Trojan Pride

Mount Union Area Schools

The Mount Union Area School District serves families across roughly 151 square miles of Huntingdon and Mifflin counties.

The District

Mount Union Area Schools

Kistler Elementary (K-2), Shirley Township Elementary (3-5), Mount Union Area Junior High (6-8), and Mount Union Area Senior High (9-12), along with the Academy for Customized Learning and a partnership with the Huntingdon County Career & Technology Center.

Music

Marching Band & Darkhorse Percussion

Mount Union's competitive marching band has performed in the New York City Veterans Day Parade and the Washington, D.C. Centennial Parade. Darkhorse Percussion, the county-wide indoor drumline once based here, has claimed six Atlantic Coast Championships.

Student Opportunity

John S. Morrison Scholarship

Established through the Oliver Etnier Trust, the Morrison Scholarship has helped generations of Mount Union graduates attend leading universities. Explore its founding story and the recipient archive from 1990 through 2025.

Explore the Morrison Scholarship →

September 2026 school notes

More college-credit opportunities

At the September 21 school-board meeting, officials reported an increase from 24 to 123 tuition-free online college credits available across participating district students through Penn Highlands Community College. Students should ask their school counselor about eligibility and course availability.

The newspaper initially named Juniata College; its September 25 correction identified Penn Highlands Community College as the provider.

Source: The Daily News, September 22, 2026, p. 1; correction September 25, p. 3.

Kistler Elementary earns state recognition

Superintendent Jen Taylor congratulated Kistler Elementary on state recognition for Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS), an approach to supporting students’ academic and social behavior. The school was invited to a conference in Harrisburg.

Source: The Daily News, September 22, 2026, p. 1.

Students explore local filming locations

Students in the Penn Highlands introduction-to-marketing and desktop-publishing classes are partnering with Future Business Leaders of America on the Rea PA Film Location Challenge. The project calls for a 10–15-minute video identifying ten potential filming locations within the district, including historic buildings and bridges.

Source: The Daily News, September 22, 2026, pp. 1, 2.

Two Counties, One District

District Coverage

The Mount Union Area School District covers approximately 150 square miles across Huntingdon and Mifflin counties. Its boundaries include eight municipalities, along with the smaller villages and rural communities located within their townships.

Huntingdon County

Five Municipalities

  • Mount Union Borough
  • Mapleton Borough
  • Shirleysburg Borough
  • Shirley Township, including Allenport
  • Union Township
Mifflin County

Three Municipalities

  • Kistler Borough
  • Newton Hamilton Borough
  • Wayne Township
The district is therefore larger than Mount Union Borough alone. Its school history also includes the former neighborhood and community schools that served Mapleton, Shirleysburg, Allenport, Kistler, Newton Hamilton, Wayne Township, Union Township, and the surrounding rural settlements. Pennsylvania Department of Education district record
Looking for Trojan sports? Football, basketball, wrestling, and every other Trojan team now has its own home on the Trojan Athletics page.
Before the Trojans

A Century of Schoolhouses

1839

The Old Stone Schoolhouse

Mount Union's first schoolhouse was built in the fall of 1839 by John Querry of Hares Valley, on the road to Shirleysburg; it stood until it burned down around 1861 (Welch 1909-1910, printed p. 296).

1867 & 1871

The First School Board & Building

Mount Union's first School Board was chosen in 1867. The present-era school building was erected in 1871 with four rooms, growing to ten rooms by 1909 as enrollment climbed toward 470 pupils (Welch 1909-1910, printed pp. 298–300).

1967 Centennial Snapshot

Planning for a New Elementary Complex

The centennial edition described a long-range building program under supervising principal Melvin D. McCorkle. It reviewed the district’s former buildings, the two-stage construction of the junior-senior high school, a planned elementary complex and a track scheduled for the 1967–68 school year.

Area Education

Board, Staff and Vo-Tech

The same section preserved a 1967 snapshot of the school board, staff and regional vocational-technical planning. It is historical context for the district’s organization at the time, not a current personnel list.

Regular Edition

Graduation and Class Photographs

The newspaper attached to the centennial section reported Mount Union Area High School’s 1967 graduation and printed photographs of the 1966 graduating class, preserving a separate student-history record outside the special section.

