Central Mountain High School

Central Mountain High School
Address
64 Keystone Central Drive
Mill Hall, Pennsylvania, Clinton 17751
United States
Information
School type Public, Secondary
School district Keystone Central School District
Superintendent Kelly Hastings, salary $121,570 (2015), contract renewed July 1, 2015 - June 30, 2020)[1]
Principal

Steven Turchetta
Mr. Mark Condo, Asst Principal

Nick Verelli, Asst Principal
Grades 9-12
Pupils

1,180 pupils (2015)[2]

1,254 pupils (2013)[3]
Color(s) Royal blue, columbia blue, and white
              
Mascot Wildcat
Information (570) 893-4646
Website https://www.kcsd.k12.pa.us/schools/central-mountain-high-school
Clinton County School Districts
Centre County School Districts

Central Mountain High School is a public high school located at 64 Keystone Central Drive, Mill Hall, Clinton County, Pennsylvania, United States. In 2015, enrollment was reported as 1,180 pupils in 9th through 12th grades, with 35.9% of pupils eligible for a free lunch due to the family meeting the federal federal poverty level. Additionally, 17% of pupils received special education services, while none of pupils were identified as gifted.[4] The school employed 75 teachers.[5] Per the Pennsylvania Department of Education, 100% of the teachers were rated "Highly Qualified" under the federal No Child Left Behind Act.[6] Central Mountain High School is one of two high schools in the Keystone Central School District. Keystone Central is the geographically largest school district in Pennsylvania.

In 2013, enrollment was 1,254 pupils in grade 9th - 12th, with 516 pupils eligible for a free lunch due to family poverty. The school employed 75 teachers, yielding a 16:1 student:teacher ratio.[5] Per the PA Department of Education, 100% of the teachers were rated "Non‐Highly Qualified" under the federal No Child Left Behind Act.[7]

According to the National Center for Education Statistics, in 2010, the school reported an enrollment of 1,333 pupils in grades 9th through 12th, with 490 pupils eligible for a federal free or reduced price lunch. The school employed 78 teachers yielding a student teacher ratio of 17:1.[8] According to a report by the Pennsylvania Department of Education, 100% of its teachers were rated "Highly Qualified" under No Child Left Behind.[9]

Central Mountain's colors are royal blue, light blue and white, and their mascot is the Wildcat. The school is the combination of three other high schools, Lock Haven High School, Bald Eagle-Nittany High School, and Sugar Valley High School, which were heavy rivals in the past. Construction of the building began in 1997 and the school was opened for the 1999-2000 school year. It was designed by the Quad 3 construction group.

Graduation rate

In 2015, Central Mountain High School’s graduation rate was 90.7%.[10]

2015 School Performance Profile

Central Mountain High School achieved 67.4 out of 100. Reflects on grade level reading, mathematics and science achievement. The PDE reported that 64.6% of the High School’s students were on grade level in reading/literature. In Algebra 1, 54% of students showed on grade level skills at the end of the course. In Biology I, 41.3% demonstrated on grade level science understanding at the end of the course.[17] Statewide, 53 percent of schools with an eleventh grade achieved an academic score of 70 or better. Five percent of the 2,033 schools with 11th grade were scored at 90 and above; 20 percent were scored between 80 and 89; 28 percent between 70 and 79; 25 percent between 60 and 69 and 22 percent below 60. The Keystone Exam results showed: 73 percent of students statewide scored at grade-level in English, 64 percent in Algebra I and 59 percent in biology.[18][19]

2014 School Performance Profile

Central Mountain High School achieved 70.3 out of 100. Reflects on grade level reading, mathematics and science achievement. In reading/literature - 77% were on grade level. In Algebra 1, 67% showed on grade level skills. In Biology, 53% demonstrated on grade level science understanding at the end of the course.[20][21] Statewide, the percentage of high school students who scored proficient and advanced in Algebra I increased to 39.7% to 40.1%. The percentage of high school students who scored proficient and advanced in reading/literature declined to 52.5%. The percentage of high school students who scored proficient and advanced in biology improved from 39.7% to 41.4%.[22]

2013 School Performance Profile

Central Mountain High School achieved out of 100. Reflects on grade level reading, mathematics and science achievement. In reading/literature - 67% were on grade level. In Algebra 1, 57% showed on grade level skills. In Biology, 41% showed on grade level science understanding.[23] 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. Pennsylvania 11th grade students no longer take the PSSAs. Instead, beginning in 2012, they take the Keystone Exams at the end of the associated course.[24]

