East Stroudsburg High School South

East Stroudsburg Senior High School South is a public high school located at 279 North Courtland Street in East Stroudsburg, in Monroe County, Pennsylvania. The school's mascot is the cavalier. The school is part of the East Stroudsburg Area School District. The school's total enrollment is 1501 students.^[2] Overall, the student to teacher ration is 1 teacher to 13.0 students, as opposed to the state average of 1 to 15. The student body is 62.9% White, 17.6% African American, 17.1% Hispanic or Latino of any race, 2.3% Asian American, and less than 1% Native American. The administration reports that 39.2% of the student body is currently eligible for reduced or free lunch due to family poverty.

According to an enrollment study done by the district's administration in 2012, the school faces a steady decline in enrollment. 2010-11 - 1520 students, 2011-12 - 1474 students, Projections: 2012-13 - 1454 students, 2013-14 - 1356 students, 2014-15 - 1303 students. Cumulatively, the administration expects a loss of 217 students at East Stroudsburg Senior High School South, by 2015.^[3]

In 2013, East Stroudsburg South was awarded a Bronze Medal by the U.S. News & World Report.^[4]

Administration

The current principal is Mr. Michael Catrillo who replaced Ms. Lois Palio in the summer of 2010. Mrs. Dawn Dailey and Mr. David Evans are the assistant principals.

College Remediation Rate

According to a Pennsylvania Department of Education study released in January 2009, 28% of the East Stroudsburg Area School District graduates required remediation in mathematics and or reading before they were prepared to take college level courses in the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education or community colleges.^[5] Less than 66% of Pennsylvania high school graduates, who enroll in a four-year college in Pennsylvania, will earn a bachelor's degree within six years. Among Pennsylvania high school graduates pursuing an associate degree, only one in three graduate in three years.^[6] Per the Pennsylvania Department of Education, one in three recent high school graduates who attend Pennsylvania's public universities and community colleges takes at least one remedial course in math, reading or English.

Academics

In 2011, East Stroudsburg Senior High School South achieved Making Progress: in Corrective Action II status due to making ayp and fulfilling 25 out of 25 areas. Additionally, the school improvement team was required by the Pennsylvania Department of Education to develop a School Improvement Plan to raise student achievement in core subjects, which it successfully submitted for approval. T

Dual enrollment

Both East Stroudsburg Area High Schools offer a Dual Enrollment program. This state program permits high school students to take courses, at local higher education institutions, to earn college credits. Students remain enrolled at their high school. The courses count towards high school graduation requirements and towards earning a college degree. The students continue to have full access to activities and programs at their high school, including the graduation ceremony. The college credits are offered at a deeply discounted rate. The state offers a small grant to assist students in costs for tuition, fees and books.^[19] Under the Pennsylvania Transfer and Articulation Agreement, many Pennsylvania colleges and universities accept these credits for students who transfer to their institutions.^[20] For the 2009-10 funding year, the school district received a state grant of $20,616 for the program.^[21]

AP Courses

All exams are offered, but the following AP exams have corresponding classes that are available at this school:

• Biology
• Calculus AB
• Calculus BC
• Chemistry
• Computer Science
• English Language & Composition
• English Literature & Composition
• French Language
• Government & Politics: U.S.
• Physics
• Psychology
• U.S. History

Graduation requirements

East Stroudsburg Area School Board has determined that a pupil must earn 26 credits to graduate including: Math 4 credits, English 4 credits, social studies 4 credits, science 3 credits, Technology 1 credit, Physical Education 1.0 credits, Drivers Ed, Humanities 2 credits and electives.^[22]

By law, all Pennsylvania secondary school students must 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.^[23] The district requires students to complete a career exploration project and a research paper.^[24]

By Pennsylvania School Board regulations, for the graduating class of 2016, students must demonstrate successful completion of secondary level course work in Algebra I, Biology, English Composition, and Literature for which the Keystone Exams serve as the final course exams. Students’ Keystone Exam scores shall count for at least one-third of the final course grade.^[25][26][27] 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.^[28] Individual student, school or district reports were not made public, although they were reported to district officials by the Pennsylvania Department of Education.

Scheduling

The school utilizes block scheduling. Each block is 90 minutes long. Most classes only last for half of a year. Each period is 45 minutes long, with the exception of those during block 3. 1st and 2nd periods are in Block 1, 3rd and 4th periods are in Block 2, and 9th and 10th periods are in Block 4. Block 3 is 120 minutes long and the four periods are each 30 minutes long, one of which will be lunch. Normally on a student's schedule it may say a class, then lunch, and then back to the original class. This means that in the middle of the class, the bell will ring to signal that the class should go to lunch. After lunch, the class will then return.

Because of block scheduling, most of the classes only take a half of a year to complete. Full credit classes will be a full block for a half of a year, and a half credit class will be a period for a half of a year. Some exceptions to this rule are the AP Sciences, which both run a full block for the entire year, Band and Chorus, which run a half a block for the entire year, and Edge classes, which also run a half a block for the entire year.

School Map

The school is split into 2 divisions: the Maple Building and the regular building. These two buildings are connected by a single hallway, which runs by the cafeteria.

South Side Live

Every morning after first block, teachers turn on their TVs for South Side Live, a student broadcast, which is generally about 10 minutes long. It is a morning announcement about updates in the school such as weather, announcements for activities, and sports. It will often include special videos, that can feature special school events or important events occurring in the world. The school's Studio Broadcasting class produces the broadcast.

Extracurriculars

The district offers a variety of clubs, activities and sports. Eligibility for participation is determined by school board policy.

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 homeschooled, 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.^[29] The extracurriculars are also open to students enrolled at the District's Virtual Academy.

Notable alumni

• Art Perryman Class of 1994: Basketball player^[33]
• James Mungro Class of 1997: Retired NFL Football player for Indianapolis Colts
• Daniel Omelio ("Robopop") Class of 2001: Music Producer and Songwriter. He is best known for his work on chart topping singles by Maroon 5, Gym Class Heroes, and Lana Del Rey. Payphone, a song he co-wrote with Adam Levine, Benny Blanco, Ammar Malik, Shellback, & Wiz Khalifa is nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance in 2013.
• Ken Parrish Class of 2002: Professional NFL Football Player for Atlanta Falcons
• Jimmy Terwilliger Class of 2002: Harlon Hill Trophy Winner in 2005 for East Stroudsburg University (Quarterback)
• Johnathan Fernandez Class of 2002: Actor and comedian
• Kyshoen Jarrett Class of 2011: Professional NFL Football Player for Washington Redskins
• Sam Bergen Class of 2010: Professional NFL Football Player for Tennessee Titans

Renovation

The school has undergone a 92 million dollar renovation project. The district added a new 3 story wing and renovated the existing building. A gym was also constructed. The new cafeteria has a college design right down to serving lines and table set up. The stadium has been fitted with a turf field and an all-weather track, as well as improvements to the visitors' team's stands.

The necessary renovation effort comes to a loss of local history. To make room for expansion, the district demolished the gym annex, as well historic 18th century J.S. Bunnell School, which was adjacent to the high school. "The Bunnell" once housed grades 1 through 12 during the first half of the 1900s and later became a junior high, and had housed classes during the construction period. However, it was outdated, and maintaining it would have been inefficient.

The current spot of the Bunnell School has been made into a faculty parking area. Another building that was torn down for parking was the old District Administration building, which was North Courtland Elementary School in the past, and had classes during renovation as well.

References

External links

• School website