The Pine Grove Area School District is located in Central Pennsylvania in the southwest corner of Schuylkill County; approximately 15 miles south of Pottsville and 20 miles north of Lebanon. The school campus (Pine Grove Elementary, Pine Grove Middle School and Pine Grove High School) is located on Route 443, three miles off of the Pine Grove Exit 31 of Interstate 81. The industrial base of our co
mmunity is composed of a mix of farming, manufacturing and mining. The rolling farmland in our southern borders gives way to mountainous, rich anthracite coal lands on our northern tier. Pine Grove School District is unique in that geo-physically we encompass the end of the hard coal region and begin the lush farming lands associated with both Lancaster and Lebanon counties. This blend of mining and agriculture gives our school system a rural texture that equates to a low crime rate (safe schools), strong traditional values (excellent work ethic of teachers and students), and the availability of land for residential growth, (a large number of our residents commute to Harrisburg (35 miles) or Reading (30 miles) thereby creating an almost bedroom community effect in Pine Grove.
1,616 students attend the three Pine Grove Area Schools. Our attendance ratio is 96% and the percentage of low-income families in our district is 23%. There are 107 classroom teachers whose average salary is $42,718. The District-Wide building level administrative staff is comprised of four administrators (Superintendent, High School Principal, Middle School Principal, and Elementary School Principal). The District budget is approximately $22 million. Typically 69% of our graduates go on to degree-granting post-secondary institutions (42% enter a 4-year institution; 27% enter a 2-year institution), 24% enter the work force, and 5% join the military. The District has embarked on a successful school-to-work program that allows our students the ability to job shadow. Our JROTC program has a nationally acclaimed reputation winning us the best Army Unit Award for three consecutive years at the annual summer cadet performance at Fort Dix, New Jersey. We have earned an honor unit with distinction designation in this program. We also have a very strong athletic program that supports teams in football, baseball, girls’ softball, girls’ and boys’ basketball girls' and boys' soccer, wrestling, girls’ volleyball, cross country, and track.
