Juniata High School

Former Principal Edward Apple, of Richfield Pennsylvania, was charged in June 2011 with harassment after assault of a student. Apple grabbed a 16-y/o male student by the mouth and shoved his head against a wall on May 27. Apple was fined $444 for the citation but maintained his position of influence over the children.

Apple was more recently arraigned on charges related to taking a number of items from school property and using them for personal use. He faces three third-degree felonies, including theft by unlawful taking — movable property, receiving stolen property and conspiracy — theft by unlawful taking. In January 2019 Apple removed steel tables from the now-closed Lack-Tuscarora Elementary School to his private hunting grounds, and used money from a “slush fund” to purchase catered a birthday party, included alcoholic beverages–at Red Zone, Mifflintown, during work hours. Furthermore, Apple took the rest of the day off work, but did not fill out a “gold slip,” which would have been used at the time for administrators to show they were taking time off. Apple also took other items from the district, including backpacks with extension cords, pots and pans, and wire racks.

Former superintendent Kieth Yarger, of Mesa Arizona was charged in June 2019 for multiple instances of using a school district credit card to pay for items ranging from cars, to repairs to hotel rooms, vacation trips, college courses, and for taking school district property. He was charged with four third-degree felonies, including theft by unlawful taking — movable property, theft by deception, other reason access device unauthorized by issuer, conspiracy — theft by unlawful taking and criminal attempt — theft by unlawful taking. He was also charged with one misdemeanor, theft by deception.

Despite knowing the charges were “unauthorized”, police said Yarger used the district's credit card to pay for a $240.70 hotel room in Pittsburgh, a $125.69 hotel room in Colorado Springs, hotel and a class valued at $2,099.62, classes at Northcentral University totaling $892, classes at Northcentral University totaling $2,757, parking fees at Pittsburgh International Airport for $36, a taxi in Colorado Springs for $35, a flight from Pittsburgh to San Diego for $482 for a total of $6,668.01, police said. [14]

In 2014, Juniata High School's graduation rate declined sharply to 68.5%.[15]

• 2013 - 90.54[16]
• 2012 - 88.24%[17]
• 2011 - 93%[17]
• 2010 - 97%[18]

In 2014, 52 Juniata Senior High School students took the SAT exams. The District's Verbal Average Score was 409. The Math average score was 405. The Writing average score was 483.[49][50] Statewide in Pennsylvania, Verbal Average Score was 597. The Math average score was 504. The Writing average score was 480. The College Board also reported that nationwide scores were: 497 in reading, 513 in math and 487 in writing.[51] In 2014, 1,672,395 students took the SATs in the United States.

In 2013, Juniata High School students took the SAT exams. The District's Verbal Average Score was 490. The Math average score was 471. The Writing average score was 474. The College Board reported that statewide scores were: 494 in reading, 504 in math and 482 in writing. The nationwide SAT results were the same as in 2012.[52]

In 2012, 77 Juniata High School students took the SAT exams. The District's Verbal Average Score was 484. The Math average score was 487. The Writing average score was 478. The statewide Verbal SAT exams results were: Verbal 491, Math 501, Writing 480. In the US, 1.65 million students took the exams achieving scores: Verbal 496, Math 514, Writing 488. According to the College Board the maximum score on each section was 800, and 360 students nationwide scored a perfect 2,400.

In 2011, 67 Juniata High School students took the SAT exams. The school's Verbal Average Score was 508. The Math average score was 493. The Writing average score was 487.[53] Pennsylvania ranked 40th among state with SAT scores: Verbal - 493, Math - 501, Writing - 479.[54] In the United States 1.65 million students took the SAT exams in 2011. They averaged 497 (out of 800) verbal, 514 math and 489 in writing.[55]

The Pennsylvania Department of Education compared the SAT data of students in rural areas of Pennsylvania to students in urban areas. From 2003 to 2005, the average total SAT score for students in rural Pennsylvania was 992, while urban students averaged 1,006. During the same period, 28 percent of 11th and 12th graders in rural school districts took the exam, compared to 32 percent of urban students in the same grades. The average math and verbal scores were 495 and 497, respectively, for rural students, while urban test-takers averaged 499 and 507, respectively. Pennsylvania's SAT composite score ranked low on the national scale in 2004. The composite SAT score of 1,003 left Pennsylvania ranking 44 out of the 50 states and Washington, DC.[56]

The Pennsylvania Department of Education reported that 71 percent of students in rural areas of Pennsylvania chose to continue their education after high school in 2003, whereas 79 percent of urban high school graduates opted to continue their education.

Among Pennsylvania's 500 public school districts, graduation requirements widely vary.

