Downingtown Area School District - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The Downingtown Area School District is a school district

School district

School districts are a form of special-purpose district which serves to operate the local public primary and secondary schools.-United States:...

based in Downingtown

Downingtown, Pennsylvania

Downingtown is a borough in Chester County, Pennsylvania, west of Philadelphia. As of the 2010 census it had a population of 7,891. Downingtown was settled by English and European colonists in the early 18th century and has a number of historic buildings and structures.-History:The town was...

, in Chester County

Chester County, Pennsylvania

-State parks:*French Creek State Park*Marsh Creek State Park*White Clay Creek Preserve-Demographics:As of the 2010 census, the county was 85.5% White, 6.1% Black or African American, 0.2% Native American or Alaskan Native, 3.9% Asian, 0.0% Native Hawaiian, 1.8% were two or more races, and 2.4% were...

, Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...

, in the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. The district operates ten Elementary Schools

Elementary school

An elementary school or primary school is an institution where children receive the first stage of compulsory education known as elementary or primary education. Elementary school is the preferred term in some countries, particularly those in North America, where the terms grade school and grammar...

, two Middle Schools

Middle school

Middle School and Junior High School are levels of schooling between elementary and high schools. Most school systems use one term or the other, not both. The terms are not interchangeable...

and two High Schools

High school

High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....

, soon to be four. As of 2011, the district educates an average of 14,000 student

Student

A student is a learner, or someone who attends an educational institution. In some nations, the English term is reserved for those who attend university, while a schoolchild under the age of eighteen is called a pupil in English...

Geography

The district, located in central Chester County

Chester County, Pennsylvania

serves all of the following municipalities:

Downingtown Borough
Downingtown, Pennsylvania
Downingtown is a borough in Chester County, Pennsylvania, west of Philadelphia. As of the 2010 census it had a population of 7,891. Downingtown was settled by English and European colonists in the early 18th century and has a number of historic buildings and structures.-History:The town was...
East Brandywine Twp.
East Brandywine Township, Pennsylvania
East Brandywine Township is a township in Chester County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 6,742 at the 2010 census.-Demographics:...
East Caln Twp.
East Caln Township, Pennsylvania
East Caln Township is a township in Chester County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 4,838 at the 2010 census. The township wraps around the east half of Downingtown and is mostly indistinguishable from it...
Upper Uwchlan Twp.
Upper Uwchlan Township, Pennsylvania
Upper Uwchlan Township is a township in Chester County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 11,227 at the 2010 census. The township included the community of Milford Mills before it was inundated by the creation of the Marsh Creek Dam in 1972....
Uwchlan Twp.
Uwchlan Township, Pennsylvania
Uwchlan Township is a township in Chester County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 18,088 at the 2010 census.-Geography:Uwchlan Township is located at at an elevation of . According to the United States Census Bureau, the township has a total area of , all of it land.-Adjacent...
Wallace Twp.
Wallace Township, Pennsylvania
Wallace Township is a township in Chester County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 3,458 at the 2010 census.-Geography:According to the United States Census Bureau, the township has a total area of , of which is land and , or 0.41%, is water.-Demographics:As of the census of 2000,...
West Bradford Twp.
West Bradford Township, Pennsylvania
West Bradford Township is a township in Chester County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 12,376 at the 2010 census. There are three federal historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places located within West Bradford Township .-Geography:According to the United States...
West Pikeland Twp.
West Pikeland Township, Pennsylvania
West Pikeland Township is a township in Chester County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 4,024 at the 2010 census.-Geography:According to the United States Census Bureau, the township has a total area of , of which , or 0.20%, is water....

Security Breaches

On Friday, May 9, 2008, the district learned a 15 year old student at Downingtown West High School had copied personal information and Social Security numbers of school employees, students, and community members. The minor, whose name cannot be disclosed, allegedly shared this sensitive data with other students. Over 56,000 Social Security numbers and other personal information were retrieved from an unencrypted, unsecured file on a district server and copied to a flash drive. The student was apprehended by Downingtown Police on May 21, 2008 and was charged with: Theft by Unlawful Taking or Disposition (Misdemeanor), Computer Theft (Felony), Unlawful Duplication (Felony), and Computer Trespass (Felony).

Less than 6 months prior to the 2008 breach, a 16 year old student used illegal hacking and password retrieval software to gain access to an encrypted file he had illegally downloaded. That student was arrested and charged with a felony.

The Aftermath

The district's technology department requested a complete overhaul of the active directory file structures dealing with login, password security and folder access permissions. The district hired CommSolutions for aforementioned process and Canon Business Solutions to virtualize the district’s datacenter. This process allegedly increased the district’s ability to better manage and monitor the 70 plus district servers. An additional third party company, SunGard

SunGard

SunGard is a multinational company based in Wayne, Pennsylvania, which provides software and services to education, financial services, and public sector organizations. It was formed in 1983, as a spin-off of the computer services division of Sun Oil Company, during a period of low crude oil...

Corp., originally performed an information security penetration analysis and vulnerability scanning service. The same company then performed additional network analysis. The district also revamped the internet filtering software by replacing it with a more powerful filtering software program.

Budget 2011-2012

The district released a statement saying that if the new PA school budget is approved, then the district will lose $3,728,942 from state funding. The statement also discusses the $4,600,000 deficit already in place. Read more at http://dasd-sharepoint.dasd.org/District/Departments/Finance/budget/Pages/default.aspx.

Elementary schools

Beaver Creek Elementary - Downingtown
Bradford Heights Elementary School - West Bradford Twp.
Brandywine Wallace Elementary School - East Brandywine Twp.
East Ward Elementary School - Downingtown
Lionville Elementary School - Uwchlan Twp.
Pickering Valley Elementary School - Upper Uwchlan Twp.
Shamona Creek Elementary School - Uwchlan Twp.
Springton Manor Elementary School - Wallace Twp.
Uwchlan Hills Elementary School - Uwchlan Twp.
West Bradford Elementary School - West Bradford Twp.

Middle schools

Downingtown Middle School - Downingtown
Lionville Middle School - Uwchlan Twp.

High schools

Downingtown High School
Downingtown High School
Downingtown High School is a secondary school located in Downingtown, Pennsylvania and Uwchlan Township, Pennsylvania. Population growth in the burgeoning Downingtown Area School District forced the original Downingtown High School to split into two campuses: Downingtown High School East Campus...

- Downingtown High School is split into two campuses: Downingtown East (Uwchlan Twp.) and Downingtown West (Downingtown). While still legally considered to be one school, East and West are generally regarded as being separate entities.
Downingtown STEM Academy
Downingtown STEM Academy
The Downingtown STEM Academy is the third high school in the Downingtown Area School District, located in Downingtown, Pennsylvania. It is a magnet school that will pull students from both Downingtown East and West for the school day, and return them to their home high school for performance music...

(Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) - A magnet high school opening Fall 2011.
Downingtown Cyber Academy - A new online educational school for high school students, opening in August 2011.

External links

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