Susquehanna Township Middle School

Academic achievement

Susquehanna Township Middle School achieved 71.6 out of 100. Reflects on grade level reading, writing, mathematics and science achievement. In reading, only 64% of the students were on grade level. In Mathematics, 68% of the students showed on grade level skills. In Science, 51% of the 8th graders demonstrated on grade level understanding. In writing, just 52.5% of the 8th grade students demonstrated on grade level writing skills. 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.

AYP History

In 2012, Susquehanna Township Middle School further declined to School Improvement I Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) status due to lagging student achievement in both reading and mathematics. The attendance rate was 95% in both years.

Under the federal No Child Left Behind Act, the school administration was required to notify parents of the school's poor achievement outcomes. 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.

PSSAs history

The PSSAs (Pennsylvania System of School Assessments) are No Child Left Behind Act related achievement tests which assess student achievement over one school year. In sixth and seventh grades reading and mathematics are tested. In eighth grade, reading, writing, mathematics and science are tested. Students who take Algebra 1 take the Keystone Exam at the end of the course. The test were first administered in 1999.

School safety and bullying

The Susquehanna Township School District administration reported there were three (3) incidents of bullying in the Susquehanna Township Middle School, in 2012. Additionally, there were 7 incidents involving local police. Several incidents of assault on staff were reported. No incidents of sexual misconduct of the faculty were noted. Each year the school safety data is reported by the District's administration to the Pennsylvania Safe School Center which publishes the reports online.

The Susquehanna Township School Board has provided the district's antibully 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, Susquehanna Township School 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 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 Susquehanna Township School District's attendance area may choose to attend one of Pennsylvania's 157 public charter schools. Or a student living in a neighboring public school district may seek admission to Susquehanna Township 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 rate for Susquehanna Township School District's Middle School and High School is $8,826.01.

Wellness policy

Susquehanna Township School Board established a district wellness policy in 2006 – Student Wellness Policy 246. 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, 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 its approval. This includes classroom party guidelines from the Pennsylvania Department of Education.

Susquehanna Township School District offers both 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 at school. 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.

Susquehanna Township Middle 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 annually monitor each child's weight and report the data to the state.

Extracurriculars

Students at Susquehanna Township Middle School offers a wide variety of clubs, activities and an extensive sports program. The sports are open to sports to 7th and 8th graders. Eligibility for participation is determined by school board policy and in compliance with standards set by the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association (PIAA). To receive automatic academic eligibility to participate in any extra-curricular activities (athletic, music) sponsored by the Susquehanna Township School District, students must not fail two or more classes on their previous report card.

In 2012, the Obama Administration's US Department of Education issued a directive requiring that schools include students with disabilities in extracurricular activities, including sports.

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