AYP Status

In 2012, Central Mountain High School declined to School Improvement II AYP status when it failed to achieve a single one of the 8 academic targets.[25]

PSSA Results

Pennsylvania System of School Assessments, commonly called PSSAs are No Child Left Behind Act related examinations which were administered from 2003 through 2012, in all Pennsylvania public high schools. The exams were administered in the Spring of each school year. The goal was for 100% of students to be on grade level or better in reading and mathematics, by the Spring of 2014. The tests focused on the state's Academic Standards for reading, writing, mathematics and science. The Science exam included content in science, technology, ecology and the environmental studies. The mathematics exam included: algebra I, algebra II, geometry and trigonometry. The standards were first published in 1998 and are mandated by the Pennsylvania State Board of Education.[35]

In 2013, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania changed its high school assessments to the Keystone Exams in Algebra 1, Reading/literature and Biology1. The exams are given at the end of the applicable course, rather than all in the spring of the student's 11th grade year.[36] Seventh graders and eighth graders continue to be tested in reading , math and 8th grade science PSSAs.

11th Grade Reading:

11th Grade Math:

11th Grade Science:

Graduation requirements

By law, all Pennsylvania secondary school students must 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.[50]

By Pennsylvania School Board regulations, for the graduating classes of 2015 and 2016, students must demonstrate successful completion of secondary level course work in Algebra I, Biology, English Composition, and Literature for which the Keystone Exams serve as the final course exams. Students’ Keystone Exam scores shall count for at least one-third of the final course grade.[51]

College Remediation

According to a Pennsylvania Department of Education study released in January 2009, 7% of Keystone Central School District graduates required remediation in mathematics and or reading before they were prepared to take college level courses in the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education or community colleges.[52][53] Less than 66% of Pennsylvania high school graduates, who enroll in a four-year college in Pennsylvania, will earn a bachelor's degree within six years. Among Pennsylvania high school graduates pursuing an associate degree, only one in three graduate in three years.[54] Per the Pennsylvania Department of Education, one in three recent high school graduates who attend Pennsylvania's public universities and community colleges takes at least one remedial course in math, reading or English.

SAT scores

From January to June 2011, 165 Central Mountain students took the SAT exams. The district's Verbal Average Score was 470. The Math average score was 485. The Writing average score was 462.[55] Pennsylvania ranked 40th among states with SAT scores: Verbal - 493, Math - 501, Writing - 479.[56] In the United States, 1.65 million students took the exam in 2011. They averaged 497 (out of 800) verbal, 514 math and 489 in writing.[57]

Sports

Central Mountain sports are cross country, volleyball, football, boys and girls basketball, boys and girls soccer, boys and girls tennis, wrestling, track and field, golf, swimming, softball, and baseball. The school participates in PIAA. The school qualifies as an AAAA school but some sports play in AAA competition. They participate in the Pennsylvania Heartland Athletic Conference.

Jerry Sandusky

Central Mountain is the high school that originally brought to light the alleged sexual predation of minors by former Penn State Defensive Coordinator Jerry Sandusky. The school district reported an incident involving Sandusky and Central Mountain student Aaron Fisher (identified in court papers as "Victim 1") after Fisher and his mother, Dawn Daniels, reported it to authorities in the Spring of 2008.[58][59][60]

On November 22, 2011, it was reported that Fisher, by then a 17-year-old senior at Central Mountain, was forced to leave the school because of bullying. The other students blamed Victim 1 for Penn State University's firing of football coach Joe Paterno.[61]

Fisher and Daniels have claimed that principal Karen Probst and vice principal Steve Turchetta actively tried to persuade them not to report the incident to police. Although the Grand Jury indictment against Sandusky stated that the school called the police immediately upon being notified, Fisher and Daniels have both stated this is false. In an interview with ABC News' 20/20, Fisher and Daniels said that when Probst was notified of Fisher's charges, Probst replied that Sandusky had "a heart of gold" and would never harm a child, and that Fisher and Daniels needed to "go home and think about it" rather than report the incident to police. Daniels and Fisher later learned that school officials only reported the incident after they left Probst's office.[60]

Earlier, in an interview with Huffington Post, Daniels (identified in the story as "Mother 1") said she first grew suspicious about Sandusky when she learned that Turchetta—who also serves as the school's head football coach—had given Sandusky nearly unfettered access to her son during school hours without any parental notification or permission. Sandusky had even taken Fisher off campus on several occasions. Daniels also reported (a) that she'd been chastised, and told by, a grandmother in a market "that Turchetta brought [Sandusky's banning from the school] up at his weekly football parent meeting, presumably with family members of the football team. According to Daniels, the woman added, 'Coach Turchetta said these charges are never going to stick and he'll walk away'"; (b) "that her son developed a close bond with a 28-year-old volunteer coach, which Turchetta abruptly ended"; and (c) that "her son told her that Turchetta was in his face, yelling at him: 'With what you've done already, no 28-year-old man needs to be around you.'"[62] Later, Fisher and Daniels learned that Turchetta had his own concerns about the relationship between Fisher and Sandusky, but made no further inquiries.[60]

