District News

Two State High seniors have received full, four-year scholarships and early acceptance to top universities through the prestigious QuestBridge National College Match program. Dalia Eldawody and Ryan Sim were among 2,550 students from across the country selected to the program, which seeks to match high-achieving high school seniors with the nation’s top colleges

When you turn a class of first graders into molecular biologists, science gets messy fast. At Ferguson Township Elementary, that meant smashing and squeezing strawberries recently during an active, sleeves-up science lesson on extracting DNA. “This is disgustingly fun,” said Will Romo.

Teachers recently dove into the world of improv, a form of live theater where the performers create the characters and plot as they go, without a script or rehearsal. Happy Valley Improv led the professional development training aimed at helping English teachers sharpen their skills.

Danielle Ambrosia, an Assistant Principal at State High, has been named Pennsylvania’s 2026 Assistant Principal of the Year by the Pennsylvania Principals Association. “This is an exceptional and well-deserved honor that reflects Danielle’s dedication, leadership and unwavering commitment to our students, staff and school community,” said Curtis Johnson, Superintendent.

Extra! Extra! Read all about it! After discovering her own passion for reporting at State High, Clara Kraft created a unit on journalism and has spent the last few months teaching the who, what, when, where, and why of the subject to Spring Creek Elementary students. 

This Veterans Day, we salute everyone who has served our country and highlight those who are State High graduates, SCASD employees, and members of the district community. In the high school, we have a military wall of honor that recognizes alumni who have served in the military. All six branches of the military are represented, and there are plaques containing each person’s name and graduation year.

If November is the month for gathering with family and friends and feasting, members of the SCASD community got things off to a good start on Tuesday. Hundreds of English language learners and their families from across the district came together over plates of delicious food at State High for the annual ELD Potluck event.

The SCASD Board of Directors unanimously approved Casey Yates to be the new Park Forest Middle School principal. She will begin at SCASD sometime after Jan. 1. Yates comes to the district from North Carolina, where she is the principal at Brentwood Elementary and, before that, was the assistant principal at Gray’s Creek High School.

Senior Tanner Cohagan has a story in his head, a graphic novel featuring original superheroes, the kind of book he’d want to read himself. But for Cohagan, who is blind, drawing his heroes on paper presents a unique challenge. Now thanks to a drawing class he is taking this fall, Cohagan is learning to create art through touch, imagination, and persistence.

L. Hope Palm has started her new role as assistant principal for the SCASD Virtual Academy. Prior to joining the district, Palm worked as principal at Mount Union Area Junior High School in Huntington County, and before that she was assistant principal at Mount Union junior and senior high schools.

Flames flared last week at the LifeLink apartments, but firefighters were already on hand to show SCASD students exactly what to do. Students along with their families and coaches took part in a fire training outside the district’s LifeLink apartment, simulating what might happen if a cooking fire got out of hand.

Students were off Thursday, but learning didn’t stop in the State College Area School District. Teachers and staff spent a busy in-service day in a wide range of professional development sessions, highlighted by two nationally recognized experts who presented some of the latest research in their fields.

State College Area School District’s teachers are among the best in the nation, according to new rankings released this week by Niche.com. The popular school ranking site placed SCASD at 127th on its list of Districts with the Best Teachers in America and 10th best in Pennsylvania.

Suhnjun Choi earned perfect scores two years in a row as a seventh and eighth grader at the Pennsylvania Math League competition, netting him top honors in the state both years.

Hundreds of SCASD students showed off their school spirit marching in the 2025 Homecoming Parade. This year, 40 student groups built colorful and creative floats and joined the parade route packed with families, students, and neighbors.

Elliott Meisel hustled Tuesday morning toward the entrance of Easterly Parkway Elementary only to pause for one last act before the official start of a new school year — to hug his principal, Meredith Henderson. When asked what he was most excited for, he could only stop briefly and shout “everything,” before turning and hurrying through the school’s doors.

Maya Birkenholtz was one of about 155 State High seniors who turned the north parking lot into a temporary art studio during the school’s annual painting event, which lets seniors personalize their parking spots while raising money for student activities.

After 51 years, a State College Area School District institution is greeting its future by bidding farewell to its past. This month will see the debut of Delta High School and Delta Middle School — a new identity for a new year.

The Board of Directors approved Heather Spotts to be the district’s assistant director of curriculum and academic interventions. Previously, Spotts worked in the district as a multi-tiered system of supports and interventional professional development specialist and Title I reading specialist.

Maroon-topped tents pop up and delivery trucks heavy with produce rumble as a small army of SCASD employees and community volunteers prepare for the district’s weekly Summer Food for All program. During the next few hours, they will distribute a week’s worth of summer breakfasts and lunches for as many as 900 children.