It was an ordinary day. Picked up the morning paper and there it was, as big as ever across the upper left of the newspaper..."TOWNSHIP STILL ON TOP". It was in 1950 that I began my studies in the Manheim Township School District as a first grader.
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| Newspaper heading tells the story! |
I lived at the far South of the school district, a half-block from the City of Lancaster and about 100 yards from the city's Ross Elementary School. Little did I know that I was lucky to be on the extreme edge of Manheim Township, even though I had to walk about a mile to Brecht Elementary School which was one of several elementary school in Manheim Township. I graduated from Manheim Township High School in 1962 and began teaching Industrial Arts at the Manheim Township High School in 1967 after graduating from Millersville State Teachers College. The same high school that was recently picked as one of US News & World Report's best high schools in the state of Pennsylvania. Manheim Township has been one of the best high schools in Lancaster County since I was a student at the school over 60 years ago. I'm not sure if my parents knew that we would be living in Manheim Township School District when they purchased their first home when I was a few years old, but their move allowed me to attend one of the best school districts in the state, even back then. Today's story said that this year was actually the second consecutive year that they where the top school district in Lancaster County. I should point out that even though the school is a great school, the 1,800 student school district is still ranked 60th in the State of Pennsylvania. Rankings include the entire United States which has 17,800 public high schools with the state of Pennsylvania having 678 of those high schools. The ranking comes from judging and assigned points based on performance on Advanced Placement and international baccalaureate exams, proficiency on reading and math standardized tests, underserved student performance and graduation rates. I should also tell you that U.S. News has been criticized for its school rankings because of its heavy reliance on standardized test performance which, to many, is an assessment of wealth, not intelligence. But, recently, U.S. News has added data that factor in students who are economically disadvantaged, and those who quality for free and reduced school meals. The tradition of scoring high on state and national tests has always been part of Manheim Township School District. Parents who value education are known to move to the district because of the high scores they achieve on a yearly basis. I didn't teach an academic class such as science or math, but I could definitely see the interest in the courses I taught. The classes I taught, Graphic Arts and Photography, were always filled with students who valued education as a way to success in their life. And, knowing that the school district is traditionally one of the top academic schools in the county is why my wife and I moved to the district so our children could attend the same high school which I did as a student. So glad we did! It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.
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