The volunteer coach, Thom Hunter, detailed his own relationship with Fisher, his friends and track teammates, and the school which ultimately terminated his position. Neighbors and friends also spoke of gift-giving, car trips and arguments over the relationship between Fisher and Sandusky. Sandusky's attorney spoke of a night alone in a hotel room with Fisher, with "a pull-out cot ... paid for". A friend spoke at length of a 3-boy trip with Sandusky to a swimming pool, ending with Fisher alone in the car with the coach and "Sandusky holding the boy’s hand". Hunter and others spoke of a car accident Fisher suffered, and the process of comeback. Hunter also described the process of his interaction with another coach at the school, of Hunter's then being told to “stop showing up to practices”, and of the "Bring Tom Back" t-shirts thereafter "printed ... [by d]ozens of team members".[63]

"'That’s Jerry — he was always a very physical kind of teddy bear, like an overgrown kid,' [Sandusky's attorney Joseph] Amendola said when asked about the friend’s account [of the swim trip]. 'He would hug kids, he kissed kids, but it wasn’t sexual.'" Amendola also questioned Victim 1's accounts—saying that Victim 1 "has, over time, exaggerated his claims of being molested"—and spoke of Sandusky's gift-giving habits, in response to the reporting.[63]

References

  1. ↑ PDE, ED Names and Addresses, 2016
  2. ↑ Pennsylvania Departments of Education (December 4, 2015). "Central Mountain High School Fast Facts 2015".
  3. ↑ "Common Core of Data - Central Mountain HIgh School". 2015.
  4. ↑ Pennsylvania Department of Education (November 4, 2015). "Central Mountain High School Fast Facts 2015".
  5. 1 2 US News and World Report, Best High Schools, 2015
  6. ↑ Pennsylvania Department of Education (2015). "Highly Qualified Teacher Guidelines".
  7. ↑ Pennsylvania Department of Education (2013). "Highly Qualified Teacher Guidelines".
  8. ↑ National Center for Education Statistics, Common Care Data - Central Mountain High School, 2010
  9. ↑ Pennsylvania Department of Education, Professional Qualifications of Teachers Central Mountain High School, September 29, 2011
  10. ↑ PDE, Graduation rate by LEA, 2015
  11. ↑ PDE, Graduation rate by LEA, 2014
  12. ↑ PDE, Graduation rate by LEA, 2013
  13. ↑ Pennsylvania Department of Education (September 21, 2012). "Central Mountain High School School AYP Data Table 2012".
  14. ↑ Pennsylvania Department of Education, Central Mountain High School School AYP Data Table, September 29, 2011
  15. ↑ Pennsylvania Department of Education, Central Mountain High School School AYP Data Table 2010, October 20, 2010
  16. ↑ Pennsylvania Department of Education, Central Mountain High School School AYP Data Table 2009, September 14, 2009
  17. ↑ Pennsylvania Department of Education (November 4, 2015). "Central Mountain High School School Performance Profile 2015".
  18. ↑ Jan Murphy (November 4, 2015). "Report card for state's high schools show overall decline". Pennlive.com.
  19. ↑ Pennsylvania Department of Education (November 4, 2015). "2015 Keystone Exam School Level Data".
  20. ↑ Pennsylvania Department of Education (November 6, 2014). "Central Mountain High School Academic Performance Data 2014".
  21. ↑ Evamarie Socha (November 6, 2014). "Half of Valley districts see state test scores decline". The Daily Item.
  22. ↑ Eleanor Chute (November 21, 2014). "Pennsylvania student scores declined with reduced funding, test results show". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
  23. ↑ Pennsylvania Department of Education, Central Mountain High School Academic Performance Data 2013, October 4, 2013
  24. ↑ Eleanor Chute and Mary Niederberger (December 11, 2013). "New assessment shows fuller picture of Pa. schools". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
  25. ↑ Pennsylvania Department of Education (September 29, 2012). "Central Mountain High School AYP Overview 2012".
  26. ↑ Pennsylvania Department of Education, Keystone Central School District AYP report 2010, September 20, 2012
  27. ↑ Pennsylvania Department of Education, Central Mountain High School AYP status 2009, September 14, 2009
