Fell Township, Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania


Fell Township is a township in Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 2,178 at the 2010 census.

Pattern of Settlement

Fell Township's principal settlement is Simpson, which currently is home to 1,275 people, mostly middle age and elderly. Although not usually considered by the locals, the upper part of Carbondale's West Side is actually the southwestern corner of the township. This area is home to a few hundred people, and is geographically separate from other settlements in Fell Township. The other three settlements in Fell Township are the residential communities of Crystal Lake, Simpson, and Richmondale. Richmondale is currently home to 190 people. The original house in Simpson was the Morss Mansion on Lord Avenue, built in 1887. The house inspired Hank Williams' song "Mansion on the Hill". By 1974, the mansion was empty, and title of it and the surrounding property fell in the hands of the local volunteer fire company. Due to lack of maintenance, the mansion was in disrepair by the 1990s, and despite public outcry, the mansion was, tragically, torn down in the summer of 1998. The Grattan-Singer Hose Company then built a new fire house in the property.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the township has a total area of, of which, of it is land and of it is water. Fell township also features the Lackawanna River, Panther's Creek, and many abandoned pits from strip mining.

Demographics

2010 census

As of the census of 2010, there were 2,178 people, 925 households, and 586 families residing in the township. The population density was 142.4 people per square mile. There were 1,045 housing units at an average density of 68.3/sq mi. The racial makeup of the township was 96.6% White, 0.7% African American, 0.2% Native American, 0.3% Asian, 0.7% from other races, and 1.4% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3% of the population.
There were 925 households, out of which 26.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.3% were married couples living together, 10.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.6% were non-families. 30.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.35 and the average family size was 2.94.
In the township the population was spread out, with 20.9% under the age of 18, 61% from 18 to 64, and 18.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41.7 years.
The median income for a household in the township was $37,727, and the median income for a family was $50,100. Males had a median income of $42,232 versus $29,250 for females. The per capita income for the township was $21,772. About 6.7% of families and 11% of the population were below the poverty line, including 11.7% of those under age 18 and 7.5% of those age 65 or over.

Schools

Residents of Fell Township can attend the two public schools operated by the Carbondale Area School District. The district has a low enrollment of 1,660 pupils in 2016. The district encompasses a small area of. The district operates: Carbondale Area Elementary School and Carbondale Area Junior Senior High School.
In 2016, the Pittsburgh Business Times ranked Carbondale Area School District declined to 417th out of 493 public school districts for academic achievement of its pupils. In 2012, Carbondale Area School District declined to Warning Adequate Yearly Progress status, due to lagging student academic achievement. In October 2015, Pennsylvania Auditor General Eugene DePasquale reported that Carbondale Elementary School was among the 561 academically challenged schools that have been overlooked by the Pennsylvania Department of Education. He also reported the Pennsylvania Department of Education failed to take any action to remediate the poorly performing schools to raise student academic achievement or to provide them with targeted professional assistance.
Carbondale Area School District's graduation rate in 2016 declined to 87%. In 2014 and 2015 it had been 89%. High school aged students can attend the taxpayer funded Career Technology Center of Lackawanna County, for training in the building trades, auto mechanics, culinary arts, allied health careers and other areas.
Fell Township residents may also apply to attend any of the Commonwealth's 13 public cyber charter schools at no additional cost to the parents. The resident's public school district is required to pay the charter school and cyber charter school tuition for residents who attend these public schools. The tuition rate that Carbondale Area School District must pay was $8,999 in 2015. In 2014-15, Carbondale Area School District reported spending $13,401.58 per pupil. By Commonwealth law, if the district provides transportation for its own students, then the district must provide transportation to any school that lies within 10 miles of its borders. Residents may also seek admission for their school aged child to any other public school district. When accepted for admission, the student's parents are responsible for paying an annual tuition fee set by the Pennsylvania Department of Education.
Northeastern Educational Intermediate Unit IU#19 provides a wide variety of services to children living in its region, which includes Fell Township. Early screening, special education services, speech and hearing therapy, autistic support, preschool classes and many other services like driver education are available. Services for children during the preschool years are provided without cost to their families when the child is determined to meet eligibility requirements. Intermediate units receive taxpayer funding: through subsidies paid by member school districts; through direct charges to users for some services; through the successful application for state and federal competitive grants and through private grants.
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The demographic and economic decline beginning in the 1950s with the end of the coal mining industry has left its mark on education. At one time, the City of Carbondale had one public high school, ten public elementary schools, one private Catholic high school, and two private Catholic elementary schools which served a city of just over 23,000 citizens. Over the decades, changes to education, the dramatic population decline down to 8,800 in the 2010 Census, and the disappearance of religious orders have reduced the number of schools to the two mentioned above. Sacred Heart Elementary, formed as a result of the merger between the parochial Mt. Carmel and St. Rose Elementary Schools for the 1998-1999 school year, closed at the end of the 2010-2011 school year and integrated into LaSalle Academy Catholic School in Dickson City. From a peak enrollment in the 1960s of nearly 650 in a K-12 system served in three schools, the school's enrollment has declined to 186.

Fell Charter Elementary School

provides a free, public education to children in Fell Township since 2002. In 2016 enrollment was 175 pupils kindergarten through 8th grade. The school had an enrollment of 157 for the 2011-12 school year. The school offers full-day kindergarten through 8th grade. It employs 24 teachers, including art, music and physical education. Fell Charter Elementary School has a longer school day; class begins at 7:45 am and ends at 3:15 pm. It moved into the former elementary school building in August 2011. Six area school districts provide bussing to the school, including Carbondale Area School District. The school made AYP in 2009 and 2010. The attendance rate in 2010 was 94%. The U.S. Department of Agriculture approved the charter school's grant and loan application in January 2010. The school received a $5 million loan to build a new school facility.
Academic achievement at Fell Charter School has regularly exceeded the performance of Carbondale Elementary School on PSSA tests. The School Performance Profile of Fell Charter School was 72 out of 100 points in 2016. Carbondale Elementary School School Performance Profile was just 56.6 points out of 100.
The opening of the charter school was aggressively opposed by the Carbondale Area School Board. When the application to open the Fell Charter Elementary School was denied by the Board in 2002, an appeal was made to the State Charter Appeals Board. The CAB approved the charter school. The Carbondale Area School Board unsuccessfully sued against the opening. Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania affirmed the order of the Charter Appeals Board.

Libraries

Community members have access to the Lackawanna County Library System. County libraries include Carbondale Public Library which is located on North Main Street in Carbondale. Through the library Pennsylvania residents have access to all POWER Library online resources. By state law the school district is required to open its libraries at least once a week to residents. Residents also have access to the Lackawanna County Law Library, which is located in Scranton.