Class of 1966 - 60th Reunion

Six decades of classmates and memories

Forty-two members of Mount Union Area High School’s Class of 1966 gathered at the Mount Union VFW Banquet Hall on August 15, 2026. Class president Joe Barrett welcomed the group, and a memorial observance remembered 82 deceased classmates. The class described this as its final formal reunion, with future gatherings intended to be informal restaurant get-togethers.

The newspaper preserved the class song, “You’ll Never Walk Alone”; its burgundy and white colors; its white carnation tipped in burgundy; and its motto, “The Future Is A World Limited By Ourselves.” Reunion committee members included Edna “Peach” Gardner McClain, Phyllis (Himes) Storey, Dixie (Inch) Shaw and Joe Barrett.

The published group photograph, submitted by Pam Nearhood, includes an identification caption and provides a valuable record for class and family research.

Source: “Mount Union Area High School Class of ’66 holds 60th reunion,” The Daily News, October 2, 2026, p. 6.

Historical newspaper sources: The Daily News, June 6, 1967, viewer pp. 73 and 75–76.
Long before “Mount Union Area School District,” the local high school was known as Captain Jack High School (later Captain Jack Joint High School) — a nod to the same frontier legend told on the Town Lore page. Two of its graduates went on to notable athletic careers: 1953 graduate Charlie “Buckwheat” Secrest played 10 pro baseball seasons in the Kansas City Athletics organization, and John Helton went on to the Canadian Football Hall of Fame — both profiled on the new Notable People page.
Classrooms, Programs and Traditions

Educators Through the Years

This growing archive recognizes educators whose sustained service, program leadership or mentorship left a documented mark on Mount Union’s schools. It is a historical record, not a ranking. Names and dates are added as school records, newspapers, obituaries and firsthand community sources can support them.

J. Richard BurkholderServing from 1934 · Band Director and Music Educator

Read the full Burkholder story and photograph collection →

J. Richard Burkholder helped establish Mount Union’s long-running tradition of school music. A February 1943 newspaper column reported that he had supervised music in the Mount Union schools for nine years, independently placing the beginning of his local music service in 1934. The same report recorded that he earned his pilot wings on Thanksgiving Day 1942 at Mount Union Airport, where Brinton H. Hamman and flight instructor Lester Gashaw presented them. Contemporary newspaper coverage later identifies J. Richard as director of the Mount Union High School band by 1946.

Under his direction, the band represented Mount Union beyond the community. An August 1946 report praised its appearance in Chambersburg’s Old Home Week parade, where members first wore blue-and-gold uniforms donated by Simpson-Hunt American Legion Post. His instruction also helped students reach advanced musical opportunities. Mount Union’s Martha Jean “Martye” Awkerman studied under Burkholder before earning first-chair solo cornet honors at the Pennsylvania Schools State Band Competition and a scholarship to the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music.

In family recollections shared with BrickTownPA in October 2026, his granddaughter Gretchen Burkholder Crouse dates his teaching career to 1934–1974 and describes generations of educators and musicians. Her account includes E. Christine Chilcote Burkholder’s teaching from 1932 to 1964, Mary Alice Burkholder’s service from 1972 to 2004, and Gretchen’s own start in 2004. Read Gretchen’s family history →

Sources: The Daily News, February 19, 1943, p. 12; Altoona Mirror, August 14, 1946, p. 12; Martha Jean “Martye” Awkerman biography; Gretchen Burkholder Crouse, public statement to the Mount Union Area School Board, community-provided transcript; J. Richard Burkholder memorial.

Alan M. Hartman30 Years · Health and Physical Education

Alan Michael Hartman joined Mount Union’s teaching staff in 1974 and taught health and physical education for 30 years. He earned his education degree at Lock Haven State College in 1971 and a master’s in education and administration at the University of Southern California in 1973. He also advised Student Council for six years.

In 1978, students helped Hartman build a track facility with rakes, shovels, picks and wheelbarrows. His teaching and coaching reached boys’ and girls’ track, junior-high basketball and wrestling, and lifesaving instruction at Juniata College.

After ten seasons assisting Russ Quay, he led Trojan football from 1986 through 1998, compiling a 68–63–3 record. His teams reached district finals in 1992 and 1993; the 1993 team completed the program’s first 10–0 regular season. He entered the Central Pennsylvania Football Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 2000 and returned as head coach in 2011.

