, Biology, and English Literature by passing the Keystone Exams. The exam is given at the end of the course. Keystone Exams replace the PSSAs for 11th grade.

Students have several opportunities to pass the exam. Schools are mandated to provide targeted assistance to help the student be successful. Those who do not pass after several attempts can perform a project in order to graduate. For the class of 2019, a Composition exam will be added. For the class of 2020, passing a civics and government exam will be added to the graduation requirements. In 2011, Pennsylvania high school students field tested the Algebra 1, Biology and English Lit exams. The statewide results were: Algebra 1 38% on grade level, Biology 35% on grade level and English Lit - 49% on grade level. Individual student, school or district reports were not made public, although they were reported to district officials by the Pennsylvania Department of Education. Students identified as having special needs and qualifying for an Individual Educational Program (IEP) may graduate by meeting the requirements of their IEP.

Classrooms for the Future grant

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 to 2009. The East Pennsboro Area School District did not apply for funding in 2006–07. In 2007–08, it received a $320,803 grant. The district received $58,545 in 2008–09 for a total funding of $379,348. In Cumberland County the highest award was given to Big Spring School District at $695,531. The highest funding statewide was awarded to Philadelphia City School District in Philadelphia County - $9,409,073. The Classrooms for the Future grant program was discontinued by Governor Edward Rendell as part of his 2009–2010 state budget.

School safety and bullying

East Pennsboro Area School District administration reported there were zero incidents of bullying in the District in 2012. However, there were numerous examples in the school's history prior to 2012 of both bullying and sexual harassment, with at least two incidents of such bullying resulting in student suicides. Unfortunately, these pre-2012 incidences have been quite conveniently forgotten about by the district's current elected representatives.

Post-2012, there were several sexual incidents involving students. In one case, the local law enforcement became involved in eight individual crimes at the school with one arrest within the year. There are, apparently, no other references to this series of crimes anywhere in Central Pennsylvania.

The federal No Child Left Behind Act established the Unsafe School Choice Option. Each state that receives federal funds was mandated to establish a statewide policy requiring that a student at a “persistently dangerous” public school be allowed to transfer/enroll in a safe public school. The policy permitted a student who becomes the victim of a violent criminal offense, while in or on the grounds of any public school that he or she attends, to transfer to a safe public school. Each year since 2006, the Pennsylvania Department of Education has released a list of Persistently Dangerous Schools. Area School District schools have not been on the lists.

The East Pennsboro Area School Board has provided the district's antibully policy online. 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. 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.

Education standards relating to student safety and anti harassment programs are described in the 10.3. Safety and Injury Prevention in the Pennsylvania Academic Standards for Health, Safety and Physical Education.

Safe School grants

East Pennsboro Area High School did not participate in 2013 state grants provided by the state for school safety funding.

Wellness policy

East Pennsboro Area School Board established a district-wide Student Wellness Policy in 2006 - Policy 246. The policy deals with nutritious meals served at school, the control of access to some foods and beverages during school hours, age appropriate nutrition education for all students, and physical education for students K-12. The policy is in response to state mandates and federal legislation (P.L. 108 - 265). The law dictates that each school district participating in a program authorized by the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1751 et seq) or the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1771 et seq) "shall establish a local school wellness policy by School Year 2006."

The legislation placed the responsibility of developing a wellness policy at the local level so the individual needs of each district can be addressed. According to the requirements for the Local Wellness Policy, school districts must set goals for nutrition education and physical education that are aligned with the Pennsylvania State Academic Standards for Health, Safety and Physical Education, campus food provision, and other school-based activities designed to promote student wellness. Additionally, districts were required to involve a broad group of individuals in policy development and to have a plan for measuring policy implementation. Districts were offered a choice of levels of implementation for limiting or prohibiting low nutrition foods on the school campus. In final implementation these regulations prohibit some foods and beverages on the school campus. The policy requires that the Superintendent or designee shall report to the Board on the district’s compliance with law and policies related to student wellness. The Pennsylvania Department of Education required the district to submit a copy of the policy for approval.

