Nov 23, 2019 3 min read

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Trinity Area School District Superintendent Michael Lucas highlighted academic achievement for the 2018-19 school year at the district’s high school, middle school and elementary schools during Thursday’s school board meeting.

“We have the right formula, we provide the right supports, and our teachers are just crushing it in the classroom,” said Lucas, as he provided an annual academic update for board members. “Instruction at a top-notch level.”

Among the highlights:

• From 2016-2019, Trinity High School experienced a 347% increase in qualifying AP scores in math, science and English; in 2018, the high school saw 51 AP qualifying scores, compared to 228 qualifying scores in 2019.
• The state Department of Education’s executive deputy secretary commended Trinity High School as a model school, touting its 10 career paths at the high school, including sports medicine, accounting and bookkeeping, agriculture production and operations, veterinarian assistant, and hotel tourism and marketing.

“These programs are thriving, kids love them, and we’re going to continue to move forward with them,” said Lucas.

• The high school earned a 76.8 score on the School Performance Profile.

Trinity Middle School earned a 76.3 score on the Student Performance Profile, placing first in Washington, Greene and Fayette counties, and in the top 10% in the state among middle schools.

• At the middle school, attendance improved 2.3% from the previous school year; yoga was offered in physical education classes; and a food bank/pantry was implemented.
• At Trinity North, fourth-grade math teacher Alexa Seelye and fifth-grade math teacher Ashley Szala earned the state’s highest rating for student growth, placing them both in the top 600 teachers in the state in their grade levels.
• On the PSSA, 86.5% of Trinity East fifth-graders passed the math portion, the highest score among Washington County elementary schools for the second year.

“A lot of hard work is going on in the classroom, a lot of collaboration. A lot of great things are happening,” said Lucas.

In other action, the board authorized administration to develop options for all four elementary schools reaching maximum capacity.

The plans will include recommendations for adding classrooms, maintaining the four neighborhood schools, and addressing increasing enrollment in the elementary schools to better meet students’ needs.