Fairfield Area High School

Graduation rate

In 2013, Fairfield Area School District's graduation rate rose to 93.8%. In 2012, Fairfield Area High School's graduation rate was 89%. In 2011, Fairfield Area High School's graduation rate was 85.29%. The Pennsylvania Department of Education issued a new, 4-year cohort graduation rate in 2010. Fairfield Area School District's rate was 87% for 2010.

AYP History

Fairfield Area High School declined to Warning AYP status due to lagging achievement in reading and mathematics. The school missed every metric measured. Fairfield Area High School achieved AYP status under the Federal No Child Left Behind Act in 2011, 2010 and 2009.

Academic Achievement

Fairfield Area High School achieved 81 out of 100. Reflects on grade level reading, mathematics and science achievement. In reading/literature - 82% were on grade level. In Algebra 1, 63.56% showed on grade level skills. In Biology, 47.6% showed on grade level science understanding. 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, they now take the Keystone Exams at the end of the associated course.

Science in Motion Fairfield 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 science enrichment experiences.

College Remediation

According to a Pennsylvania Department of Education study released in January 2009, 40% of Fairfield 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. 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.

Graduation requirements

Among Pennsylvania's 500 public school districts, graduation requirements widely vary. Fairfield Area School District School Board has determined that a student must earn the following credits in order to graduate: English 4 credits, Speech 0.5 credits, Math 3-4 credits, Social Studies 4 credits, Science 3-4 credits, Health/Physical Education 1 credit, Arts and Humanities 2 credits, Driver Education 0.5 credits and Elective Courses 5.5credits.

By law, all Pennsylvania high school students were required to 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. 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 exams, with those who do not able to 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.

SAT scores

In 2013, Fairfield Area School District students took the SAT exams. The District's Verbal Average Score was 490. The Math average score was 506. The Writing average score was 479. 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, 53 Fairfield Area High School students took the SAT exams. The School's Verbal Average Score was 483. The Math average score was 500. The Writing average score was 470. 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, 35 Fairfield Area High School students took the SAT exams. The School's Verbal Average Score was 490. The Math average score was 501. The Writing average score was 476. 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.

AP Courses

In 2013, Fairfield Area High School did not offer any Advanced Placement (AP) courses.

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), along with other specialized equipment and provided funding for teacher training to optimize the use of the computers. The program was funded from 2006-2009. Fairfield Area School District did not apply to participate and consequently, did not receive any funding over the three-year period of the program. Among the public high schools in Adams County, Gettysburg Area High School received the largest funding $341,842. The highest funding statewide was awarded to Philadelphia City School District in Philadelphia County - $9,409,073. The grant program was discontinued by Governor Edward Rendell as part of the 2009-10 state budget.

Hybrid Learning grant

In 2012 and 2013, Fairield Area High School did not seek Pennsylvania Hybrid Learning Grants. Hybrid learning integrates new instructional technologies with proven teaching techniques to deliver a more personalized learning experience for students to master three skills essential to succeed in the modern economy: using technology, working in teams, and learning independently.

School safety and bullying

Fairfield Area High School administration reported there were zero incidents of bullying in the School in 2012. Additionally, there were 2 assaults on students and no sexual incidents involving students. The local law enforcement was involved in ten incidents at the School, however no arrests made. Each year the school safety data is reported by the district to the Safe School Center which then publishes the compiled reports online.

Fairfield Area School Board has provided the District's antibully/cyberbullying 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

In 2013, Fairfield Area High School did not participate in the state Safe Schools Targeted Grant 2013. The maximum of $25,000 grants were awarded through a competitive application process. The funds must be used for research based interventions, like: peer mediation, staff training in managing behavioral issues and creating a positive school climate. The School also did not participate in the school resource officer grant program in 2013.

Wellness policy

Fairfield Area School Board established a district wellness policy in 2006 - Policy 6115. 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 Pennsylvania Department of Education required the district to submit a copy of the policy for approval.

Fairfield Area High School offers free or reduced-price lunch to children in low income families. 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 the lunch.

Fairfield Area High School 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.

Highmark Healthy High 5 grant

In 2009, the Fairfield Area School District received funding through a Highmark Healthy High 5 grant. Fairfield Area High School received $9,900 to purchase bikes and helmets to implement the Trek the Trails bicycle program. Beginning in 2006, Highmark Foundation engaged in a 5-year, $100 million program to promote lifelong healthy behaviors in children and adolescents through local nonprofits and schools.

Extracurriculars

Fairfield Area School District offers a wide variety of clubs, activities and an extensive, costly sports program. The bulk of the programs and associated spending are centered on the high school students. Eligibility for participation is determined by school board policy and in compliance with standards set by the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association (PIAA). 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.

By Pennsylvania law, all K-12 students residing 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.

Sports

The District funds:

The High School's sports programs are fed by the Middle School's sports.

According to PIAA directory July 2013