Daniel Boone Area High School


Daniel Boone Area High School is located in Birdsboro, Pennsylvania, part of the Daniel Boone Area School District in south-eastern Berks County. It is located about northwest of Philadelphia along the southern border of Berks County, within 15 minutes of Reading to the north and Pottstown to the southeast. The school serves a population of approximately 200,000 people and covers an area of. The school district is predominately rural/suburban with concentrations of population in Amity Township, Borough of Birdsboro and Union Township. Within the proximity of many cultural, historical, educational and recreational facilities, the location affords the students much in the way of cultural and social opportunities. Elective courses available to students include four years of French, German, or Spanish, European History, Introduction to Free Enterprise, Journalism, Psychology, Sociology, Computer Science courses and numerous other offerings. One major notable historical site nearby is the Daniel Boone Homestead. The current administration includes Mr. Aaron Sborz as principal and Mr. Christopher Becker and Mr. Frank Flanagan as assistant principals. The sports and academic teams compete as the "Blazers", and the school colors are Carolina blue and white.
According to the National Center for Education Statistics, in 2011, Daniel Boone Area High School reported an enrollment of 1,205 pupils in grades 9th through 12th, with 136 pupils eligible for a federal free or reduced price lunch due to the family meeting the federal poverty level. The school is not federally designated Title I school. The school employed 57 teachers yielding a student-teacher ratio of 21:1. According to a report by the Pennsylvania Department of Education, 100% teachers were rated "Highly Qualified" under No Child Left Behind.

Graduation rate

In 2012, Daniel Boone Area School District’s graduation rate slipped to 88%. In 2011, the District's graduation rate was 89%. In 2010, the Pennsylvania Department of Education issued a new, 4-year cohort graduation rate. Daniel Boone Area High School's rate was 89% for 2010.
;According to traditional graduation rate calculations:
In 2012, Daniel Boone Area High School declined to School Improvement level I due to chronic, lagging student achievement. In 2011, the School was in Warning AYP status due to lagging student achievement in reading and mathematics. Under the federal No Child Left Behind Act, the school administration was required to notify parents of the school's poor achievement outcomes. Additionally, the High School's administration was required by the Pennsylvania Department of Education, to develop a School Improvement Plan to address the school's low student achievement. Under the Pennsylvania Accountability System, the school district must pay for additional tutoring for struggling students. The High School is eligible for special, extra funding under School Improvement Grants which the school must apply for each year.
From 2003 through 2010, Daniel Boone Area High School achieved AYP each year.

PSSA results

11th Grade Reading:
11th Grade Math:
11th Grade Science:
Science in Motion Daniel Boone Area High School does not take advantage of a state program called Science in Motion which brought college professors and sophisticated science equipment to the school to raise science awareness and to provide inquiry-based experiences for the students. The Science in Motion program was funded by a state appropriation and cost the school nothing to participate. School Districts in the region worked with Elizabethtown College to provide the science enrichment experiences.

Graduation requirements

Among Pennsylvania's 500 public school districts, graduation requirements widely vary. Daniel Boone Area School Board has determined that a pupil must earn 24.65 credits to graduate, including: a required class every year in math 4 credits, English 4 credits, social studies 4 credits, science 3 credits, Fine Arts - 0,5 credits, Drivers Ed 0.33 credits, Computer 0.5 credits, Physical Education 1.32 credits, health 0.5 credits, Technology 0.25 credits, family consumer science 0.25 credits and electives 6 credits.
By law, all Pennsylvania secondary school students were required to 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. Effective with the graduating class of 2017, the Pennsylvania State Board of Education eliminated the state mandate that students complete a culminating project in order to graduate.
By Pennsylvania School Board regulations, beginning with the class of 2017, public school students must demonstrate successful completion of secondary level course work in Algebra I, Biology, and English Literature by passing the Keystone Exams. The exam is given at the end of the course. Keystone Exams replace the PSSAs for 11th grade. Students have several opportunities to pass the exam, with those who do not able to perform a project in order to graduate. For the class of 2019, a Composition exam will be added. For the class of 2020, passing a civics and government exam will be added to the graduation requirements. 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. Individual student, school or district reports were not made public, although they were reported to district officials by the Pennsylvania Department of Education. Students identified as having special needs and qualifying for an Individual Educational Program may graduate by meeting the requirements of their IEP.

SAT scores

In 2012, 207 Daniel Boone Area High School students took the SAT exams. The District's Verbal Average Score was 494. The Math average score was 505. The Writing average score was 497. The statewide Verbal SAT exams results were: Verbal 491, Math 501, Writing 480. In the USA, 1.65 million students took the exams achieving scores: Verbal 496, Math 514, Writing 488. According to the College Board the maximum score on each section was 800, and 360 students nationwide scored a perfect 2,400.
In 2011, 221 Daniel Boone Area High School students took the SAT exams. The District's Verbal Average Score was 507. The Math average score was 509. The Writing average score was 472. Pennsylvania ranked 40th among states with SAT scores: Verbal - 493, Math - 501, Writing - 479. In the United States, 1.65 million students took the exam in 2011. They averaged 497 verbal, 514 math and 489 in writing.

Tuition rate

Students who live in the Daniel Boone Area School District's attendance area may choose to attend one of Pennsylvania's 157 public charter schools. A student living in a neighboring public school district or a foreign exchange student may seek admission to Daniel Boone Area School District. For these cases, the Pennsylvania Department of Education sets an annual tuition rate for each school district. It is the amount the public school district pays to a charter school for each resident student that attends the charter and it is the amount a nonresident student's parents must pay to attend the District's schools. The 2012 tuition rate for Daniel Boone Area High School was $8,430.17.

Classrooms for the Future grant

The Classroom for the Future state program provided districts with hundreds of thousands of extra state funding to buy laptop computers for each core curriculum high school class and paid for teacher training to optimize the computers use. The program was funded from 2006 to 2009. The Daniel Boone Area School District did not apply to participate in 2006-07, in 2007-08 nor in 2008-09. All but three school districts in Berks County pursued CFF grant funding. Among the public school districts in Berks County the highest award was given to Reading School District which received $1,294,497. The highest funding statewide was awarded to Philadelphia City School District in Philadelphia County - $9,409,073. The grant program was discontinued by Governor Edward Rendell as part of the 2009-10 state budget.

Extracurriculars

Daniel Boone Area School District offers a wide variety of clubs, activities and an extensive, costly sports program. Eligibility for participation is determined by Daniel Boone Area School Board policy and in compliance with standards set by the Pennsylvania interscholastic Athletics Association.
By Pennsylvania law, all K-12 students residing 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.
The District charges a $20 annual fee to residents in order to obtain an access card to use District's track facilities.

Sports

The school competes in the PIAA class AAAAA category in the following sports:
Boys'Girls'
BaseballSoftball
BasketballBasketball
BowlingBowling
Cross CountryCross Country
FootballField Hockey
GolfCheerleading
LacrosseLacrosse
SoccerSoccer
VolleyballVolleyball
TennisTennis
Track and fieldTrack and field
Wrestling

According to PIAA directory July 2013

Notable alumni