Parkland School District

Parkland School District
Location of Parkland School District in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania
Address
1210 Springhouse Road Allentown , Pennsylvania , 18104 United States
District information
Type	Public
Superintendent	Dr. Mark J. Madson [1]
Schools	12, including Parkland High School [2]
Budget	$205.036 million [2]
NCES District ID	4218510 [3]
Students and staff
Students	9,974 (2023-24) [2]
Teachers	689.5 (on an FTE basis) [2]
Student–teacher ratio	14.47 [2]
Athletic conference	Eastern Pennsylvania Conference
District mascot	Trojans
Colors	Red and Gray
Other information
Website	www.parklandsd.org

Parkland School District is a large public school district located in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania. It serves North Whitehall Township, South Whitehall Township, Upper Macungie Township, and part of western Allentown. The district also includes the following census-designated places in South Whitehall Township: Cetronia, and the township's portion of Dorneyville. ^[4] The district also includes the South Whitehall communities of Orefield, Scherersville, Walbert, and others. ^{[5] [6]}

Parkland School District has one high school, Parkland High School, two middle schools, and nine elementary schools. As of the 2023–24 school year, the school district had a total enrollment of 9,974 students between its 12 schools, according to National Center for Education Statistics data.

Parkland High School

Main article: Parkland High School (Pennsylvania)

With 3,220 students in the 2022–2023 school year, Parkland High School is the largest high school in the Lehigh Valley. ^{[7] [8]}

Middle schools

The school district maintains two middle schools for grades six through eight:

Orefield Middle School

Orefield Middle School
Address
2675 PA Route 309 Orefield , Pennsylvania 18069 United States
Information
Type	Public
Established	1999
School district	Parkland School District
Superintendent	Dr. Mark J. Madson
Principal	Todd M. Gombos [9]
Grades	6th to 8th grades
Enrollment	959 (2021-22)
Student to teacher ratio	13.96
Mascot	Jaguar
Newspaper	The Orefield Oracle
Information	610-351-5750
Website	Orefield Middle School

Orefield Middle School in Orefield, one of two middle schools in Parkland School District serving students in grades six through eight

Orefield Middle School is located in Orefield, Pennsylvania on PA Route 309. It is the home of Parkland's football stadium and bus depot. The school serves the northern half of the district, primarily north of Tilghman Street. ^[10]

Orefield Middle School was founded in 1999. Its predecessor, Troxell Junior High School, was established when students in grades 7 to 9 were moved from Parkland High School due to overcrowding. ^[11] When the new and current Parkland High School was constructed in 1999, the school was moved from Troxell to the old high school building and renamed Orefield Middle School to serve students in grades 6 to 8. During the first two terms in the new building, the facility was renovated to accommodate middle school instruction. ^[12] In 2014, a rain garden was installed in a courtyard to aid in environmental education. ^[13]

Students at Orefield are assigned to teams of teachers that are instructors for core subjects. As of 2023, There are six teams for 6th grade, and three teams each for 7th and 8th grades. The school also has language, music, art, and technology classes. ^[14] Orefield Middle School's 2014 performance profile indicated that the school has an academic score of 89.3. ^[8]

Springhouse Middle School

Springhouse Middle School
Address
1200 Springhouse Road Allentown , Pennsylvania 18104 United States
Information
Type	Public
Established	1970
School district	Parkland School District
Superintendent	Dr. Mark J. Madson
Principal	Dr. Jude Sandt
Grades	6th to 8th grades
Enrollment	1,276 (2021-22)
Student to teacher ratio	15.05
Mascot	Timberwolf
Information	[phone]
Website	Springhouse Middle School

Fred J. Jaindl Elementary School in Breinigsville, one of Parkland School District's eight elementary schools, March 2014

Springhouse Middle School is located in Allentown, on Springhouse road just behind the Administration building. It serves the southern half of the district, primarily south of Tilghman Street. ^[10]

Springhouse Middle School was initially a Junior High School serving grades 7–9. However, when the new High School was constructed and Troxell Junior High School closed, Springhouse began serving grades 6–8.

In 2006 the school underwent a renovation and expansion due to overcrowding (spurring from numerous new developments in Upper Macungie). The D-wing, auxiliary gymnasium, health class rooms, and a new dedicated band room were part of the expansion. Despite this, the school is again dealing with overcrowding and in 2016 had to recently cede some of its sending area to Orefield. ^[10]

Students at Springhouse are assigned to teams of teachers that are instructors for core subjects. As of 2023 There are nine teams for 6th grade, and three teams each for 7th and 8th grades. ^[15] The school also has language, music, art, and technology classes. ^[14] Springhouse Middle School's 2016 performance profile indicated that the school has an academic score of 81.14. ^[8]

In 2014, the school became famous for becoming the first-ever Science Olympiad team to make the national competition, where they won the DuPont Enterprise Excellence Award. Springhouse has made the national competition in 2015 and 2016 as well, winning numerous gold medals in various categories. ^[16]

Elementary schools

The school district maintains nine elementary schools, including:

Cetronia Elementary School

Cetronia Elementary School is currently rated the fourth best school out of the entire school district. With three floors and three hallways, the school holds almost 500 students during the school year. Cetronia is the home of the "hedgehogs". The students are exposed to various extra activities, such as library, gym, music, and art. At grade 3, students are asked to choose an instrument to play throughout school until their graduation of high school. With cleanly kept playgrounds, a track, and a basketball court, the students are exposed to fresh air for 20 minutes of their day. They are also rewarded for good behavior with a STARS ticket in rare occasions. Those also lead to more rewards of playing video games with the principal and gift cards for various places.

