Type Public Grades 9-12 Mascot Cougars | Established 1938 Phone +1 610-683-7346 Colors White, Blue, Navy Blue | |
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Principal Barry Flicker and Edward Myers Enrollment 451 (2014–2015 school year) Average class size Approx. 115 per graduating year Address 50 Trexler Ave, Kutztown, PA 19530, USA District Kutztown Area School District Similar Fleetwood Senior High Sch, Kutztown University of Pennsy, Oley Valley High School, Brandywi Heights Middle Sc, Albany Elementary School | ||
Kutztown area high school freshmen orientation video
Kutztown Area High School is a small rural high school and is the only high school of the Kutztown Area School District, located at 50 Trexler Avenue in Kutztown, Pennsylvania, USA. Kutztown is sandwiched between Allentown and Reading in the heart of Pennsylvania Dutch Country. It was built in 1961, with an annex added in 1974. The school also underwent major renovations in 2016. The school supplies laptops to every student as part of the "one-to-one laptop initiative" where students receive an Apple MacBook Air. The school has numerous sports teams and clubs/activities in which they rival Berks County schools: Fleetwood and Brandywine.
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The school is infamous for a notorious group of thirteen students who violated its technology code of conduct and were subjected to external disciplinary action. The school offers many non-traditional education paths such as (BCTC), Internships and Independent studies. In the past year the school started a pilot program where students who are enrolled in a Supervised Agricultural Experience (SAE) are manufacturing parts for a company that produces ballistic targets. The students are welding the stock pieces to produce the sub assemblies that are sent back to the company to be painted and delivered to the customers. The full program is slated to go into effect for the 2014–2015 school year.
The Kutztown 13
In October 2004, the school distributed Apple iBook laptops to all students, as part of the "One-to-One" program to facilitate school work. Each computer was installed with safety instruments. Access to the safety and monitor settings was available via the use of an administrator password.
The school administrators initially set the administrator password on all laptops to "50Trexler", presumably in reference to the street address of the school. Multiple media reports indicated that the password was "taped onto the back of each computer" when they were initially handed out. What was actually on the back was a permanently affixed label with the school’s address, (including 50 Trexler Ave) although the Kutztown Area High School Administration did realize that the password should have been less obvious. A student or students found out the password, and eventually 200 to 300 students had knowledge of the password.
These students were then able to bypass the school's security system to access chat software, freely view web pages previously blocked by school policy, install file sharing applications, games, and other unauthorized software, and reverse the installed monitoring software to spy on other students and faculty. The school repeatedly disciplined students for these offenses, from detentions and leading to suspensions for repeated policy violations. With each disciplinary action given, the school claimed that parents were notified.
On May 2, 2005, school administrators contacted the Kutztown Borough Police Department with a request to investigate, and possibly prosecute, 13 students for violating the school's Acceptable Use Policy after they repeatedly modified their laptops. The parents of the students were not notified of this criminal investigation because the school was afraid the parents would not be pleased that pictures were being taken of the students, through the computers, at home. Much of the information released to the media was from the uncle of one of the 13 students and based on comments by the students. Pennsylvania law prohibits a school from discussing discipline cases, as such a high degree of one-sidedness exists on what actually prompted the school to take the action it took,
On May 31, 2005 the police notified the parents of 13 students that their children were being charged under Pennsylvania crimes code section 7615 for Computer trespass, a 3rd degree felony according to Pennsylvania law.
In late August 2005, the Berks County juvenile probation office offered to drop all charges in exchange for 15 hours of community service, a letter of apology, a class on personal responsibility and a limited probation period. One student did not accept these conditions. He was later emancipated of all charges.