Indiana Area School District is a public school district in Indiana County, Pennsylvania. It is composed of White Township and Armstrong Township, along with Indiana and Shelocta boroughs.
Elementary schools
The Indiana Area School District has four elementary schools. Two of these serve for grades K-3, and two serving for grades 4–5, and each serving a different part of the district. Ben Franklin Elementary School (K-3) and Dwight D. Eisenhower Elementary School (4-5) serve Shelocta, Armstrong Township, west-central White Township, mostly the northwest corner of White Township, but also a small strip of western and southwestern White Township and the western third of Indiana Borough. East Pike Elementary School (K-3) and Horace Mann Elementary School (4-5) serve the eastern third of White Township, the northeastern corner of Indiana Borough, southern Indiana Borough and south-central and most of southwestern White Township.
Secondary schools
Indiana Area School District has two secondary schools. Indiana Area Junior High School (IJHS) contains grades 6-8, and Indiana Area Senior High School (IHS) contains grades 9-12.
Demographics
Approximately 32,000 people are serviced by the school district, and 3,000 students are currently enrolled in the system. The average graduation rate is 92%, and the average graduating class contains 250 students. Approximately 76% of all graduates enroll in some sort of post-secondary education. As of 2005, district employs 257 staff members, 202 of whom have their master's degree or above. On average, each staff member has 17 years of experience with the district.
Academics
The Indiana Area School District consistently demonstrates that it is in the top tier of public school districts. Recently, it was ranked as one of the top 100 school districts by Offspring Magazine.
Standardized tests
The school district does especially well on standardized tests. It was once ranked third, out of 501 school districts, in scores on the Pennsylvania System of School Assessment given to all 5th, 8th, and 11th grade students, and has received numerous accolades for its journalism and social studies programs, including a $349,000 grant given to the senior high school's history program. In addition, graduating classes have averaged up to 40 more points on the Scholastic Aptitude Test than the national average.
Post-secondary education
Each class graduates nearly 80% of its students into post-secondary education. Most attend Indiana University of Pennsylvania, located within the district. Indiana Area School District also consistently sends students into three leading local universities, Carnegie Mellon University, Pennsylvania State University and the University of Pittsburgh. Alumni have also entered Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Rice University, the United States Naval Academy, the United States Military Academy, Harvard University, Cornell University, the University of Pennsylvania, Bucknell University, the University of Virginia, the University of Richmond, the University of Notre Dame, Case Western Reserve University, James Madison University, New York University, Manhattan School of Music, Villanova University, the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, and The Juilliard School. Many students who do not go on to post-secondary education choose to enlist in the armed forces, including the United States Marine Corps.
Extracurricular Programs
Indiana Area School District offers a variety of extracurricular activities, the chief among them being sports. The junior and senior high school also offer clubs, with a majority of students participating in them.
Clubs
Both Indiana Area Junior High School and Indiana High School offer club programs for students. The largest among them is a volunteer club, Builders' Club at the junior high school and Key Club at the senior high school. Key Club counts about 25% of the high school student body as members. Among the high school's 20+ clubs, there is also Future Business Leaders of America, Relay For Life, and many theater clubs.
Sports
The entire district offers a wide variety of sports. The elementary schools have basketball, grouped by sex and grade. At the end of each school year, each school stages an "All-School Tournament," in which all players are eligible. IJHS offers students football, soccer, track and field, cross country, and girls' volleyball. The high school has even more selections. with boys' baseball, girls' softball, spring and winter track and field, tennis, golf, riflery, hockey, swimming, and diving.