Read Alan Hartman’s full story, with the 1974 teacher photograph, season records and original sources →

Sources: The Daily News, September 2, 1974; May 26, 1978; June 26, 2000; Alan M. Hartman obituary; district and local football records. View source links and research notes.

Nicholas Michael “Nick” ImperioliEnglish Teacher and Championship Baseball Coach · Sports Hall of Fame, 2011

A 1961 Captain Jack High School graduate, Imperioli earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in English from Shippensburg University. After teaching one year in Hollidaysburg, he returned to Mount Union and spent the remainder of his classroom career in the district.

His influence extended to the baseball field, where he led the Trojans from 1973 through 2016. His teams won seventeen District 6 championships and three PIAA state titles, and his 767 career victories made him one of the most accomplished coaches in Pennsylvania high-school baseball history. The Huntingdon County Sports Hall of Fame inducted him in 2011.

Read Nick Imperioli’s complete profile →

Sources: Nicholas Imperioli obituary; The Sentinel, April 26, 2025.

John Kuehl1973–1999 · Instrumental Music

Kuehl joined the Mount Union Area School District for the 1973–74 school year, which began September 5, 1973. A 1973 Gettysburg College graduate, he moved to Mount Union that summer and served the district as an instrumental-music teacher for approximately 26 years.

In an oral-history interview preserved by Gettysburg College, Kuehl recalled remaining in Mount Union until 1999. His musical service continued beyond his full-time teaching career; in 2025, he was among the directors of the regional Community Summer Band during its thirty-fourth season of free public concerts.

Sources: “Mount Union Has 8 New Teachers,” The Daily News, September 14, 1973, p. 18; Gettysburg College oral-history interview with John Kuehl, pp. 15–16; The Sentinel, July 15, 2025.

Clifford F. “Mr. Mac” McElrath Jr.1976–2003 · Agricultural Science and Vocational Education

Read the complete Mr. Mac newspaper history and see the photographs →

Clifford F. McElrath Jr. was born in McKees Rocks on March 27, 1954, to Clifford F. McElrath Sr. and Helen Stone McElrath. He graduated from West Mifflin South High School in 1972 and earned a degree in agricultural science education from Penn State University in 1976.

Known affectionately to his students as “Mr. Mac,” McElrath devoted his professional life to Mount Union Area High School. At the time of his death, he was in his twenty-eighth year as an agricultural-science and vocational-education instructor. He advised the Captain Jack FFA Chapter and the high school’s Square Dance Team and belonged to both the Pennsylvania and National associations of agricultural educators.

His educational work reached beyond the classroom. McElrath helped conduct the Mid-Atlantic Alliance of Cooperatives’ One-Day Business and Leadership Training Program. A memorial scholarship fund later supported Mount Union vocational-agriculture students continuing their education; the exact founding arrangements remain unconfirmed.

McElrath also served on the Huntingdon County Fair board and its junior livestock committee. He helped oversee the stockman contest, tractor-driving competition, youth exhibits in Johnson Hall and numerous livestock exhibits, and he belonged to the Southwest Regional Dairy Show Committee. After his death, the fair established its Premier Showmanship Contest in 2004 and named the traveling trophy in his memory. A memorial scholarship supported by 4-H and FFA members and other contributors also continues his agricultural-education legacy.

His community service included membership in West Mifflin Volunteer Fire Company No. 3 and life membership in the Mapleton Fire Department, where he served as fire chief and treasurer. He helped coordinate fire school through the Central District and Huntingdon County firemen’s associations. McElrath also served the Jack’s Mountain Lions Club as president in 1996–97, as well as secretary and treasurer, and attended the Methodist church in Mapleton.

McElrath died unexpectedly at his Mapleton home on November 25, 2003, at age 49. He was buried in Jefferson Memorial Park near Pittsburgh.

Sources: Pittsburgh Tribune-Review obituary, November 27, 2003; The Daily News, August 14, 2026, pp. A1 and A3; The Daily News, June 21, 1996, printed p. 6; Farm and Dairy, “Mid-Atlantic Alliance of Cooperatives: Gilkinson, Schriver named leaders”.

