Williamsport Area School District Explained

Williamsport Area School District
Streetaddress:2780 West Fourth Street
City:Williamsport
State:Pennsylvania
Zipcode:17701
Country:United States
Type:Public
Mascot:Millionaires
Colors:Cherry & White
Website:http://www.wasd.org/

The Williamsport Area School District is a large, urban school district and one of several public school districts in Lycoming County, Pennsylvania, in the United States. The district is centered on the city of Williamsport and also serves the neighboring Lewis, Hepburn, Lycoming, Old Lycoming, and Woodward townships. The district encompasses approximately . According to 2000 federal census data, it served a resident population of 44,192. By 2010, the District's population had declined to 41,757 people.[1] The educational attainment levels for the Williamsport Area School District population (25 years old and over) were 85.5% high school graduates and 17.4% college graduates.[2] The district is one of the 500 public school districts of Pennsylvania.

According to the Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center, 62.5% of the District's pupils lived at 185% or below the Federal Poverty Level http://aspe.hhs.gov/poverty/12poverty.shtml as shown by their eligibility for the federal free or reduced price school meal programs in 2012.[3] In 2009, the District residents’ per capita income was $15,693, while the median family income was $37,157.[4] In the Commonwealth, the median family income was $49,501 [5] and the United States median family income was $49,445, in 2010.[6] In Lycoming County, the median household income was $45,430.[7] By 2013, the median household income in the United States rose to $52,100.[8] In 2014, the median household income in the USA was $53,700.[9]

The district currently operates seven schools:

The Williamsport Area Middle School building also houses the District Service Center.[10]

The BLaST Intermediate Unit IU17 provides the District with a wide variety of services like specialized education for disabled students and hearing, background checks for employees, state mandated recognizing and reporting child abuse training, speech and visual disability services and criminal background check processing for prospective employees and professional development for staff and faculty.

Notes and References

  1. US Census Bureau, 2010 Census Poverty Data by Local Education Agency, 2011
  2. Web site: School District Comparative Analysis Profiles . proximityone . 2014.
  3. Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center, Education Facts Student Poverty Concentration by LEA, 2012
  4. US Census Bureau, American Fact Finder, 2009
  5. Web site: American Fact Finder, State and County quick facts . US Census Bureau . 2010.
  6. Web site: Income, Poverty, and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2010 . US Census Bureau . September 2011.
  7. Web site: Pennsylvania Median household income, 2006-2010 by County . US Census Bureau . 2014.
  8. Web site: America's most popular six-figure jobs . Michael Sauter . Alexander E.M. Hess . amp . USA Today . August 31, 2013.
  9. Web site: Lower wages for whites, higher wages for immigrants, and inequality for all . Jeff Guo . The Washington Post . September 15, 2015.
  10. Web site: Students, Teachers Say Goodbye to School . Jim Hamill . June 8, 2010.