Highlights from State College Area School District
State College Area High School, photo credit Homes.com
State High sits in the top 8 percent of high schools nationally and our district is full of top tier educators and facilities. (Not to mention students!) Here are some things we’re proud to know are happening in the world of local education.
Photo: Jen Rand
National Merit Scholar Finalists x 10
Congrats to Emma, Anna, Maya, Claire, Yulian, Hannah, Joshua, Ayla, Thea, and Constantine!
These ten State High students became National Merit Scholarship finalists this year and joined about 15,000 students nationwide to receive the distinction.
What does it take to become a finalist? “All” you have to do is:
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Earn impressive PSAT/NMSQT scores
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Write a compelling essay
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Maintain a strong academic record
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Collect glowing letters of recommendation
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Cultivate an expansive extracurricular resume (and some leadership skills, while you’re at it)
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Submit SAT scores (to prove those PSATs weren’t a fluke!)
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Get the endorsement of your high school principal
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And then wait for a committee of college admissions officers and high school counselors to review thousands upon thousands of applications and select finalists!
As Legally Blonde’s Elle Woods would say, “What? Like it’s hard?”
Want to learn more about these outstanding students, their hobbies, favorite subjects, and future plans? Read more here!
Photo: Nabil K. Mark
A thriving (and award-winning) music program
For 21 of the past 25 years – and for the past 12 years in a row! – State College Area School District was once again designated as one of the Best Communities for Music Education in America by the National Association for Music Merchants.
The list of musical opportunities for students in our district is long and starts in kindergarten, with foundational general music classes. By high school, the offerings expand to include electives like Guitar 1 and 2 and Music Theory.
And there are no shortage of bands, orchestras, and choirs that students can join (both audition-based and non-audition-based), with State High offering nine bands, eight choirs, and four orchestras!
Very few districts have received the Best Communities distinction so frequently and we’re proud to know that our music education programs stand out in the state and across the country.
Photo: Joe Lipski
Track and Field champs
Congrats to the State High boys track and field team for winning the 2025 PIAA State Championship! After winning previously in 2021, the team reclaimed their title this May, earning an impressive 53 points for first place over Palmyra’s 28 point second place finish.
This win marks the third in seven years for head coach Artie Gilkes and was a team effort in the truest sense. He said, “We have incredible coaches, an incredible athletic department, and support from the administration and parents that all came together to make sure these kids were pushed and had what they needed to fuel their talents. But that’s the easy part. The onus of the thing is left up to the kids and we have kids who want to get the job done. These kids, boys and girls, have been invested in pushing each other to get to this point.”
Photo: Nabil K. Mark
And a final exam unlike any other
Did you know that State High offers a “Survival Science” elective to juniors and seniors?
The final exam for that course, called Trial by Fire, was the reason that 26 students, each equipped with whatever they could fit inside one half-size Ziplock bag, the clothes on their backs, a tarp, and a compass headed out into an unfamiliar area of Blair County wilderness in May.
Over the course of 24 hours, and to pass the final, they were tasked with erecting a shelter, starting and maintaining a fire, boiling water, and cooking a meal containing meat, a potato, and an egg. While they were given a radio to contact home base and a whistle in case of an emergency, no personal electronics were allowed.
After completing the course’s hands-on wilderness survival lessons, which included topics like dendrology (the study of trees), primitive engineering, ropework, and celestial time-telling, all 26 students were prepared to pass the overnight capstone event.
So we have to ask. What would you pack inside your Ziplock for an overnight wilderness survival challenge?!