All students graduating from Juniata County School District [57] must have 23 credits as well as complete a graduation project in order to graduate

By law, all Pennsylvania secondary school students were required to 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.[58] Effective with the graduating class of 2017, the Pennsylvania State Board of Education eliminated the state mandate that students complete a culminating project in order to graduate.[59]

By Pennsylvania School Board regulations, beginning with the class of 2017, public school students must demonstrate successful completion of secondary level course work in Algebra I, Biology, and English Literature by passing the Keystone Exams.[60] The exam is given at the end of the course. Keystone Exams replace the PSSAs for 11th grade.[61]

All students have several opportunities to pass the exam. Those who do not pass after several attempts can perform a project in order to graduate.[62][63] For the class of 2019, a Composition exam will be added. For the class of 2020, passing a civics and government exam will be added to the graduation requirements.[64] In 2011, Pennsylvania high school students field tested the Algebra 1, Biology and English Lit exams. The statewide results were: Algebra 1 38% on grade level, Biology 35% on grade level and English Lit - 49% on grade level.[65] Individual student, school or district reports were not made public, although they were reported to district officials by the Pennsylvania Department of Education. Students identified as having special needs and qualifying for an Individual Educational Program (IEP) may graduate by meeting the requirements of their IEP.

Four Courses of Study are available:[57]

• General
• College Prep
• Construction Trades
• Vocational-Agriculture
• Vocational (Mifflin-Juniata Career and Technology Center)

One of the facilities within the school is the Library[69] which contains nearly 1,000 volumes, of which nearly 700 books have Accelerated Reader quizzes available. The library also has current magazines and archived magazine for the most recent three years. Newspapers are received daily and weekly, and there is a Vertical File collection available for student use, along with eight computers for general purposes.

Juniata County School Board established a district wellness policy in 2006.[70] The policy deals with nutritious meals served at school, the control of access to some foods and beverages during school hours, age appropriate nutrition education for all students, and physical education for students K-12. The policy is in response to state mandates and federal legislation (P.L. 108 – 265). The law dictates that each school district participating in a program authorized by the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1751 et seq) or the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1771 et seq) "shall establish a local school wellness policy by School Year 2006." Most districts identified the superintendent and school foodservice director as responsible for ensuring local wellness policy implementation.[71]

The legislation placed the responsibility of developing a wellness policy at the local level so the individual needs of each district can be addressed. According to the requirements for the Local Wellness Policy, school districts must set goals for nutrition education, physical activity, campus food provision, and other school-based activities designed to promote student wellness. Additionally, districts were required to involve a broad group of individuals in policy development and to have a plan for measuring policy implementation. Districts were offered a choice of levels of implementation for limiting or prohibiting low nutrition foods on the school campus. In final implementation these regulations prohibit some foods and beverages on the school campus.[72] The Pennsylvania Department of Education required the district to submit a copy of the policy for approval.

The Juniata High School offers a free school breakfast and free or reduced-price lunch to children in low income families. All students attending the school can eat breakfast and lunch. Children from families with incomes at or below 130 percent of the federal poverty level are provided a breakfast and lunch at no cost to the family. Children from families with incomes between 130 and 185 percent of the federal poverty level can be charged no more than 30 cents per breakfast. A foster child whose care and placement is the responsibility of the State or who is placed by a court with a caretaker household is eligible for both a free breakfast and a free lunch. Runaway, homeless and Migrant Youth are also automatically eligible for free meals.[73] The meals are partially funded with federal dollars through the United States Department of Agriculture.[74]

In 2013, the USDA issued new restrictions to foods in public schools. The rules apply to foods and beverages sold on all public school district campuses during the day. They limit vending machine snacks to a maximum of 200 calories per item. Additionally, all snack foods sold at school must meet competitive nutrient standards, meaning they must have fruits, vegetables, dairy or protein in them or contain at least 10 percent of the daily value of fiber, calcium, potassium, and Vitamin D.[75] In order to comply with the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 all US public school districts are required to raise the price of their school lunches to $2.60 regardless of the actual cost of providing the lunch.[76]

Juniata County School District provides health services as mandated by the Commonwealth and the federal government. Nurses are available in each building to conduct annual health screenings (data reported to the PDE and state Department of Health) and to dispense prescribed medications to students during the school day. Students can be excluded from school unless they comply with all the State Department of Health's extensive immunization mandates. School nurses monitor each pupil for this compliance.[77] Nurses also monitor each child's weight. By policy, the students are required to leave all medications with the nurse's office.

The Juniata County School District participated in Highmark Healthy High 5 Health eTools for Schools which enabled mobile data collection of pertinent health and physical fitness screening data on students K-12 in a database held by InnerLink, Inc. in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Health eTools for Schools also provided interdisciplinary research-based curriculum in nutrition, physical education and physical activity to participating districts. The program was discontinued in 2013.[78]

The Juniata County School District offers a wide variety of clubs, activities and sports at Juniata High School. Eligibility to participate is set by school board policies.[79][80] Students may be failing two courses and still participate in extracurriculars including athletics.

By Pennsylvania law, all K-12 students in the district, including those who attend a private nonpublic school, cyber charter school, charter school and those home schooled, are eligible to participate in the extracurricular programs including all athletics. They must meet the same eligibility rules as the students enrolled in the district's schools.[81][82][83]

The School offers: FFA, band and chorus, as well as Honor Society.