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Garnet Valley

Garnet Valley School DistrictGarnet Valley School District Garnet Valley School District is located in the southeast corner of Pennsylvania in Delaware County. Garnet Valley enrolls more than 5,000 students in grades Kindergarten through 12 in five schools.

The Garnet Valley Joint School System was formally organized on March 30, 1959. From school year ’59-’60 to school year ’62-’63 Garnet Valley existed as a Junior High School housed in the Old Concord Elementary School building on Bethel Road for Grades 7 through 9. Students were then sent to Media High School for Grades 10, 11, & 12. The last class sent to Media High School was the Class of 1965. The construction of the Garnet Valley High School began in May 1962, and opened on September 4, 1963.[1] The first class to graduate from Garnet Valley High School was the Class of 1966.

In 1990, construction began for Garnet Valley Middle School. In September 1991, Garnet Valley Middle School was opened.

In 2000, the Garnet Valley Middle School was selected as a Blue Ribbon School of Excellence by the United States Department of Education [2] In both 1999 and 2001 Garnet Valley High School received the Blue Ribbon Award of Excellence from the Pennsylvania Department of Education.

Student scores on the Pennsylvania standardized tests (SATs) rank the district in the top 7% of all school districts in the state of Pennsylvania.

Garnet Valley continues to expand. In September 1997, Garnet Valley Elementary School opened. In September 2002, Bethel Springs Elementary School opened. In September 2000 and September 2001, due to the exponential student growth throughout the school district, the middle school completed a renovation which included the expansion of the art and technology wing and cafeteria, the construction of a new gymnasium and choral room, the relocation of the front offices, and the construction of 13 general education classrooms and 2 science labs. In November 2005, due to a shortage of classrooms, the middle school opened a new wing that consists of 12 general education classrooms and 2 science labs. In January 2003, due to the same exponential student growth throughout the school district, the high school completed phase 1 of a major renovation which included the expansion of the core facilities, the construction of a performing arts center and art wing, and the construction of a general education wing that was designed to accept a second floor. In September 2006, the high school completed phase 2 which was the construction of the second floor for the new general education wing. Concord Elementary School was rebuilt in a new location and opened in September 2006. In October 2016, the middle school cafeteria was renovated for the second time due to overcrowding in the old cafeteria.

In 2007, Garnet Valley High School football team won the PIAA District 1 Championship (AAA) for the second consecutive year and won the Eastern Pennsylvania Championships, eventually losing the state championship to Thomas Jefferson High School (AAA). The Garnet Valley football team was up leveled to AAAA in 2008. In fall 2008, 2011, and 2013 the football team won the Central League title, and won a share of the 2009 title with Ridley High School

To visit the official District website, click here.

Elementary Schools

  • Concord Elementary School (grades K–2)
  • Garnet Valley Elementary School (grades 3–5)
  • Bethel Springs Elementary School (grades 1–5)

Middle Schools

  • Garnet Valley Middle School (grades 6–8)

High Schools

  • Garnet Valley High School (grades 9–12)

1. Township Information

2. About Garnet Valley – Garnet Valley is an unincorporated community in Delaware County, Pennsylvania. The name was created by the United States Postal Service in late 2006 to allow residents of Bethel Township and Concord Township who were within the 19061 zip code and were part of the Garnet Valley School District to distinguish themselves from residents of Upper Chichester Township. The default “city name” for the 19061 zip code is Marcus Hook; other acceptable names in the zip code include Ogden, Trainer, Linwood, and Boothwyn. The residents of Bethel Township and Concord Township sought a new postal identity because the zip code “city names” are often confused with actual municipal names.

As of July 1, 2009, Garnet Valley was removed from ZIP Code 19061 and assigned to a new ZIP
Code, 19060. A Garnet Valley post office is slated to be built in Bethel Township.
Although the community name is derived from the Garnet Valley School District, the district’s headquarters are not within the Garnet Valley ZIP code. The district’s address is in Glen Mills, Pennsylvania 19342.

3. About Delaware County – Delaware County is a county located in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. As of 2010, the population was 558,979, making it Pennsylvania’s fifth most populous county, behind Philadelphia, Allegheny, Montgomery, and Bucks counties.

Delaware County was created on September 26, 1789, from part of Chester County and named for the Delaware River. Socioeconomically, Delaware County consists of mostly working class and middle-class communities and some upper-class neighborhoods. 2,600 acres of the county are occupied by the Ridley Creek State Park.

Delaware County lies in the river and bay drainage area named “Delaware” in honor of Thomas West, 3rd Baron De La Warr, Governor of the nearby English colony of Virginia. The land was “discovered” and explored by Henry Hudson in 1609, and over the next several decades it was variously claimed and settled by the Swedes, the Dutch, and the English. Its original human inhabitants were the Lenni-Lenape tribe of American Indians.

Once the Dutch were defeated and the extent of New York was determined, King Charles II of England made his grant to William Penn in order to found the colony which came to be named Pennsylvania. Penn divided his colony into three counties: Bucks, Philadelphia, and Chester. The riverfront land south of Philadelphia, being the most accessible, was quickly granted and settled. In 1789, the eastern portion of Chester County was divided from the rest. Despite that the eastern portion was the first settled and contained the town of Chester, it was named Delaware County for its river.
Source: Wikipedia