The Antietam School District is located in Berks County, southeast and adjacent to the City of Reading. The district encompasses approximately 5.3 square miles and is comprised of two municipalities: Mt. Penn Borough and Lower Alsace Township. As a predominantly residential community with little commercial and industrial businesses, the district currently serves approximately 1065 students in a community of 7500 residents.

 

According to projections from the Pennsylvania Department of Education, the district will see a continuing increase in enrollment despite minimal space for residential building. Enrollments over the next ten years will be dependent upon birth rates, migration, age composition of the community, and the role of non-public education. Projections indicate that the district will see an increase to approximately 1241 students (Revised: 7/2012 - 2011 Enrollments) over the next seven years. Similarly, the district has experienced a significant change in socio-economic status and diversity during the past fifteen (15) years. During that time period, the district has welcomed an increase in culturally diverse students from less than 5% of the population to more than 45% in our current population. Additionally, the district has experienced an increase in students qualifying for the school lunch program from less than 10% to our current level at over 52%.

 

The Antietam School District is comprised of three separate facilities. The Mt. Penn Primary Center opened for the 2005-06 school year as a kindergarten and first grade facility serving 159 students in a fullday program. The Mt. Penn Elementary Center services approximately 450 students grades 2 — 6. The Antietam Middle-Senior High School, located in Lower Alsace Township, serves approximately 500 students in grades 7 — 12 and has an adjoining building for District Administration.

 

The district is one of 18 public school districts in the Berks County Intermediate Unit #14 service area. There is a close working relationship among the member districts with collaboration, staff development, and joint purchasing occurring at virtually every level with the coordination of the Intermediate Unit. We provide a free and appropriate public education for all of our students and when a student is identified as eligible for special education, the IEP team decisions about specific programming for those students are implemented. Students receive their instruction in the general curriculum as much as possible, with supplementary aids and services, unless the IEP team determines that replacement instruction is necessary for the student to acquire skills. In Antietam, we have 19.22% of students that are identified for special education services. Similar to other districts in our region, we have noted a significant increase in the number of students with autism spectrum disorders and severe behavioral disorders placing greater demands on the resources of the district.