The Tuscarora School District covers an area of 201 square miles, stretching north-south from just south of 40 degrees north latitude to the Maryland border and from east of the 78 degree west longitude line to just west of Chambersburg, PA. The District is located within the borders of Franklin County in south-central Pennsylvania and includes the Borough of Mercersburg and Montgomery, Peters, St. Thomas and Warren townships. The District is primarily a rural agricultural area with a total population of approximately 17,000 people. The District consists of four K-5 elementary schools (Saint Thomas, Mountain View, Mercersburg, Montgomery), one grade 6-8 middle school (James Buchanan MS) and one grade 9-12 high school (James Buchanan HS). Tuscarora, the name of the mountain on the western boundary, is derived from the Tuscarora Tribe of the Iroquois Confederation. The Tribe came north from the Carolinas about 1713 and settled for a time along the mountains. The name Tuscarora comes from the Indian name Skaruron or hemp gatherers. Conococheague, the name of the creek that flows through the District on its way from the Path Valley south to the Potomac River, is an Indian name from the Delaware Tribe meaning clear water.
Our Mission:
We make sure every child is known by name. We explicitly teach our kids to be resilient. We praise student effort. We make sure each child makes standard-based academic progress. We emphasize the development of 21st century skills in our daily work with students. We are positive role models for our students.
Our Vision:
Tuscarora School District is a place where every child is known by name. Staff in the District use teaching strategies to enhance resilience in our students. This means our kids know how to bounce back from the bad days we all have from time to time. We find ways everyday to praise student effort. Although we respect student ability, we know student effort is more important in the long run. We find ways to reinforce and reward our students' hard work. As administrators and teachers, we work as collaborative teams to ensure each student is making academic progress. We do this by using a variety of assessment data and teaching strategies to move our students to the next level, whatever that level may be. We acknowledge that our students will be citizens of a world that is characterized by constant change and that they will need 21st century skill sets to thrive in the future. By our words and actions each day, our students will know we intend to make this vision a reality in our school district.
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