East Pennsboro Area High School provides both a federal free or reduced price breakfast program and a federal school lunch program. All students attending the school can eat breakfast and lunch. Children from families with incomes at or below 130 percent of the federal poverty level are provided a breakfast and lunch at no cost to the family. Children from families with incomes between 130 and 185 percent of the federal poverty level can be charged no more than 30 cents per breakfast. A foster child whose care and placement is the responsibility of the State or who is placed by a court with a caretaker household is eligible for both a free breakfast and a free lunch. Runaway, homeless and Migrant Youth are also automatically eligible for free meals. The meals are partially funded with federal dollars through the United States Department of Agriculture.

In 2013, the USDA issued new restrictions to foods in public schools. The rules apply to foods and beverages sold on all public school district campuses during the day. They limit vending machine snacks to a maximum of 200 calories per item. Additionally, all snack foods sold at school must meet competitive nutrient standards, meaning they must have fruits, vegetables, dairy or protein in them or contain at least 10 percent of the daily value of fiber, calcium, potassium, and Vitamin D. In order to comply with the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 all US public school districts are required to raise the price of their school lunches to $2.60 regardless of the actual cost of providing the lunch. The Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 mandates that Districts raise their full pay lunch prices every year until the price of non-subsidized lunches equals the amount the federal government reimburses schools for free meals. That subsidy in 2013-2014 was $2.93.

In 2014, President Obama ordered a prohibition of advertisements for unhealthy foods on public school campuses during the school day. The Food and Drug Administration requires that students take milk as their beverage at lunch. In accordance with this law, any student requesting water in place of milk with their lunch must present a written request, signed by a doctor, documenting the need for water instead of milk.

East Pennsboro Area School District provides health services as mandated by the Commonwealth and the federal government. Nurses are available in each building to conduct annual health screenings (data reported to the PDE and state Department of Health) and to dispense prescribed medications to students during the school day. Students can be excluded from school unless they comply with all the State Department of Health’s extensive immunization mandates. School nurses monitor each pupil for this compliance. Nurses also monitor each child's weight.

Extracurricular activities

By Pennsylvania law, all K-12 students who reside 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.

East Pennsboro High School provides an extensive co-curricular program. Eligibility for participation in extracurriculars and athletcis is determined through school board policy and communicated to students in the student handbook.

Athletics

In July 2012, the School Board enacted a $25 per sport fee to participate in sports. The maximum fee per year is capped at $100 per student, with a family maximum of $200. The District is noncompliant with state law, due to failing to post its Interscholastic Athletic Opportunities Disclosure Form on its website. In 2014, the District reported spending over $713,000 on student activities.

According to Pennsylvania’s Safety in Youth Sports Act, all sports coaches, paid and volunteer, are required to annually complete the Concussion Management Certification Training and present the certification before coaching. In March 2013, the Board adopted a Concussion Management policy.

East Pennsboro has teams in the following sports:

Notable alumni

Mold outbreak

On August 23, 2016, after just one full day of normal operation in the school year, the high school was closed to all students and extracurricular activities due to a mold outbreak. This infestation was due to high humidity and heat during the summer months, causing the insulation to harbor mold. Jay Burkhart, Superintendent of Schools for East Pennsboro Area School District, held two public forums to discuss the mold crisis with the public. After investigation, other schools in the district were closed various times, however, the high school was closed for the longest. The school was closed for nearly a month until normal operations at the high school were restored on September 21, 2016. However, band and chorus rooms, along with one other classroom, remained temporarily closed due to other issues.

Effect on school culture

East Pennsboro High School's band director, Andrew Williams, created an original composition titled "Break the Mold" as a play-on-words of the crisis. Also, student Ethan Beigh created t-shirts commemorating the outbreak, stating, "got mold?", with the school's logo emblazoned on the second "o". This shirt was intended as a parody of the popular "Got Milk?" promotion.