Fogelsville Elementary School

Symbolized by a rosette encircled in a scalloped design on the front of the building, Fogelsville Elementary School was built in 1965. These seven separate rosettes, which are located both inside and outside the school, are mosaics set into the brickwork. According to Pennsylvania Dutch legend, the rosette repels “bad luck” and the scalloped design helps the students inside “sail smoothly” through life. Intended by its architects to reflect the historical roots of the school's community, the school was first called The Upper Macungie Elementary School and in 1970 renamed to Fogelsville Elementary School. When dedicated in 1965, the original building consisted of 13 classrooms, a library, a health room, and an activity building, which accommodated 411 students. Today, Fogelsville Elementary consists of 28 classrooms with an enrollment of 694 students, which presently is the largest of the eight elementary schools.

Fred Jaindl Elementary School

Named after Frederick J. Jaindl, a farmer and philanthropist, the school broke ground on March 29, 2009 and opened its doors in August 2010. The 20-acre site near Trexlertown accommodates approximately 600 students in grades K-5.

Ironton Elementary School

Ironton Elementary School was built in 1942.

Kernsville Elementary School

Built in the 1850s as a one-room schoolhouse, Kernsville is located on Orefield Road in Orefield, Pennsylvania. It is a mere mile away from Orefield Middle School, serving 396 students in the 2016–2017 school year.

Kratzer Elementary School

Named after Johannes Kratzer, a German immigrant and farmer who, near the turn of the 19th century and for the consideration of one dollar, donated a corner of his extensive family farm for the construction of a public schoolhouse. Later, when the Parkland School District was formed and unified, the original Kratzer schoolhouse served as the Parkland Community Center. The original building was torn down in the 1960s, but the modern building still retains the name of the original landowner, whose descendants still reside in Lehigh County. A portrait of Kratzer which hung inside the original building has been lost.

There are approximately 400 students that attend Kratzer Elementary School.

Schnecksville Elementary School

Originally built in 1963, Schnecksville Elementary underwent major renovations in 2022. During these renovations, the older "upper floor" which contained administration, guidance offices, nurse's office, and the library was demolished and these functions were moved to the new wing along with some new rooms including a dedicated STEM activities room. This new wing, in the direction of route 309, will also contain the new main entrance, although students arriving via bus will continue to use the Sand Spring Rd. entrance near the cafeteria. ^[17]

Schnecksville Elementary is most notable for having once been the home of the "Blake" Shuttle: a Mack Trucks school bus converted into a small-scale mock up Space Shuttle and equipped with a wide variety of Space and Shuttle-related STEM activities. This included flight simulators where students could practice "flying" the Shuttle, programmable robotic arms, and a mock lunar landscape along with the "Mission Control" classroom. Elementary school students from all over Parkland school district regularly took field trips to visit the Blake and participate in the interactive learning experience. The program was retired in 2013, when the mastermind and creator behind this program, Robert Boehmer, retired. Since then, the Blake has been moved to Lehigh Valley airport on permanent display. ^[18]

References

1. "Parkland names Nazareth's Mark Madson as next superintendent" . Retrieved 2021-03-16.
2. "Parkland School District at NCES" . Retrieved July 1, 2022.
3. "Search for Public School Districts – District Detail for Parkland School District". National Center for Education Statistics . Institute of Education Sciences.
4. "2020 CENSUS - SCHOOL DISTRICT REFERENCE MAP: Lehigh County, PA" (PDF). U.S. Census Bureau . Retrieved 2024-08-08. - Text list
5. Parkland School District Profile Retrieved on Feb 21, 2010
6. "MySchoolLocator for Parkland School District".
7. Parkland High School at NCES
8. "District Profile". parklandsd.org. Retrieved 26 February 2015.
9. "Todd M. Gombos Named New Orefield Middle School Principal". parklandsd.org. Retrieved 26 February 2015.
10. "District Map". www.parklandsd.org. Retrieved 2016-11-21.
11. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2014-06-11. Retrieved 2015-11-24.
12. "Orefield Middle School Renovation Runs Behind * Project Is Converting The Old Parkland High. District Says It Took 5 Months For State To Approve Funding". The Morning Call. Retrieved 26 February 2015.
13. The Morning Call (30 September 2014). "Orefield Middle School making courtyard garden for nature lessons - The Morning Call". themorningcall.com. Retrieved 26 February 2015.
14. "Parkland School District Orefield Middle School Staff". parklandsd.org. Retrieved 26 February 2015.
15. "Parkland School District Springhouse Middle School Staff". www.parklandsd.org. Retrieved 2016-11-21.
16. "Springhouse Middle School - Science Olympiad Student Center Wiki". scioly.org. Retrieved 2016-11-21.
17. "Renovations - Schnecksville Elementary School".
18. "Space Shuttle Blake to touch down at Lehigh Valley International Airport". 20 December 2013.

External links

• Official website
  • Parkland School District on Facebook
  • Parkland School District on Twitter
• Parkland School District profile at Niche