Derry Township, Montour County, Pennsylvania

Power lines in Derry Township, Montour County, Pennsylvania from Ppl Road.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the township has a total area of 16.4 square miles (42 km²), of which, 16.1 square miles (42 km²) of it is land and 0.2 square miles (0.52 km²) of it (1.47%) is water.

As of the census[4] of 2000, there were 1,215 people, 448 households, and 332 families residing in the township. The population density was 75.4 people per square mile (29.1/km²). There were 494 housing units at an average density of 30.7/sq mi (11.8/km²). The racial makeup of the township was 97.45% White, 1.89% African American, 0.16% Asian, and 0.49% from two or more races.

There were 448 households, out of which 36.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 60.5% were married couples living together, 9.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.7% were non-families. 21.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.69 and the average family size was 3.14.

In the township the population was spread out, with 29.5% under the age of 18, 7.8% from 18 to 24, 29.4% from 25 to 44, 23.1% from 45 to 64, and 10.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females, there were 103.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.6 males.

The median income for a household in the township was $33,696, and the median income for a family was $37,426. Males had a median income of $31,100 versus $20,341 for females. The per capita income for the township was $15,161. About 6.6% of families and 13.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 24.5% of those under age 18 and 4.9% of those age 65 or over.

Map of Montour County, Pennsylvania public school districts showing Danville Area School District

Residents of Derry Township may attend the local, public schools operated by Danville Area School District which provides full day kindergarten through 12th grade. In 2016, Danville Area School District's enrollment declined to 2,267 students.[5] In 2014, Danville Area School District enrollment was 2,500 pupils.[6] The District's enrollment was 2498 pupils in 2006–07.[7]

Danville Area School District operates four schools: Danville Area High School (Grades 9-12), Danville Middle School (Grades 6–8), Liberty Valley Intermediate Elementary School (Grades 3–5) and Danville Area Primary Elementary School (Grades K-2). The district operates a Head Start preschool program for qualifying low income children. In 2016, Danville Area School District's graduation rate rose to 94.4%.[8] High school aged students can attend the taxpayer funded Columbia-Montour Area Vocational-Technical School for training in the building trades and culinary arts, as well as other fields. The district provides an online learning option called Danville eLearning Cyber Academy. In 2015, 52 Danville Area School District pupils opted for the eLearning Cyber Academy alternative and another 29 attended one of the 13 public, cyber charter schools operating in the Commonwealth.[9] SusQ Cyber Charter School is a public cyber charter school operated by the CSIU16, from Bloomsburg in neighboring Columbia County.

In 2017, the Pittsburgh Business Times ranked Danville Area School District 67th out of 494 public school districts for academic achievement of its pupils.[10] It was the highest academically ranked public school district in the CSIU 16 region. From 2004 to 2012, Danville Area School District achieved Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) each school year.[11]

Derry Township residents may also apply to attend any of the Commonwealth's 13 public cyber charter schools (in 2015) at no additional cost to the parents. The resident's public school district is required to pay the charter school and cyber charter school tuition for residents who attend these public schools.[12][13] The tuition rate that Danville Area School District must pay was $9,712.80, in 2015. In 2014–15, Danville Area School District reported spending $13,905.02 per pupil, on pupils attending the district's schools.[14] Residents may also seek admission for their school aged child to any other public school district. When accepted for admission, the student's parents are responsible for paying an annual tuition fee set by the Pennsylvania Department of Education.

Central Susquehanna Intermediate Unit #16 provides a wide variety of services to children living in its region which includes Derry Township. Early screening, special education services, speech and hearing therapy, autistic support, preschool classes and many other services like driver education are available. Services for children during the preschool years are provided without cost to their families when the child is determined to meet eligibility requirements. Intermediate units receive taxpayer funding: through subsidies paid by member school districts; through direct charges to users for some services; through the successful application for state and federal competitive grants and through private grants.[15]

Parochial school

Residents of Derry Township may also choose to attend St. Joseph School in Danville, Pennsylvania. The Catholic school provides grades kindergarten through 8th.[16] In 2017, the tuition was $3910.[17] By Commonwealth law, Danville Area School District must provide transportation between the school and the borough residents at no added cost to taxpayers.[18] Each school year, the state provides a transportation subsidy to each school district that provides transportation to its pupils.[19]

Public library

Community members have access to the Thomas Beaver Free Library, which is located in Danville, Pennsylvania. Through the local public library, Pennsylvania residents have access to all POWER Library online resources. By state law the school district is required to open its libraries at least once a week to residents.[20][21]