Williamsport Area Senior High School

Williamsport Area School District, especially the high school often gets a bad rap. I have had nothing but good experiences working as a substitute teacher at the high school. What the school does to include students with special needs is phenomenal! The way the regular education students treat the students with special needs is also commendable. The teachers I have substituted for are very experienced and dedicated to their profession. Their profession is also their passion!
--Submitted by a teacher

I spent the first 3 years of my teaching career at this school and it is scary. They have some of the best teachers, but the principles do next to nothing to help teacher have a good learning enrironment. Williamsport has a huge special education population and it is largly mainstreamed, so if your not one of the best and brightest your classes will be 20%-30% special ed. This will signifigantly influence want you are able to cover and the amout of attention the average student gets. Look at the PSSA scores...they have never made the benchmarks. Major problems.

Please do not judge this school on test scores alone. There are quite a few students who will not answer the questions on the test to sabotage the scores. They think it is a joke. With all schools there are good and bad points, it is the same at WAHS. The education opportunities are vast. The music program is exemplary. There are many fine teachers and support staff at this school. What is it lacking? Discipline. And this is not the only school district that has allowed the students to be vulgar and disrespectful. Parents have forgotten to stand behind the authority figures. It is a problem that starts at home. Overall I am pleased with WAHS. My daughters have received a wonderful education from the teachers at this school.
--Submitted by a parent

I go to this school. It has an incredible music program and high educational standards.
--Submitted by a student

Music program is absolutly great. Marching Band placed 9th in the usa in large band. Overall great school.
--Submitted by a parent

So many excellent programs to choose from - sports and music have been rated among the best in the state several times. Safe school with diversity. Most of the teachers are excellent and everyone has a chance to excel.
--Submitted by a former student

This is a rather large high school. It is huge. The school has a pool, planetarium, horticulture program, childcare program, medical services program, auto tech, graphic arts, and a nationally known music program. The teachers are mostly very good. Teacher turnover is very slight. The student population is diverse. There are many fights. Despite these occurances my duaghter says she feels safe attending the school. Teachers are availabel if a student is willing to go to one for help. 'It's a lot better than middle school,' she stated.
--Submitted by a parent

A need for improvement in control in the classroom.
--Submitted by a parent

Williamsport HS has a large number of exemplary teachers, almost all of whom are more than willing to spend hours of extra time teaching students material that goes above and beyond the classroom material. The nationally ranked orchestra program has recently performed for Laura Bush, the governor of Pennsylvania, and the first lady of Pennsylvania. Extracurriculars of all types are available. The Mock Trial team was in the top 10 in the state 2 of the last 4 years. Key Club is one of the strongest chapters in the state. Technology-related activities are rapidly growing, with state-of-the-art equipment available for student use. Basically anything that you want to do can be done at Williamsport. All that you need is the desire to do it.
--Submitted by Jeremy, a former student