Shamokin Area School District
Dedicated To Excellence In Education
- Shamokin Area School District
- Demographics and Facilities
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School District and Community Demographics
The Shamokin Area School District community consists of the city of Shamokin and the townships of Coal, East Cameron and Shamokin. It is located at the southern end of the anthracite coal region in Northumberland County in central Pennsylvania with a population of approximately 21,000. It is classified as an urban district in the state's testing profiles. Of the students who graduate each year, 4.3% enter the military and 72% go on to higher educational institutions. On the state assessment tests, the district is consistently at or near the upper end of its similar schools band. The district does have very active sports programs and excellent music programs that gain community support. A quantity of students use both of these areas as avenues to post high school educational opportunities. Over the past two years, the community has given the district a very viable asset through the establishment of a career center, which includes a branch campus of Luzerne County Community College, as well as an arts and cultural center.
School Facilities
The Shamokin Area School District is composed of two buildings: the middle/high school and the elementary school. The district also maintains an extensive outdoor athletic complex.
The middle/high school,housing grades 7 through 12, was constructed in 1973-1975. The multi-floor building houses a 1280 seat auditorium, a 3000 seat gymnasium, and a regulation pool with spectator seating. This building was renovated in 1995-1996 to provide additional classroom space to accommodate grades 7 and 8. The building's HVAC system was renovated in this project, and modifications were made to meet ADA regulations. The former middle school building was sold to a county agency at the conclusion of the renovation project in 1996. It is currently being used by the county as a career development and arts center.
The elementary school was constructed in 1980, and houses grades 1 through 6. It is also the home of several special needs classes administered by the local intermediate unit (IU16). The building's HVAC system was renovated in 1990. The elementary houses a large combination auditorium/gymnasium, a tiered-seating vocal music classroom, a band and orchestra suite, and a library.
Kemp Memorial Stadium is a large football and track complex with a seating capacity of 6000, with lighting for night games. The outdoor athletic complex also features practice fields,a baseball field, and a lighted soccer stadium. The athletic facilities of the district are utilized heavily not only by the home teams, but also by various league organizations for hosting playoff games and events. A well-equipped weight room and athletic training facilities are located in the middle/high school.
Both the secondary and elementary school have extensive libraries, and participate in the Access Pennsylvania system. Library automation and circulation software is used in both libraries,with networked computers and printers for use by students and faculty.
A large LAN on the main campus of the district serves the district administrative offices,the elementary school, and the middle/high school. The district aggressively pursues federal and state grant monies to fund its technology provided for the elementary and secondary buildings, with access points in every classroom. All television programming originates from a sophisticated television studio in the middle/high school, and includes digital video production equipment.