Southern Columbia Area School District

Summary:

The Southern Columbia Area School District in Pennsylvania operates three schools: Hartman Elementary Center, Southern Columbia Middle School, and Southern Columbia High School. These schools serve students from pre-kindergarten through 12th grade in the Southern Columbia area.

Hartman Elementary Center stands out as the top-performing school in the district, consistently achieving high proficiency rates on PSSA Math and ELA tests, well above state averages. The school is ranked in the top 30% of Pennsylvania elementary schools and has a relatively low free/reduced lunch rate of 37.53%. Southern Columbia Middle School is also a standout, ranking in the top 10% of Pennsylvania middle schools with a 5-star rating from SchoolDigger. The school's PSSA test scores, particularly in English Language Arts, are impressive, with proficiency rates over 20 percentage points higher than the state average.

In contrast, Southern Columbia High School has more mixed performance, with strong results in Algebra I Keystone Exams but lower proficiency in Biology and Literature compared to the state. The school's ranking and SchoolDigger rating have fluctuated in recent years, suggesting the need for further analysis to understand the factors contributing to its performance. Overall, the data highlights the strengths of Hartman Elementary Center and Southern Columbia Middle School, while also identifying areas for improvement at the high school level.

District Detail

800 Southern Drive
Catawissa, PA 17820-8410

(570) 356-2331

SchoolDigger Rank:
144^th of 606 Pennsylvania districts

See the 2025 Pennsylvania District rankings!

Grades served: K-12
Students: 1,195

Primary Schools: 1
Middle Schools: 1
High Schools: 1
Alternative Schools: 0

Choose columns to see: Summary School Students/Teachers Ranking Test Scores Finance All

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2025)				Ranking (2024)				Keystone Exams Algebra I (2025)	Keystone Exams Biology (2025)	Keystone Exams Literature (2025)	PSSA Math (2025)							PSSA English Language Arts (2025)							Per Pupil Expenditures (2024)
Name	Type	Grades	Address	City	Zip	County	District	Is Charter	Is Magnet	Is Virtual	Is Title I	Phone	Enrollment	Full-time Teachers	Student/ Teacher Ratio	Free/Discounted Lunch Recipients	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	SchoolDigger Rating (2025)	Average Standard Score (2024)	Statewide Rank (2024)	State Percentile (2024)	Rank Change from Previous Year	Keystone Exams Algebra I 11th Grade	Keystone Exams Biology 11th Grade	Keystone Exams Literature 11th Grade	PSSA Math 3rd Grade	PSSA Math 4th Grade	PSSA Math 5th Grade	PSSA Math 6th Grade	PSSA Math 7th Grade	PSSA Math 8th Grade	PSSA Math All Grades	PSSA English Language Arts 3rd Grade	PSSA English Language Arts 4th Grade	PSSA English Language Arts 5th Grade	PSSA English Language Arts 6th Grade	PSSA English Language Arts 7th Grade	PSSA English Language Arts 8th Grade	PSSA English Language Arts All Grades	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
Southern Columbia Middle School	Public	5-8	810 Southern Drive	Catawissa	17820	Columbia County	Southern Columbia Area School District	No	No	No	No	(570) 356-3400	367	27	13.5	38.1%	348 (94.8%)	2 (0.5%)	9 (2.5%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	7 (1.9%)	85.2	102^nd of 873 public middle schools	88.3%		86.9	85^th of 891 public middle schools	90.5%	17						44.0	50.0	60.8	53.5	52.3			43.4	71.4	66.7	55.6	59.9	$18,571	$1,228	$17,343
Southern Columbia High School	Public	9-12	812 Southern Drive	Catawissa	17820	Columbia County	Southern Columbia Area School District	No	No	No	No	(570) 356-3450	348	28	12.3	27.6%	324 (93.1%)	1 (0.3%)	11 (3.2%)	3 (0.9%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	9 (2.6%)	59.9	294^th of 681 public high schools	56.8%		50.9	382^nd of 686 public high schools	44.3%	88	76.1	42.0	56.2															$18,512	$1,224	$17,288
Hartman Elementary Center	Public	K-4	802 Southern Drive	Catawissa	17820	Columbia County	Southern Columbia Area School District	No	No	No	Yes	(570) 356-3250	480	37	12.9	36.0%	457 (95.2%)	5 (1.0%)	6 (1.3%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	11 (2.3%)	66.8	538^th of 1511 public elementary schools	64.4%		73.6	425^th of 1526 public elementary schools	72.1%	113				69.7	59.0					64.2	58.6	49.5					53.9	$14,999	$992	$14,007

Districts nearby

District	Distance	# of Schools	Statewide Rank
Danville Center Adolescent Female	6.1 mi	1
Bloomsburg Area School District	6.1 mi	5	163^rd
North Central Secure Trmnt Unt	6.1 mi	1
Danville Area School District	6.38 mi	4	66^th
Mount Carmel Area School District	8.68 mi	3	449^th

See the top PA Pennsylvania districts

SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau and the Pennsylvania Department of Education.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERS: Not all boundaries are included. We make every effort to ensure that boundaries are up-to-date. But it's important to note that these are approximations and are for general informational purposes only. To verify legal descriptions of boundaries or school locations, contact your local tax assessor's office and/or school district.