Local school districts win state awards for achievement
Local schools won monetary awards in varying amounts for improved performance on the Pennsylvania System of School Assessment standardized tests, better attendance by students and improved job readiness. The awards are summarized here and are based on 2002 results obtained in the last school year.
ALBERT GALLATIN AREA
The school district was awarded $35,168 from three awards. George J. Plava Elementary School received $17,720 for fifth-grade math and reading scores that improved by a combined 90 points to a composite 2740 scaled score. The district received two attendance awards. The larger one went to Smithfield Elementary School in the amount of $13,640 and the other went to Masontown Elementary School in the amount of $3,808. Attendance at Smithfield went up 7.21 percent to 100 percent in 2002 and attendance went up .99 percent at Masontown to 93.48 percent.
BELLE VERNON AREA
Rostraver Elementary School’s fifth-grade PSSA score went up 90 points to 2730, netting the school an award of $26,840. Rostraver Middle School eighth-grade scores also went up a combined 90 points to 2780. That school received a performance award of $14,000.
BETHLEHEM-CENTER
Bethlehem-Center Senior High School was a double winner with $12,572 for improved PSSA scores and $7,408.50 for improved attendance. The PSSA combined score for 11th grade went up by 60 points to 2610 and attendance increased by 1.10 percent to 92.13 percent. Breaking the students into the categories of those with Individualized Education Plans (IEP), limited English Proficiency and educationally disadvantaged, the state for the first time awarded performance among the disaggregated groups of students. Beth-Center received $7,776 for a decrease of 7.9 percent in the number of economically disadvantaged students scoring at below basic on the PSSA. The new total for that category was 32.7 percent.
BROWNSVILLE AREA
Brownsville received one award. The $9,436 award went to Redstone Middle School for the eighth grade PSSA scores. The score, combined for math and reading, went up 60 points to 2510.
CALIFORNIA AREA
California Area School District received $40,333.50 for improvements in attendance at the middle school and high school. The award to the middle school was $27,261 for raising attendance by 3.46 percent to 98.09 percent. The award to the high school was $13,072.50 for raising the attendance rate by 3.58 percent to 94.30 percent. California also received $3,684 for a 7.3-percent decrease in the number of economically disadvantaged students at the below basic performance level, leaving 32.4 percent in that category.
CARMICHAELS AREA
A performance award of $28,072 went to Carmichaels Area Elementary School fifth grade for an improved combined score of 2650, up 100 points. The district in all received $35,758 with the remaining $7,686 earmarked for Carmichaels Jr./Sr. High School for attendance. The attendance rate for the secondary students went up .87 percent to 90.67 percent.
CONNELLSVILLE AREA
Bullskin Elementary School received $11,760 for raising the math and reading PSSA scores in fifth grade by 50 points to the total score of 2650. Connellsville Junior High School East and Zachariah Connell Elementary School received attendance awards. The junior high award was $14,173 for a 1.10-percent increase in attendance to 90.36 percent. The Zachariah Connell award was $6,831 for a 1.13-percent increase in attendance to 94.02 percent.
FAYETTE COUNTY AVTS
The vocational-technical awards were based on National Occupational Competency Testing Institute (NOCTI) certificates given the school’s students, requiring at least 5 percent more of those certificates granted. Fayette County Area Vocational-Technical School was awarded $9,729.50 for a 10.6 percent increase in the NOCTI certificates. The school’s rate for granting these certificates was listed as 48.6 percent.
FRAZIER
Frazier was awarded $38,306 – $9,344 for the middle school eighth grade for a 70-point increase on the tests, $19,992 for the high school 11th grade a 130-point increase on the tests, $5,890.50 for the high school for improved attendance and $3,080 for Central Elementary School for improved attendance.
INTERMEDIATE UNIT 1
The Intermediate Unit 1 received an improvement award of $24,951 for better performance by its students on the PSSA, moving 1.6 percent of the students out of the below basic performance level. The new rate of students in that category was 92.8 percent. The IU 1 was the only Intermediate Unit in the state to receive this award.
JEFFERSON-MORGAN
Jefferson-Morgan got something from several categories. The Jefferson-Morgan Jr./Sr. High School 11th grade PSSA combined score went up 60 points to 2480, bringing in a performance grant of $20,160. The secondary attendance went up .85 percent to 90.36 percent, giving the school another $6,720. The district further received an award for moving 26.4 percent of its economically disadvantaged students out of the below basic performance level of the PSSA, leaving 53.6 percent of the economically disadvantaged students in the below basic category. The award was $10,792.
LAUREL HIGHLANDS
Gen. George C. Marshall Elementary School logged a $30,744 award for fifth-grade math and reading PSSA performance, increasing the combined score by 200 points to 2870. Otherwise, Laurel Highlands received the only award given a Fayette County school district for improving scores for certain groups of students. The state also awarded the school district $4,980 for moving 7.3 percent of the IEP students out of the blow basic level of performance on the PSSA tests. The new percentage was 84.4.
NORTH FAYETTE COUNTY AVTS
North Fayette County Area Vocational-Technical School granted 36.7 percent of its students the NOCTI certificates, which represented an 18-percent increase. The school received an improvement award of $22,399.50.
SOUTHEASTERN GREENE
Southeastern Greene School District received $5,096. The award was for attendance at Mapletown Jr./Sr. High School where the attendance rate went up .89 percent to 90.16 percent.
SOUTHMORELAND
Southmoreland Junior High School logged the district’s award of $6,369. That was for improved attendance. Attendance went up by 1.19 percent to 92.73 percent. Southmoreland in the disaggregated groups received $16,454 for lowering the percentage of IEP students in the below basic category of the PSSA by 24.5 percent to the new total of 54.5 percent.
UNIONTOWN AREA
Uniontown Area High School and Marclay School won performance awards for improved PSSA scores. At the high school, the amount is $34,560 for an 80-point increase in the combined scores to total 2580. The Marclay award was for fifth-grade math and reading scores combined that went up 310 points to 2870.