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| The entrance to Bayard Rustin High School, the district’s newest addition. | |
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Ten elementary schools, three middle schools, and three high schools serve a student population of close to 12,000 in the West Chester Area School District.
A capital projects program that is subject to regular review ensures that all schools have the instructional capacity and necessary infrastructure to support a full 21st century educational program. The most recent project was comprehensive and included the construction of a new third high school as well as additions and renovations to the district’s other two high schools. Bayard Rustin High, the new school, opened its doors to students for the first time in September 2006. Completion of a major addition and renovations project at West Chester East High School followed a few weeks later. A similar project at Henderson High School will end in the winter of 2006.
Prior to the comprehensive high school project, the district razed and rebuilt two of its middle schools. Major renovations to the third middle school are just getting underway. The elementary schools were upgraded and enlarged through the 1990s.
The district also maintains as closely as possible a balance of population numbers in the schools. In 2006-07, the population does not exceed 600 in any elementary school and the population in each middle school is under 1,000. The high schools are designed for a population of 1,350.
The school district prides itself on maintaining a racial, ethnic, and cultural balance of the student population in all its schools. As a result, the student population in each school mirrors as closely as possible the overall district ethnic distribution of 83.35% Caucasian, 7.37% African-American, 3.92% Hispanic, 5.29% Asian, and o.07% Native American.
Student achievement is carefully monitored through district-developed assessments as well as nationally normed tests and tests known as the Pennsylvania System of School Assessment. Results show that the majority of students in all schools are mastering the curriculum and scoring above national averages and sate benchmarks.
