Dunbar, Pennsylvania

Dunbar is named for Col. Thomas Dunbar, who commanded an English force at nearby Jumonville and retreated to Philadelphia after Braddock was defeated by the French and Indians.[4]

Dunbar is located in north-central Fayette County at 39°58′36″N 79°36′53″W,[5] in the valley of Dunbar Creek, a tributary of the Youghiogheny River. It is 5 miles (8 km) south of Connellsville via Woodvale Street and U.S. Route 119. Uniontown, the county seat, is 8 miles (13 km) to the southwest.

According to the United States Census Bureau, Dunbar has a total area of 0.606638 square miles (1.571185 km²), all of it land.[3]

As of the census[7] of 2000, there were 1,219 people, 513 households, and 343 families residing in the borough. The population density was 1,879.0 people per square mile (724.1/km²). There were 576 housing units at an average density of 887.9 per square mile (342.1/km²). The racial makeup of the borough was 99.26% White, 0.41% African American, 0.08% Native American, 0.08% Asian, and 0.16% from two or more races.

There were 513 households, out of which 28.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.3% were married couples living together, 14.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.1% were non-families. 29.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 15.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.36 and the average family size was 2.93.

In the borough the population was spread out, with 22.1% under the age of 18, 8.6% from 18 to 24, 26.9% from 25 to 44, 23.8% from 45 to 64, and 18.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females, there were 85.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 83.0 males.

The median income for a household in the borough was $25,718, and the median income for a family was $30,197. Males had a median income of $27,411 versus $18,507 for females. The per capita income for the borough was $14,176. About 5.9% of families and 11.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 7.1% of those under age 18 and 16.6% of those age 65 or over.

Map of Fayette County, Pennsylvania public school districts showing Connellsville Area School District in orange

Residents of Dunbar Borough may attend the local, public schools operated by Connellsville Area School District which provides full day kindergarten through 12th grade. In 2015, the Connellsville Area School District's enrollment declined to 4,321 students.[9] In 2011, Connellsville Area School District enrollment was 4,896 pupils.[10] Connellsville Area School District operates: Connellsville Area Senior High School (9th-12th), Connellsville Area Junior High School (7th-8th), and eight elementary schools, including Dunbar Township Elementary School which is located on 711 Ridge Blvd, in Connellsville, PA. The District also operates its own career tech school called Connellsville Area Career & Technology Center.

In 2015, Connellsville Area Senior High School ’s graduation rate was 69.75%.[11] Connellsville Area School District ranked 401st out of 493 Pennsylvania public school districts, by the Pittsburgh Business Times.[12] The ranking is based on the last 3 years of student academic achievement as demonstrated by PSSAs results in: reading, writing, math and science and the three Keystone Exams (literature, Algebra 1, Biology I) in high school.[13]

In 2012, Connellsville Area School District declined to District Improvement II Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) status due to missing nearly every academic metric measured in reading and mathematics.[14] In 2011, the District was in Making Progress: in District Improvement I AYP status. The Pennsylvania Department of Education required the administration to develop a plan to raise student academic achievement.[15]

In 2015, Dunbar Boro Elementary School's enrollment was just 193 pupils in grades kindergarten through 6th, with 70% of pupils receiving a federal free or reduced price meals due to family poverty. Additionally, 25.9% of the pupils receive special education services, while 1% were identified as gifted.[16] According to a report by the Pennsylvania Department of Education, 100% of the teachers were rated highly qualified under No Child Left Behind. The school provides full day kindergarten.[17] Dunbar Boro Elementary School is a federally designated Title I school. According to the Pennsylvania Department of Education, just 37% of 5th grade students at Dunbar Borough Elementary School were on grade level in reading on the PSSAs given in April 2015. In mathematics, only 28% of 5th grade students showed on grade level skills. No fifth grade writing scores were reported. In 4th grade, 30% were on grade level in reading, while 6% showed on grade level math skills. In science, 71% of fourth graders showed on grade level understanding. Among third (3rd) graders, 43% were on grade level in reading and 38% were on grade level in mathematics. Among 6th graders, 26% were on grade level in reading and just 9% were on grade level in mathematics.[18] Dunbar Borough Elementary School achieved Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) status under Safe Harbor provisions.[19] In 2012, just 63% of pupils were reading on grade level in 3rd through 6th grades. Additionally, 70% of the pupils demonstrated on grade level mathematics skills. In 4th grade science, 75% were on grade level.[20]

Dunbar Borough residents may also apply to attend any of the Commonwealth's 13 public, cyber charter schools (in 2013) 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.[21][22] The tuition rate that Connellsville Area School District must pay was $9,558.54 in 2013.[23]

Intermediate Unit #1 provides a wide variety of services to children living in its region which includes Dunbar 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.[24]

The Dunbar Community Library is located on 60 Connellsville St.