Parkland School District is a large public school district located in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania. It serves North Whitehall Township, South Whitehall Township, Upper Macungie Township, and a part of western Allentown. The district also includes the South Whitehall villages of Cetronia, Dorneyville, Orefield, Scherersville, Walbert, and others.
Parkland School District has one high school, Parkland High School, two middle schools, and nine elementary schools. As of the 2021–22 school year, the school district had a total enrollment of 9,676 students between its 12 schools, according to National Center for Education Statistics data.
Parkland High School
With 3,171 students in the 2021–2022 school year, Parkland High School is the largest high school in the Lehigh Valley.
Middle schools
The school district maintains two middle schools for grades six through eight:
Orefield Middle School
Orefield Middle School is located in Orefield, Pennsylvania on PA Route 309. It is the home of Parkland's football stadium and bus depot. The school serves the northern half of the district, primarily north of Tilghman Street.
Orefield Middle School was founded in 1999. Its predecessor, Troxell Junior High School, was established when students in grades 7 to 9 were moved from Parkland High School due to overcrowding. When the new and current Parkland High School was constructed in 1999, the school was moved from Troxell to the old high school building and renamed Orefield Middle School to serve students in grades 6 to 8. During the first two terms in the new building, the facility was renovated to accommodate middle school instruction. In 2014, a rain garden was installed in a courtyard to aid in environmental education.
Students at Orefield are assigned to teams of teachers that are instructors for core subjects. As of 2023, There are six teams for 6th grade, and three teams each for 7th and 8th grades. The school also has language, music, art, and technology classes. Orefield Middle School's 2014 performance profile indicated that the school has an academic score of 89.3.
Springhouse Middle School
Springhouse Middle School is located in Allentown, on Springhouse road just behind the Administration building. It serves the southern half of the district, primarily south of Tilghman Street.
Springhouse Middle School was initially a Junior High School serving grades 7–9. However, when the new High School was constructed and Troxell Junior High School closed, Springhouse began serving grades 6–8.
In 2006 the school underwent a renovation and expansion due to overcrowding (spurring from numerous new developments in Upper Macungie). The D-wing, auxiliary gymnasium, health class rooms, and a new dedicated band room were part of the expansion. Despite this, the school is again dealing with overcrowding and in 2016 had to recently cede some of its sending area to Orefield.
Students at Springhouse are assigned to teams of teachers that are instructors for core subjects. As of 2023 There are nine teams for 6th grade, and three teams each for 7th and 8th grades. The school also has language, music, art, and technology classes. Springhouse Middle School's 2016 performance profile indicated that the school has an academic score of 81.14.
In 2014, the school became famous for becoming the first-ever Science Olympiad team to make the national competition, where they won the DuPont Enterprise Excellence Award. Springhouse has made the national competition in 2015 and 2016 as well, winning numerous gold medals in various categories.
Elementary schools
The school district maintains nine elementary schools, including:
Cetronia Elementary School
Cetronia Elementary School is currently rated the fourth best school out of the entire school district. With three floors and three hallways, the school holds almost 500 students during the school year. Cetronia is the home of the "hedgehogs". The students are exposed to various extra activities, such as library, gym, music, and art. At grade 3, students are asked to choose an instrument to play throughout school until their graduation of high school. With cleanly kept playgrounds, a track, and a basketball court, the students are exposed to fresh air for 20 minutes of their day. They are also rewarded for good behavior with a STARS ticket in rare occasions. Those also lead to more rewards of playing video games with the principal and gift cards for various places.