Souderton Area School District

Souderton Area School District is a large, suburban public school district which covers an area of almost 50 square miles (130 km²) in the Montgomery County and Bucks County suburbs of Philadelphia. The district serves the municipalities of Souderton, Telford, Franconia, Lower Salford, Upper Salford, and Salford. By 2021, the population of the district was 47,277. The Souderton Area School District operates 3 secondary schools and 6 elementary schools. A new high school was built on Lower Road and was occupied in September 2009.

Souderton Area School District
Address
760 Lower Road Souderton , Pennsylvania, 18964 United States
District information
Type	Public
Grades	K-12
Superintendent	Dr. Frank Gallagher
Budget	$9,541,144 USD in 2016
Enrolment	6862 pupils in 2011 [1]
Other information
Website	soudertonsd.org

The teachers union for the Souderton Area School District went on strike on Tuesday, September 2, 2008. The dispute was over wages and health-care benefits, among other things. The strike ended September 25, 2008 with the Teachers' Union's acceptance of a nonbinding arbitration report proposed by the Souderton Area School Board.^[2]

Schools

Secondary

• Souderton Area High School
• Indian Crest Middle School
• Indian Valley Middle School

Elementary

• E. Merton Crouthamel (EMC)
• Franconia
• Lower Salford (closed in June 2013)
• Oak Ridge
• Salford Hills
• Vernfield
• West Broad Street

Academic achievement

Souderton Area School District was ranked 51st out of 498 Pennsylvania school districts in 2012 by the Pittsburgh Business Times. The ranking was based on five years of student academic performance on the PSSAs for: reading, writing, math and three years of science.^[3]

• 2011 - 46th
• 2010 - 40th
• 2009 - 40th
• 2008 - 49th
• 2007 - 54th out of 501 Pennsylvania school districts.^[4]

In 2009, the academic achievement, of the students in the Souderton Area School District, was in the 91st percentile among all 500 Pennsylvania school districts Scale (0–99; 100 is state best)^[5]

Graduation rate

In 2011, the graduation rate was 98.7%.^[6] In 2010, the Pennsylvania Department of Education issued a new, 4-year cohort graduation rate. Souderton Area School District's rate was 94% for 2010.^[7]

Under former calculation formula:

• 2010 - 96%
• 2009 - 96% ^[8]
• 2008 - 95%
• 2007 - 97% ^[9]

High school

In 2011 the school achieves AYP status. In 2010 the school was in Making Progress: School Improvement Level II due to chronic, low student achievement.^[10]

11th Grade Reading

• 2011 - 88.2% on grade level (% below basic). State - 69.1% of 11th graders are on grade level.^[11]
• 2010 - 82.1% on grade level (6.4% below basic). In Pennsylvania, 66% of 11th graders are on grade level.^[12]
• 2009 - 80.1% (8.3% below basic), State - 65% ^[13]
• 2008 - 82.1% (7.5% below basic), State - 65% ^[14]

11th Grade Math:

• 2011 - 85.6% on grade level (4.7% below basic). In Pennsylvania, 60.3% of 11th graders are on grade level.
• 2010 - 83.9% (5.9% below basic). State - 59%
• 2009 - 73.2% (11.2% below basic). State - 56%.^[15]
• 2008 - 74.5% (11.6% below basic), State - 56%

11th Grade Science:

• 2011 - 67.1% on grade level (4.5% below basic). State - 40% of 11th graders were on grade level.
• 2010 - 54.3% (9.5% below basic). State - 39%
• 2009 - 66.1% (4.5% below basic). State - 40% ^[16]
• 2008 - 55% (8% below basic). State - 39%

School Board

Souderton Area School District is governed by a nine-member board of school directors. School directors serve four-year terms. The board members are:^[17]

• Ken R. Keith, President

• Stephen Nelson, Vice President

• Michael Taylor, CPA - Secretary

• Elisa Ball - Treasurer

• Michael Barnacz

• Nicholas A. Braccio

• William J. Brong

• Janet Flisak

• William A. Formica III

• Andrew Landis

• Kimberly Wheeler

Formica controversy

In August 2024, board member Bill Formica made a series of social media posts suggesting that presidential candidate Kamala Harris "had engaged in sex acts to further her political career".^[18] Fromica was met with backlash from the community and a Change.org petition urging him to resign.^[19]

References

1. Enrollment and Projections Report, Pennsylvania Department of Education, 2010
2. It's all over! - The Reporter
3. Pittsburgh Business Times (April 1, 2011). "Statewide Honor Roll". {{cite web}}: |author= has generic name (help)
4. "Three of top school districts in state hail from Allegheny County,". Pittsburgh Business Times. May 23, 2007. Archived from the original on July 18, 2011.
5. "2009 PSSA RESULTS Souderton Area School District,". The Morning Call. Retrieved October 13, 2011.
6. Pennsylvania Department of Education (2011). "Souderton Area School District Academic Achievement Report data table".
7. Pennsylvania Department of Education (March 15, 2011). "New 4-year Cohort Graduation Rate Calculation Now Being Implemented".
8. Pennsylvania Department of Education. "Souderton Area School District Academic Achievement Report Card 2009". Retrieved October 12, 2011.
9. Pennsylvania Partnerships for Children. "High School Graduation rate 2007". Archived from the original on November 5, 2012. Retrieved January 31, 2011.
10. Pennsylvania Department of Education (2011). "SOUDERTON AREA SHS - School AYP Overview".
11. Pennsylvania Department of Education (September 29, 2011). "2010-2011 PSSA and AYP Results".
12. Pennsylvania Department of Education (2010). "2009-2010 PSSA and AYP Results".
13. The Times-Tribune. (September 2009). "Grading Our Schools database, 2009 PSSA results".
14. Pennsylvania Department of Education (August 2008). "2007-2008 PSSA and AYP Results".
15. Pennsylvania Department of Education (2009). "Souderton Area High School Academic Achievement Report Card 2009".
16. The Times-Tribune. (2009). "Grading Our Schools database, 2009 Science PSSA results,".
17. "Board Members". Souderton Area School District. Retrieved 3 August 2024.
18. Worthington, John (1 October 2024). "Capacity Souderton school board meeting crowd demands response in Bill Formica controversy". northpennnow.com. Retrieved 26 October 2024.
19. Ullery, Chris (8 August 2024). "Capacity Souderton school board meeting crowd demands response in Bill Formica controversySouderton board member Bill Formica faces more pressure to resign over Kamala Harris post". phillyburgs.com. Retrieved 26 October 2024.