Meadville Area Senior High School

AYP History

In 2012, Meadville Area High School was in Making Progress: in School Improvement II AYP level. In 2011, the Meadville Area High School declined to School Improvement II AYP status due to chronic, low student achievement. In 2010, the Meadville High School was in School Improvement I due to chronic, low student achievement. In 2009, the high school was in Warning AYP status. Under the federal No Child Left Behind Act, the Meadville Area High School school administration was required to notify parents of the school's poor achievement outcomes and to offer the parent the opportunity to transfer to a successful school within the District. Additionally the school administration was required by the Pennsylvania Department of Education, to develop a School Improvement Plan to address the school's low student achievement. Under the Pennsylvania Accountability System, the school district must pay for additional tutoring for struggling students. Meadville Area High School is eligible for additional targeted, federal funding under School Improvement Grants which the school must apply for each year.

Graduation rate

In 2012, Meadville Area High School's graduation rate declined to 78%.

Academics

In July 2012, the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) released a report identifying Crawford Central School District schools as among the lowest achieving schools for reading and mathematics in 2011. Meadville Area High School was among the 15% lowest achieving schools in the Commonwealth. Parents and students may be eligible for scholarships to transfer to another public or nonpublic school through the state's Opportunity Scholarship Tax Credit Program passed in June 2012. The scholarships are limited to those students whose family's income is less than $60,000 annually, with another $12,000 allowed per dependent. Maximum scholarship award is $8,500, with special education students receiving up to $15,000 for a year's tuition. Parents pay any difference between the scholarship amount and the receiving school's tuition rate. Students may seek admission to neighboring public school districts. Each year the PDE publishes the tuition rate for each individual public school district. According to the report, parents in 414 public schools (74 school districts) were offered access to these scholarships. Three other Crawford Central School District schools were on the low achievement list. For the 2012-13 school year, eight public school districts in Pennsylvania had all of their schools placed on the list including: Sto-Rox School District, Chester Upland School District, Clairton City School District, Duquesne City School District, Farrell Area School District, Wilkinsburg Borough School District, William Penn School District and Steelton-Highspire School District. Funding for the scholarships comes from donations by businesses which receive a state tax credit for donating.

Meadville Area Senior High School offers: Advanced Placement Program(AP) courses in calculus, English, chemistry, biology, physics, Spanish, German, French, American history and European history.

SAT scores

In 2012, 157 Meadville Area High School students took the SAT exams. The District's Verbal Average Score was 475. The Math average score was 476. The Writing average score was 452.

In 2011, 146 Meadville Area School District students took the SAT exams. The District's Verbal Average Score was 479. The Math average score was 480. The Writing average score was 453.

Dual enrollment

Meadville 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. Meadville Area High School collaborates with Regional Choice Initiative (RCI) which is managed through IU5. Butler County Community College, Edinboro University and Clarion University all offer the courses. 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 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. Under state rules, other students that reside in the district, who attend a private school, a charter school or are homeschooled are eligible to participate in this program. In 2010, Governor Edward Rendell eliminated the grants to students, from the Commonwealth, due to a state budget crisis.

For the 2010-11 funding year, the school district received a state grant of $12,046 for the program.

Graduation requirements

Among Pennsylvania's 500 public school districts, graduation requirements widely vary. The Crawford Central School Board has determined that a pupil must earn 26.5 credits to graduate, including: a required class every year in Math, English, Social Studies 3 or 4 credits, Science 3 or 4 credits, Computer Technology - 2 credits, Humanities - 2 credits, Physical Education/Health 2.5 credits, Graduation Project - 0.5 and electives 4.5 credits.

By law, all Pennsylvania secondary 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 exam, 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.

Athletics

Meadville Area Senior High School has a storied athletic history, especially in hockey and basketball. The Bulldog hockey team has won a total of 8 state titles (in 1987, 1989, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996 and 2003). Bulldog hockey player Ryan Smart was drafted by the New Jersey Devils in the 6th round of the 1994 NHL Entry draft. Smart is the only player in history to be drafted in the NHL straight from a Pennsylvania high school team. The bulldog basketball team's winning history includes a number of PIAA Western Finals appearances, a state final appearance in 1987 and invitations to the nationally recognized McDonald's Classic basketball tournament in 1986 and 1990.

Extracurriculars

Students may participate in a wide range of clubs and organizations including student government, National Honor Society, ski club, marching band, jazz band, the school newspaper known as The Bark and the German travel club.

Two teachers currently offer role playing games similar to Dungeons and Dragons once a week during after school hours, but due to no hallway advertising, few people join these; therefore it is not credited as a full extracurricular class. The school also has language clubs that are part of the language classes, but involves students selling candy to raise up money to afford a trip to a foreign country during their senior year.

Notable alumni

References