Brownsville Township, Fayette County, Pennsylvania

Brownsville Township is in northwestern Fayette County; it is bordered to the west by the borough of Brownsville, to the southwest by Luzerne Township, to the southeast by Redstone Township, and to the northeast by Jefferson Township. On the northwest, across the Monongahela River, is the borough of West Brownsville in Washington County. Dunlap Creek forms the boundary with Luzerne Township and part of the boundary with Brownsville borough, while Redstone Creek forms the boundary with Jefferson Township; both creeks are tributaries of the Monongahela.

U.S. Route 40 crosses the township, leading northwest into Brownsville borough and southeast to Uniontown, the Fayette County seat. Downtown Pittsburgh is 40 miles (64 km) to the north.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the township has a total area of 1.55 square miles (4.01 km²), of which 1.50 square miles (3.89 km²) is land and 0.05 square miles (0.12 km²), or 2.91%, is water.[3]

As of the census[6] of 2000, there were 769 people, 325 households, and 216 families residing in the township. The population density was 470.7 people per square mile (182.2/km²). There were 362 housing units at an average density of 221.6/sq mi (85.7/km²). The racial makeup of the township was 94.80% White, 3.90% African American, 0.13% Asian, 0.52% from other races, and 0.65% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.65% of the population.

There were 325 households, out of which 24.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.3% were married couples living together, 15.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.5% were non-families. 29.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 15.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.34 and the average family size was 2.88.

In the township the population was spread out, with 20.2% under the age of 18, 6.9% from 18 to 24, 25.6% from 25 to 44, 25.2% from 45 to 64, and 22.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 43 years. For every 100 females there were 82.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 84.4 males.

The median income for a household in the township was $31,917, and the median income for a family was $37,500. Males had a median income of $29,000 versus $20,250 for females. The per capita income for the township was $16,777. About 9.7% of families and 14.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 25.3% of those under age 18 and 12.0% of those age 65 or over.

Map of Fayette County, Pennsylvania public school districts showing a portion of Brownsville Area SD in orange

Map of Washington County, Pennsylvania public school districts showing the portion of Brownsville Area SD

The Brownsville Area School District serves children living in Brownsville Township. The district's enrollment declined to 1,660 pupils in 2015.[7] The district served 1,883 pupils in 2006.[8] The district operates four schools::

• Brownsville Area High School (9–12)
• Brownsville Area Middle School (6–8)
• Central Elementary School (3–5)
• Cox-Donahey Elementary School (K–2)

Statewide ranking

Brownsville Area School District was ranked 468th out of 493 Pennsylvania school districts in 2015, by the Pittsburgh Business Times.[9] The ranking is based on the last 3 years of student academic achievement as demonstrated by PSSAs results in: reading, writing, math and science PSSAs and the three Keystone Exams: (literature, Algebra 1, Biology I) given in high school.[10] Three school districts were excluded because they do not operate high schools (Saint Clair Area School District, Midland Borough School District, Duquesne City School District). The PSSAs are given to all children in grades 3rd through 8th. Adapted PSSA examinations are given to children in the special education programs. Writing exams were given to children in 5th and 8th grades.[11] In 2007, the district ranked 473rd out of 501 school districts.[12]

Opportunity - Lowest achievement - Scholarship list

In April 2014, the Pennsylvania Department of Education released a report identifying that three Brownsville Area School District schools were among the lowest achieving schools for reading and mathematics in the state.[13] Central Elementary School, Brownsville Area Middle School and Brownsville Area High School were all on the list. The high school has been on the list each year since 2011–12. The Middle School and Central Elementary School were both on and off the list over the past 5 years. 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.[14] 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.[15] Fifty-three public schools in Allegheny County are among the lowest-achieving schools in 2011. According to the report, parents in 414 public schools (74 school districts) were offered access to these scholarships. Funding for the scholarships comes from donations by businesses which receive a state business tax credit for donating.

AYP status In 2012, Brownsville Area School District declined to District Improvement level I Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) status due to chronic, low academic achievement.[16] Brownsville Area HIgh School declined further to Corrective Action II 1st Year AYP status,[17] due to low student achievement. The administration was required by the federal government under the No Child Left Behind Act to notify parents of the school's poor performance and to offer transferring to a quality school in the district. No other high school is operated in the district.

2015 School Performance Profile

Brownsville Area High School achieved 52.9 out of 100. Reflects on grade level reading, mathematics and science achievement. The PDE reported that just 60% of the high school's students were on grade level in reading/literature. In Algebra 1, 47.37% of students showed on grade level skills at the end of the course. In Biology I, 42.48% demonstrated on grade level science understanding at the end of the course.[18] 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.[19][20]

Graduation rate

In 2015, Brownsville Area School District's graduation rate was 77.42%.[21]

• 2014 - 83.73%[22]
• 2013 - 78.40%[23]
• 2012 - 86.78%[24]
• 2011 - 77%.[25]
• 2010 - 86.78%, the Pennsylvania Department of Education issued a new, 4-year cohort graduation rate.[26]

• Brownsville Township official website
• Fayette County Portal