Kittanning Junior High School

History

Kittanning Junior High School was established in 1910 as Kittanning Central School. It originally was for grades K–12. When West Hills Elementary School was created, K–1 were sent to East Franklin Elementary School and 2–5 was sent to West Hills Elementary School. The Junior High was now Kittanning Area Middle School which included grades 6–8. Then the 6th grade went to the new West Hills Education Park, which included West Hills Primary School (K–3) and West Hills Intermediate School (4–6).

In the 2006–07 school year, Kittanning Area Middle School was renamed Kittanning Junior High School. The school caught on fire twice. The school was not totally destroyed and the parts that were damaged were rebuilt. It is 92 years old. It has 3 floors and resides in the center of downtown Kittanning, PA.

Academic achievement

Kittanning Junior High School achieved 71.5 out of 100. Reflects on grade level reading, writing, mathematics and science achievement. In reading, 78.7% of the students were on grade level. In Mathematics, 83% of the students showed on grade level skills. In Science, 59.7% of the 8th graders demonstrated on grade level understanding. In writing, 74% of the 8th grade students were on grade level.

Adequate Yearly Progress

In 2012, Kittanning Junior High School declined to Warning AYP status.

Eighth grade

In 2013, Kittanning Junior High's eighth grade ranked 82nd out of 149 western Pennsylvania middle 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. In 2012, Kitanning's 8th grade was ranked 77th among western Pennsylvania schools. In 2009, the 8th grade was ranked 74th out of 141 western Pennsylvania middle schools based on three years of student academic achievement in PSSAs in: reading, mathematics, writing and one year of science.

8th grade Science:

Seventh grade

In 2013, the Kittanning Junior High School's seventh (7th) grade ranked 60th out of 150 western Pennsylvania middle school seventh grades. In 2012, the School's seventh grade ranked 63rd in the western Pennsylvania region.

Science in Motion

Kittanning Junior 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.

Wellness policy

Armstrong School Board established a District-wide 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 which limits 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.

HEALTHY Armstrong is a collaborative group made up of ACMH Hospital, Armstrong School District, Children’s Community Pediatrics-Armstrong, UPMC Health Plan and numerous other community partners all working together to increase wellness opportunities for Armstrong County families and youth.

School safety and bullying

The Armstrong School District administration reported there were zero incidents of bullying at Kittanning Junior High School in 2012. There were no incidents involving local police. However, one bomb threat and one weapon (a knife) at the school were reported. Each year, the school safety data is mandated to be reported by the district to the Safe School Center which publishes the reports online.

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.

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 Kittanning Junior High Schools was $11,468.59.

Cyber Education

Students who reside in the Kittanning Junior High School attendance area may enroll in Armstrong School District's Cyber Academy. The Academy is open to pupils in grades 7th through 12th. Pupils choosing this option continue to have access to all of the District's services and extracurriculars. The District provides the student with the necessary computer equipment at no cost to the parents.

Extracurriculars

The Armstrong School District offers a variety of clubs, activities and a costly, extensive sports program. Armstrong School Board determines eligibility policies to participate in these programs.

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.

According to PIAA directory July 2013