Beaver Area School District Update

Beaver Area School District Snapshot:

WHERE ARE THE GRADUATES HEADED?

• 78% Colleges/Universities
• 2% Military
• 3% Other Post Secondary Educations
• 17% Workforce

GRANTS RECEIVED:

• PA Smart $500K with Rochester & Hopewell for STEM Opportunities
• PA Smart $35K for Computer Science – Partnered with Apple
• Mine Safety Appliances (MSA), Cranberry Twp., $10,000 for robotics
• Highmark $13,800 for Health and Wellness
• Environment $3,000 for DRE Greenhouse
• PCCD $25,000 for School Resource Officer costs
• PCCD $385,378 for Safety Related Upgrades

COMMUNITY SERVICE & PARTNERS

• 6,105 Community Service Hours for Class of 2019
• Thank You to the Businesses Who Have Partnered with the District!

FUTURE READY INDEX:

• Already met the 2030 federal goal for Algebra achievement
• Already met the 2030 federal goal for all grades & all subjects for achievement at Dutch Ridge
• Already met the 2030 federal goal for attendance districtwide
• Already met the 2030 federal goal graduation rate at the High School

UNIQUE OPPORTUNITIES FOR STUDENTS IN 2019-2020

• Junior and Seniors can attend four of CCBC’s Academies and earn 28 college credits while in high school
• Beginner and Intermediate Coding Courses
• Future Business Leaders of America Course
• Sports, Arts, and Entertainment Management Marketing course
• STEM Course (Combining two high level math and science courses to solve a local business problem of practice)

Class of 2019 Commencement

Commencement for the class of 2019 was held on June 7, 2019 in the Gypsy Glen stadium on the Pat Tarquinio field.

The graduates chose the theme “Determined to Succeed” and Beaver Area Superintendent, Dr. Carrie Rowe, cautioned them about measuring success at a single point in time. Instead, she suggested that they “give [them]selves the gift of embracing the journey of life, with all of its beautiful twists and turns, and then to return someday soon to share tales of [their] journeys with [their] former teachers and [her].”

• Among many other honors, the graduating class of 2019 included:
• National Merit nominees National Academic Games medalists
• Advanced Placement scholars Regional Mock Trial champions
• Future Business Leaders of America awardees
• PMEA All-State musicians
• Eagle Scout and Gold Scout award recipients Small business owners
• Apple Certified Technicians & App Designers
• NE US Army JROTC Raider champions
• Unified Special Olympics Bocce state finalists PIAA medalists

Graduates weren’t the only ones moving on to the next leg of life’s journey! In 2019, retirees with 346.5 years of combined service to the District decided to write a new chapter in their lives, too.

• Lou Naccarato, the 2018 BASD “#1 Jersey” recipient and 2019 Beaver County Education Association honoree, retired after 50 years of teaching Industrial Arts at BASD.

• Guidance Counselors Patti Wilson and Patti Gradisek retired with 45.5 and 40 years of service, respectively.

• Mark Pilarski, a beloved MS and HS Fine Arts teacher, retired with 39 years of service.

• Middle School Science teacher, Veronica Berendt, retired with 34 years of service.

• Cora Eschenfelder, Dutch Ridge Special Education teacher, retired with 33 years of service.

• Judy Anders, Business Office Payroll Coordinator, retired with 32 years of service.

• Long-time HS secretary, Jan Brendlinger, retired after 32 years of service

• JROTC Col. Jeffrey Loudermilk retired (for the second time) after 10 years at BASD.

• District custodian, Keith Munroe, retired with 31 years of service.

PA Department of Education’s Keystone Award for Academic Excellence

All of Beaver Area’s administration, faculty, and staff played a role in the District receiving the PA Department of Education’s Keystone Award for Academic Excellence and for Dutch Ridge Elementary being recognized as a “Distinguished School.” These recognitions are given to schools ranking in the top 5% in the state, as measured by aggregate student Math and Reading scores on the Pennsylvania System of School Assessment testing, Keystone test scores, and by having met all Annual Measurable Objectives – including test participation rate, attendance rate, graduation rate, and closing the achievement gap. These indicators of excellence also contributed to Dutch Ridge Elementary being named a 2018-2019 Pennsylvania Blue Ribbon School!

Beaver Area School District was also recognized on the Future Ready Index for having already achieved several of the federal education goals, which were meant to be achieved by the year 2030 – including the 2030 goals for Algebra achievement, 2030 goals for College & Career Readiness, and the 2030 goals for all subject and grade level achievement at Dutch Ridge (grades 3-6 Math, English Language Arts, and Science).

Having sought and received over $1 million in program grants to increase student opportunities and safety district-wide, Beaver Area is poised to have another banner year in 2019-2020. New and returning students can look forward to the following program changes:

• Secondary: Intermediate Coding course, Sports Arts & Entertainment Marketing course, project-based Science Technology Engineering & Math (STEM) course, and new approved Academy offerings at the Community College of Beaver County.

• Elementary: STEM related design challenges, new classroom iPads, interactive presentation boards, and (coming soon) a greenhouse equipped with FarmBot (@FarmBotio), technology that will allow students to practice programming and sustainable garden design skills.

To follow our progress and learn more about our achievements, follow us on Twitter @BeaverAreaSD or check out our website www.basd.k12.pa.us.