USC named Pennsylvania’s top school district
May 31, 2023
Upper St. Clair School District ranks as the No. 1 school district in Pennsylvania, according to the 2023 School Guide published this week by the Pittsburgh Business Times. This marks the second year in a row that Upper St. Clair has reached No. 1 in the statewide rankings, which began in 2017.
Dr. John Rozzo, superintendent of schools, attributes the district’s success to the collective commitment to quality public education.
“Great communities make great schools, and great schools make great communities,” he said. “We are incredibly fortunate to have the support of parents, students, teachers, administrators, staff, a school board, and other community members who share our commitment to providing our students with world-class educational experience.”
For each of the last five years, Upper St. Clair has ascended in the state rankings. Debuting at No. 10 in 2017, the district climbed to No. 5 in 2018, No. 3 in 2019, and No. 2 in 2020, before reaching No. 1 in 2022. There were no rankings in 2021 due to the pandemic.
“At Upper St. Clair, we have a culture of continuous growth that helps to ensure that our students as well as staff reach their full potential,” Dr. Daphna Gans, school board president said. “From our curriculum development process to our operations, we are constantly reviewing and evolving to best meet the needs of our students. We have a unique and incredibly student-centric superintendent and administrative team.”
Most recently, the school board approved a plan for later school start times. Research on this issue shows that there are numerous benefits when students get more sleep, including less absenteeism, increased academic performance and lower rates of depression.
For the fourth straight year, Upper St. Clair ranks No. 1 among the 105 school districts in the seven-county region that includes Allegheny, Armstrong, Beaver, Butler, Fayette, Washington and Westmoreland counties.
The 2023 School Guide rankings looks at three years of school performance data. For this year’s calculations, PSSA and Keystone Exam data from 2022, 2021 and 2019 were included in the formula. Standardized testing was suspended in 2020 due to the pandemic.
The Pittsburgh Business Times released its first regional school rankings in 2005. Upper St. Clair debuted at number two in the region before spending eight consecutive years, from 2006-2013, in the number one spot. From 2014-2018, Upper St. Clair ranked within the top five each year before regaining the top spot in 2019, 2020, 2022 and 2023. (Again, there was no annual ranking in 2021, as testing was suspended in 2020 due to the pandemic.)