Coatesville Area School District

Summary

The Coatesville Area School District (CASD) covers the City of Coatesville, the Boroughs of Modena and South Coatesville, and Caln Township, East Fallowfield Township, Sadsbury Township, Valley Township, West Brandywine Township and West Caln Township in Chester County, Pennsylvania. According to census data recorded between 2010 and 2019, Coatesville Area School District served a resident population of approximately 64,700. The district operates Coatesville Area Senior High School (10th-12th), Coatesville Area Intermediate High School (8th-9th), North Brandywine Middle School (7th), Scott 6th Grade Center, Caln Elementary School (K-5th), East Fallowfield Elementary School (K-5th), King's Highway Elementary School (K-5th), Rainbow Elementary School (K-5th), and Reeceville Elementary School (K-5th).

Coatesville Area School District
Address
3030 CG Zinn Road
, Chester County, Pennsylvania, 19372
United States
District information
TypePublic
Motto"Rich in Diversity, Committed to Excellence"
GradesK-12th
SuperintendentTomas Hanna [1]
Students and staff
ColorsRed, black, and white
Other information
Websitecasdschools.org

Coatesville Area School District serves the only city in Chester County (the wealthiest county in Pennsylvania[2]) as well as the city’s surrounding boroughs and townships. The district has long been the center of the Coatesville community and prides itself on being rich in diversity. Not only does Coatesville serve the most diverse school district in Chester County, but it also ranks the 3rd most diverse in Pennsylvania and 29th in the United States.[3]

History edit

The first school established and recorded in Coatesville was the Moses Coates School in 1789 which was run by Sallie Coats until 1814 when Joseph Ridgeway donated the land and building off the corner of Third & Harmony (now MLK Drive) to the newly established “Trustees of Coatesville School Association”. They named the school The Valley School but was also known as the Little Red School House.[4]

In August 2013, district superintendent Richard Como and athletics director Jim Donato left their jobs following the discovery of racist text messages on their district-provided mobile phones.[5][6][7][8] Both were arrested in 2014 on charges of theft and state ethics violations.[9] Donato pleaded guilty in June, 2016 with an agreement to pay restitution to the district for the $15,000 he admitted stealing. March 18, 2018, Chester County Common Pleas Judge Thomas G. Gavin sentenced Richard Wallace Como to a jail term in Chester County Prison of three to 23 months, followed by three years of probation, on the charges that he was found guilty of at trial in January – dealing in unlawful proceeds, theft by unlawful taking, theft by failure to make required disposition of funds and conflict of interest.[10]

Angelo Romaniello Jr. was appointed acting superintendent following Como's departure, following which Taschner was voted in by the board in a 7–2 vote for a five-year contract running July 1, 2017, through June 30, 2022.[11] Taschner resigned in August 2019.[citation needed]

Schools edit

Primary Schools
  • Caln Elementary School
  • East Fallowfield Elementary School
  • King's Highway Elementary School
  • Rainbow Elementary School
  • Reeceville Elementary School
Secondary Schools
Former Schools
  • Friendship Elementary School (closed 2018)[12]
  • South Brandywine Middle School (closed 2018)[13]

Athletics edit

Coatesville Area School District is ranked 7th in best school districts for athletes in Pennsylvania.[3] Coatesville Area Senior High School joined the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association (PIAA) in 1922. In 1950, the Ches-Mont League was formed. This league originally comprised eight schools in Chester County. Coatesville (National Division) is the only original member still part of the league today.[14]

PIAA Championships edit

  • 1936 Swim Team won the District One Swim Title
  • The 1937 Swim Team won the District One Swim Title
  • 1941 The Boys' Basketball Team won the Championships
  • 1941 Girls Tennis Team won District Champions.
  • 1941 Boys Tennis Team won Section II Champions
  • The 1943 Swim Team won the District One Swim Title
  • 2000-01 Boys Basketball
  • 1993-94 Girls Basketball

Ches-Mont Champions edit

  • 1950 Track and field won the Ches-Mont League Championships
  • 1950 Cross country (boys) Ches-Mont Championship

Board of School Directors edit

 
Coatesville Area School District Regions

The nine members of the board are elected at-large and serve 4-year terms. They are elected by voters in Region I (Coatesville City & Valley Township), Region II (Caln & West Brandywine), and Region III (East Fallowfield, Sadsbury, Modena, South Coatesville & West Caln).

  • Rob Fisher, president
  • Tom Keech, vice president
  • Andy Finkbohner
  • Becky Harlan
  • Mary Harris
  • James Bookman
  • Henry Assettoo
  • Amelia Mills
  • Josh Crans

References edit

  1. ^ "Superintendent / Meet Tomás Hanna, Superintendent". www.casdschools.org.
  2. ^ "Report: This is Pennsylvania's wealthiest county | TribLIVE.com". triblive.com.
  3. ^ a b "2022 Coatesville Area School District Rankings". Niche. Retrieved 2022-04-15.
  4. ^ "History of The Coatesville School District: Historical Timeline of CASD".
  5. ^ Readers may find offensive. "WARNING Readers may find offensive: Transcript Excerpt Copies".
  6. ^ Aubrey Whelan and Michaelle Bond (September 23, 2013). "Coatesville parents demand firing of officials over racist texts". The Inquirer. Philadelphia. Retrieved 24 September 2013.
  7. ^ Bender, William (September 23, 2013). "Racial epithets litter text messages of Coatesville school officials". Daily News. Philadelphia. Retrieved September 24, 2013.
  8. ^ Williams, Mary Elizabeth (September 24, 2013). "A school official's unbelievably racist texts". Salon. Salon.com. Retrieved September 24, 2013.
  9. ^ Bond, Michaelle. "Coatesville shakes up school district staff after scandal". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved 10 February 2015.
  10. ^ "Como Sentenced to Prison". March 16, 2018.
  11. ^ "Taschner Voted In". August 27, 2017.
  12. ^ Rodgers, Lucas (May 8, 2018). "Coatesville School Board continues budget talks, aims to reduce costs". The Daily Local. Retrieved April 14, 2022.
  13. ^ "11-28-2017 School Board Minutes" (PDF).
  14. ^ "Ches-Mont League". October 11, 2020 – via Wikipedia.

External links edit

  • Conlon, Kevin; Botelho, Greg (May 7, 2014). "DA: First-grader brings his grandmother's heroin to school". CNN. Retrieved May 7, 2014.
  • Coatesville Area School District
  • May 19, 2018: Municipal officials, lawmakers urge re-evaluation of planned massive Coatesville tax hike; vote set May 29
  • March 16, 2018 Ex-Superintendent Como sentenced to prison for theft of school funds
  • June 27, 2017 Master Facility Planning
  • May 26, 2016 Report: Coatesville school a ‘war zone,’ with numerous fights each day