Pocono Mountain West High School is a large, rural high school located in Pocono Summit, Pennsylvania, in the Pocono region of Northeast Pennsylvania. It is part of the Pocono Mountain School District and opened in 2002 to accommodate the growing population of the area. Before 2002, all high school students in the district attended one school called Pocono Mountain High School. Since 2002, students in the district have been assigned to Pocono Mountain West or Pocono Mountain East based on geography. The school served 1,901 students in grades 9th through 12th, with 820 students qualifying for a federal free lunch due to family poverty. It had 114 classroom teachers in 2013.
Graduation rate
In 2011, the school's graduation rate declined to 92%. In 2010 the graduation rate was 94%.
Academics
In 2011, Pocono Mountain West High School declined to Corrective Action II 4th Year status due to chronic low achievement in mathematics and reading. In 2010, the school was in Making Progress: in Corrective Action II Level AYP status. ;PSSA Results: ;11th Grade Reading:
2011 - 67% on grade level,. State - 69.1% of 11th graders are on grade level.
From January to June 2011, 318 PMWHS students took the SAT exams. The school's Verbal Average Score was 449. The Math average score was 444. The Writing average score was 431. Pennsylvania students as a whole ranked 40th among states, with SAT scores: Verbal - 493, Math - 501, Writing - 479. In the United States 1.65 million students took the exam in 2011. They averaged 497 verbal, 514 math and 489 in writing.
College remediation
According to a Pennsylvania Department of Education study released in January 2009, 26% of Pocono Mountain School Districts graduates required remediation in mathematics and or reading before they were prepared to take college level courses in the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education or community colleges. Less than 66% of Pennsylvania high school graduates, who enroll in a four-year college in Pennsylvania, will earn a bachelor's degree within six years. Among Pennsylvania high school graduates pursuing an associate degree, only one in three graduate in three years. Per the Pennsylvania Department of Education, one in three recent high school graduates who attend Pennsylvania's public universities and community colleges takes at least one remedial course in math, reading or English.
Pocono Mountain West's athletic facilities include one all-weather track, two baseball fields, one field hockey field, one football field, one general purpose field, one main gym, two auxiliary gyms, one pool, two soccer fields, two softball fields, and four tennis courts.
Clubs and activities
Students at Pocono Mountain West can join the following clubs: poetry club, scholastic scrimmage, FBLA, Odyssey of the Mind, SADD, Science Olympiad, FCCLA, Leo Club, Speech and Debate, Yearbook, West Ambassadors, library club, green club and mock trial.
Music
Pocono Mountain West Marching Band
The PMW Marching band is the 5 time Chapter Seven Group II Champions. They have participated in and won dozens of competitions along the East Coast, including two TOB Atlantic Coast Championships, a USSBA Pennsylvania State Championship, as well as placing in the top 5 in all major competitions from 2006-2009. The band is currently under the direction of Jeff Mark. The PM West Marching Band won the Group 2 Atlantic Coast Championship in 2004 and 2005. The Pocono Mountain West Marching Band also had the honor of playing for President George W. Bush when he came to the Poconos in 2005.
