Sayre Area High School

In 2015, Sayre Area High School received a score of 81 out of 100 from the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) based on students' performance in reading, mathematics and science,[14] up from 75.5 in 2014[15] and 63.4 in 2013.[16] Seventy-seven percent of students were at grade level in reading and literature. In Algebra 1, only 56% of students were at grade level at the end of the course. In Biology I, the number was 74.6% at the end of the course.[14]

Among 8th graders, 43% read at grade level, while just 10% demonstrated grade-level math skills. In science, 68% were at grade level. Among 7th graders, 40% were at grade level in reading and just 12% in math.[17]

Statewide, 53% of the 2,033 schools serving 11th grade achieved a score of 70 or better from the PDE. Five percent scored 90 or above, 20% between 80 and 89, 28% between 70 and 79, 25% between 60 and 69, and 22% percent below 60. On the Keystone Exam, 73 percent of students statewide scored at grade level in English, 64 percent in Algebra I, and 59 percent in Biology I.[18]

In 2012, Sayre Area High School declined to "warning" Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) status after missing all academic metrics in reading and mathematics.[19] In 2010 and 2011, it achieved AYP status even though students' reading and math achievement was below statewide levels.[20]

Sayre Area High School offers a dual enrollment program that allows students to earn deeply discounted college credits through Corning Community College while still enrolled in high school. Under the Pennsylvania Transfer and Articulation Agreement, many in-state colleges and universities accept these credits for students who transfer to their institutions.[33] Under state rules, all students who reside in the district are eligible to participate in this program, even if they are homeschooled or attend a private school or charter school.[34]

Sayre Area High School students must earn 24.25 credits to graduate,[35] including:

• 3 credits in math
• 4 credits in science
• 4 credits in English
• 4 credits in social studies
• 2.5 credits in health and physical education
• 0.25 credits in driver's education
• 2 credits in arts and humanities
• 0.5 credits in Microsoft Office[35]

Before the graduating class of 2017, all Pennsylvania secondary school students were required by law to complete a project in order to graduate from high school. The type of project, its rigor, and its expectations were set by individual school districts.[36] Sayre Area High School required a complex project with multiple components, including a project notebook, completion of community service hours, a written paper, and an oral presentation with a visual component. Starting with the graduating class of 2017, the Pennsylvania State Board of Education eliminated the mandate.[37]

Under state regulations, starting with the graduating class of 2019,[38] students must successfully complete secondary-level course work in algebra, biology, English composition, and literature.[39][40][41] They are evaluated with the Keystone Exams, which they have several opportunities to pass. Those who do not pass after several attempts can complete a project in order to graduate.[40][41] For the class of 2020, a civics and government exam will be added to the graduation requirements.[42]

Students who have special needs and qualify for an Individualized Education Program (IEP) may graduate by meeting the requirements of their IEP.

In 2014, 48 Sayre Area High School students took the SAT. They scored an average of 480 out of 800 on the verbal portion of the exam (compared with 497 statewide and nationwide), 490 on math (compared with 504 statewide and 513 nationwide), and 459 on writing (compared with 480 statewide and 487 nationwide).[43][44][45]

In 2013, 49 students took the SAT and scored, on average, 475 on the verbal section, 482 on math, and 469 on writing.[46] In 2012, 46 students took the exam, with a 491 average on verbal, 515 on math, and 480 on writing.

The Center for Rural Pennsylvania, a research arm of the Pennsylvania General Assembly, compared the SAT data of students in rural areas of Pennsylvania to students in urban areas in the early to mid-2000s. From 2003–05, the average total SAT score for students in rural Pennsylvania was 992 out of 1,600, 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 with 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.[47]

From 2006–09, the Classrooms for the Future program provided public school districts in Pennsylvania with hundreds of thousands of dollars in state funding to buy laptop computers for each core curriculum high school class (English, science, history, and math) and to train teachers to optimize the computers' use. The Sayre Area School District did not apply to participate in the 2006–07 academic year, but in 2007–08, it received $160,063. The district received another $45,413 in 2008–09, for a two-year total of $205,476.[48] Governor Edward Rendell curtailed Classrooms for the Future funding in 2010 because of a state financial crisis.

Sayre Area did not apply to participate in the state's Project 720 High School Reform grant program.[49]

Administrators reported two incidents of bullying in the district in 2015, as well as three sexual assaults or harassment incidents involving students. Local law enforcement was involved in one incident at the high school, but no arrests were made.[50][51] Each year, the district reports safety data to the Center for Safe Schools, which compiles reports and publishes them online. Nationally, nearly 20% of pupils report being bullied at school.[52]

The Sayre Area School Board has posted the district's anti-bullying policy online,[53] as required by state law.

The Sayre Area School Board established a district wellness policy in 2012[54] that addressed nutritious school meals, the control of access to some foods and beverages during school hours, age-appropriate nutrition education for students, and physical education. The policy is in response to state requirements (P.L. 108–265) that each school district participating in a program authorized by the 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". Under these requirements, districts must set goals for nutrition education, physical activity, campus food provision, and other school-based activities designed to promote student wellness. Additionally, they must involve a broad group of individuals in policy development and have a plan for measuring policy implementation.[55]

The Sayre Area School District's policy includes an effort for students to get at least 60 minutes of physical activity per day, including activity outside of school. It is overseen by a Wellness Committee made up of community members, school employees, a parent, and a student.

Sayre Area High School provides both free breakfasts and free or reduced-price lunches to children from low-income families. All students attending the school can eat breakfast and lunch there. Children whose family's incomes are at or below 130 percent of the federal poverty level receive free breakfast and lunch. Children from families with incomes between 130 and 185 percent of the poverty level pay no more than 30 cents for breakfast. A foster child whose care is the responsibility of the state, or who has been placed by a court with a caretaker household, is automatically eligible for free breakfast and lunch, as are runaway, homeless, and migrant children.[56] The meals are partially funded by the United States Department of Agriculture.[57]

The school also provides health services as mandated by the state and federal governments. A nurse is available in the building to conduct annual health screenings, monitor students' weight,[58] and dispense prescribed medications during the school day. Students can be excluded from school unless they comply with the Pennsylvania Department of Health's immunization mandates. School nurses monitor compliance.[59][60]

The district offers a variety of clubs and activities, as well as an extensive, publicly funded sports program.[61] By Pennsylvania law, all K-12 students residing in the district, including those who attend private or charter schools and those who are homeschooled, are eligible to participate in the extracurricular programs, including athletics. They must meet the same eligibility criteria as students enrolled in the district's public schools.[62]

Under Pennsylvania's Child Abuse Recognition and Reporting Act, passed in 2014, all volunteer coaches and individuals who assist in student activities must undergo criminal background checks. Like all school district employees, they must also attend an anti-child-abuse training once every three years.[63][64][65]