  28. ↑ Pennsylvania Department of Education, Central Mountain High School AYP status 2008, August 15, 2008
  29. ↑ Pennsylvania Department of Education, Central Mountain High School AYP status 2007, 2007
  30. ↑ Pennsylvania Department of Education, Central Mountain High School AYP status 2006, 2006
  31. ↑ Pennsylvania Department of Education, Central Mountain High School AYP status 2005, 2005
  32. ↑ Pennsylvania Department of Education, Central Mountain High School AYP status 2004, 2004
  33. ↑ US Department of Education (2003). "NCLB Parental Notices".
  34. ↑ Pennsylvania Department of Education (September 21, 2012). "School Improvement Grant".
  35. ↑ Pennsylvania Department of Education (2014). "State Academic Standards".
  36. ↑ Pennsylvania Department of Education (2014). "State Assessment System".
  37. ↑ Pennsylvania Department of Education (September 29, 2012). "2011-2012 PSSA and AYP Results".
  38. ↑ Pennsylvania Department of Education (September 29, 2011). "2010-2011 PSSA and AYP Results".
  39. ↑ Pennsylvania Department of Education. "CENTRAL MOUNTAIN HIGH SCHOOL School AYP Performance Report 2009 and 2010".
  40. ↑ Pennsylvania Department of Education Math and Reading PSSA Results 2009
  41. ↑ Pennsylvania Department of Education Math and Reading PSSA Results 2008
  42. ↑ Pennsylvania Department of Education (September 21, 2012). "Central Mountain High School Academic Achievement Report Card 2012" (PDF).
  43. ↑ Pennsylvania Department of Education, Central Mountain High School Academic Achievement Report Card 2011, September 29, 2011
  44. ↑ Pennsylvania Department of Education, Central Mountain High School Academic Achievement Report Card 2010, October 20, 2010
  45. ↑ Pennsylvania Department of Education, Central Mountain High School Academic Achievement Report Card 2009, September 14, 2009
  46. ↑ Pennsylvania Department of Education, Central Mountain High School Academic Achievement Report Card 2008, August 15, 2008
  47. ↑ Pennsylvania Department of Education Math and Reading PSSA Results 2007
  48. ↑ Pennsylvania Department of Education (September 29, 2011). "2010-2011 PSSA results in Science".
  49. ↑ Pennsylvania Department of Education Science PSSA Results 2008
  50. ↑ "Pennsylvania Code §4.24 (a) High school graduation requirements".
  51. ↑ Pennsylvania Department of Education (September 2011). "Pennsylvania Keystone Exams Overview".
  52. ↑ Jan Murphy (January 30, 2009). "Report: One-third of local high schoolers unprepared for college". Pennlive.com.
  53. ↑ Pennsylvania Department of Education (January 20, 2009). "Pennsylvania College Remediation Report 2009".
  54. ↑ National Center for Education Statistics
  55. ↑ Pennsylvania Department of Education (2011). "Public School SAT Scores 2011". Archived from the original on 2011-10-15.
  56. ↑ College Board (September 2011). "SAT Scores State By State - Pennsylvania". Archived from the original on 2011-10-08.
  57. ↑ "While U.S. SAT scores dip across the board, N.J. test-takers hold steady". NJ.com. September 2011.
  58. ↑ "Key dates in the Penn State Nittany Lions sex abuse case - ESPN". Espn.go.com. 2011-11-09. Retrieved 2011-11-16.
  59. ↑ "Mothers of two of Jerry Sandusky's alleged victims lash out at Penn State officials' handling of scandal". PennLive.com. Retrieved 2011-11-16.
  60. 1 2 3 Cuomo, Chris (2012-10-20). "Sandusky Victim 1 Steps Out of Shadows, Says Justice Took Too Long". 20/20. ABC News.
  61. ↑ "Penn State victim forced to quit school because bullies blame him for Joe Paterno losing coach job", Daily Mail, 23rd November 2011 7:45 am update. Retrieved 2011-11-22.
  62. ↑ Buell, Ryan D., "Penn State Scandal: Mother Of Alleged Jerry Sandusky Victim Claims Mistreatment By Son's School", Huffington Post, 11/23/11 10:58 am ET update.
  63. 1 2 Schweber, Nate, and Jo Becker, "For a Reported Penn State Victim, a Search for Trust" (limited no-charge access), The New York Times, November 22, 2011. Retrieved 2011-12-01.

Coordinates: 41°06′54″N 77°30′25″W / 41.115°N 77.507°W / 41.115; -77.507

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