Kittanning High School

Graduation Rate

Academic achievement

Kittanning Senior High School achieved 67.2 out of 100. Reflects on grade level reading, mathematics and science achievement. In reading/literature - 71% of tested pupils were on grade level. In Algebra 1, 61.7% showed on grade level skills. In Biology, just 43.8% showed on grade level science understanding.

In 2013, the Pittsburgh Business Times ranked Kittanning Senior High School’s eleventh (11th) grade 67th out of 105 western Pennsylvania high schools, based on the last three years of student academic achievement in Pennsylvania System of School Assessments (PSSA) in: reading, math, writing and three years of science. (Includes schools in: Allegheny County, Beaver County, Butler County, Fayette County, Westmoreland County, and Washington County) In 2012, the high school ranked 73rd in the western Pennsylvania region. In 2009, Kittanning Senior High School was ranked 90th out of 123 western Pennsylvania high schools, by the Pittsburgh Business Times, for student academic achievement as demonstrated on three years of PSSAs on: reading, writing, math and one year of science.

In 2012, Kittanning Senior High School remained in Warning AYP (Adequate Yearly Progress) status due to missing all metrics in reading and mathematics. In 2011, Kittanning Senior High School declined to Warning AYP status.

PSSAs are NCLB related examinations which were administered to 11th graders, from 2003 through 2012. 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.

11th grade Reading

Science in Motion Kittanning Senior High School took 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. Clarion University provided the science enrichment experiences to schools in the region.

College Remediation Rate

According to a Pennsylvania Department of Education study released in January 2009, 20% of the Armstrong School District 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.

Dual enrollment

Kittanning Senior 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 and programs 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. Under the Pennsylvania Transfer and Articulation Agreement, many Pennsylvania colleges and universities accept these credits for students who transfer to their institutions. For the 2009-10 funding year, the school district received a state grant of $12,125 for the program.

A total of 20 dual enrollment course options are available in the district throughout the school year in areas such as Music, Art, Psychology, Anthropology, Algebra, Calculus, Microeconomics, Spanish, French, History, and Political Science. Armstrong School District partners with Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP), Butler County Community College (BC3) and California University of Pennsylvania (Cal U) to offer these courses. The course costs are discounted by up to 75%.

Graduation requirements

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.

SAT scores

In 2013, Kittanning Senior High School students took the SAT exams. The District's Verbal Average Score was 494. The Math average score was 486. The Writing average score was 458. 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, 79 Kittanning Senior High School students took the SAT exams. The District's Verbal Average Score was 496. The Math average score was 498. The Writing average score was 472. 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, 107 Kittanning Senior High School students took the SAT exams. The District's Verbal Average Score was 486. The Math average score was 489. The Writing average score was 456. 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.

The Pennsylvania Department of Education compared the SAT data of students in rural areas of Pennsylvania to students in urban areas. From 2003 to 2005, the average total SAT score for students in rural Pennsylvania was 992, while urban students averaged 1,006. During the same period, 28 percent of 11th and 12th graders in rural school districts took the exam, compared to 32 percent of urban students in the same grades. The average math and verbal scores were 495 and 497, respectively, for rural students, while urban test-takers averaged 499 and 507, respectively. Pennsylvania’s SAT composite score ranked low on the national scale in 2004. The composite SAT score of 1,003 left Pennsylvania ranking 44 out of the 50 states and Washington, DC.

The Pennsylvania Department of Education reported that 71 percent of students in rural areas of Pennsylvania chose to continue their education after high school in 2003, whereas 79 percent of urban high school graduates opted to continue their education.

AP Courses

In 2013, Kittanning Senior High School offered 5 Advanced Placement (AP) courses at a higher cost than regular courses. Students have the option of taking College Board approved courses and then taking the College Board's examination in the Spring. Students, who achieve a 3 or better on the exam, may be awarded college credits at US universities and colleges. Each higher education institution sets its own standards about what level of credits are awarded to a student based on their AP exam score. Most higher education give credits for scores of 4 or 5. Some schools also give credits for scores of 3. Kittanning Senior High School awards credits towards graduation to students who pass the school's AP class. At Armstrong School District the AP courses are weighted credits towards class ranking. At Kittanning Senior High School 24% of students who took an AP course earned a 3 or better on the exam.

Wellness policy

Armstrong School Board established a district wellness policy in 2006. 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." Most districts identified the superintendent and school foodservice director as responsible for ensuring local wellness policy implementation.

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, physical activity, 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.

The Armstrong School District offers a free school breakfast and 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. Armstrong School District has adopted a set of standards on foods to be served in schools.

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. In 2014, President Obama ordered a prohibition of advertisements for unhealthy foods on public school campuses during the school day.

Armstrong 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.

School safety and bullying

The Armstrong School District administration reported there were zero incidents of bullying at Kittanning Senior High School in 2012. Each year the school safety data is reported by the district to the Safe School Center which publishes the reports online. There were three incidents involving local police.

The Armstrong School Board has provided the District's antibully policy online. By state law, Pennsylvania public 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 the Board is required to review its policy every three years. Additionally, Armstrong School District is mandated to 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 antiharassment programs are described in the 10.3. Safety and Injury Prevention in the Pennsylvania Academic Standards for Health, Safety and Physical Education.

Classrooms for the Future technology 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 Armstrong School District did not apply to participate in 2006-07. In 2007-08, Armstrong School District received $413,503. The District received $181,651 in 2008-09 for a total funding $595,154. Among the public school districts in Armstrong County the highest award was given to Armstrong School District. 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.

Tuition

Students who live in the Armstrong School District's attendance area may choose to attend one of Pennsylvania's 157 public charter schools. A student living in a neighboring public school district or a foreign exchange student may seek admission to Area School District. For these cases, the Pennsylvania Department of Education sets an annual tuition rate for each school district. It is the amount the public school district pays to a charter school for each resident student that attends the charter and it is the amount a nonresident student's parents must pay to attend the District's schools. The 2012 tuition rates at the Junior High Schools and Senior High Schools is $11,468.59.

Extracurriculars

The Kittanning Senior High School students have access to clubs, activities and an extensive, costly sports program. Eligibility for participation is determined by Armstrong School Board policies and in compliance with standards set by the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association (PIAA). The District is mandated by state law, to post its Interscholastic Athletic Opportunities Disclosure Form on its website which outlines by sports its spending on sports no including the cost of facilities.

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.

According to PIAA directory July 2013