David R. Saulen1973–1997 · Social Studies, Guidance and Golf

A 1961 Captain Jack High School graduate, Saulen earned his degree from Shippensburg State College in 1966. After beginning his teaching career in Mifflin County, he returned to the Mount Union Area School District for the 1973–74 term, which began September 5, 1973. He taught social studies and later served as a junior-high guidance counselor until his retirement in 1997.

Sources: “Mount Union Has 8 New Teachers,” The Daily News, September 14, 1973, p. 18; David R. Saulen obituary.

E. Dayton ShugartsBeginning in 1962 · Mathematics and Coaching · Sports Hall of Fame, 2009

A 1957 Captain Jack High School graduate, Shugarts returned to Mount Union in 1962 and spent nearly four decades teaching mathematics.

His service also extended beyond the mathematics classroom through football coaching and later work as a substitute teacher. The Huntingdon County Sports Hall of Fame inducted him in 2009.

Sources: Mount Union school and contemporary newspaper records.

Ellen L. Suders Stasenko1962–1997 · Music Education

Stasenko joined the Mount Union Area School District’s music faculty in 1962 and retired at the conclusion of the 1996–97 school year, completing approximately 35 academic years of service.

Her musical service also reached into the community. She was an organist and longtime choir participant at First United Methodist Church in Mount Union and served as grand organist of the Pennsylvania Order of the Eastern Star.

Sources: The Daily News, June 28, 1962; The Daily News, April 29, 1997; Ellen L. Stasenko memorial and obituary.

Joan Thomas1959–1993 · Elementary Education and Building Leadership

Read the Miss Thomas feature →

Joan Thomas helping Shirley Township Elementary students knit in their classroom in 1985
Joan Thomas shares a knitting lesson with Shirley Township Elementary students in 1985. The Daily News, April 12, 1985.

Thomas began teaching at Shirley Township Elementary in 1959. By 1985, she had shared knitting with hundreds of children across 26 years, including every student in the 21-member third-grade class featured by The Daily News.

The tradition began as an enrichment project for a gifted student who needed additional work. Thomas later used knitting to reinforce measurement, counting, reading directions, patience and independent problem-solving. Students worked on their projects during recess, free periods or after completing regular assignments.

Thomas retired in 1993 after 34 years at Shirley Township Elementary. At that year’s sixth-grade graduation ceremony, she was identified as both a teacher and the building coordinator and presented each graduate with a dictionary from the school’s PTO.

A former student remembers: Bruce Smith recalls that Miss Thomas made time for knitting in class every day. In the spring, she would sit in her rocking chair and put on a baseball game—usually the Pittsburgh Pirates—while the students knitted. This classroom memory is a firsthand recollection from one of her former students.

Sources: The Daily News, April 12, 1985; The Daily News, June 10, 1993; firsthand classroom recollection supplied by former student Bruce Smith.

Jane L. (Wolfgang) Wagner1970–2004 · English, Drama and Board Service
Jane Wagner seated in a classroom
Jane L. (Wolfgang) Wagner · English and Drama · Indiana University of Pennsylvania, B.S. in Education.

Jane Wolfgang came to Mount Union from Lewistown with a Bachelor of Science in education from Indiana University of Pennsylvania. IUP’s 1970 commencement program lists her as Jane Louise Wolfgang of Lewistown, and her July 1970 hiring announcement identifies her degree and appointment to teach secondary English.

Wagner joined the Mount Union Area School District in 1970 as a secondary English teacher. During her 34-year career, she became head of the English Department, mentored students and fellow teachers, and directed school dramatic productions. The district recognized her as Teacher of the Year in 2004, the year she retired.

Her service continued after retirement. Voters elected her to the Mount Union Area School Board in November 2005, and she served through 2017. During those 12 years, she served six years as board president and four years as vice president. She also remained active with the Mount Union Friends of the Library.

Sources: Indiana University of Pennsylvania, 1970 spring commencement program; The Daily News, July 14, 1970, p. 7; The Daily News, November 9, 2005; The Daily News, Jane L. Wagner obituary; King-Barr Funeral Home obituary.

Help build the educators archive: Useful submissions include retirement notices, yearbook faculty pages, appointment dates, classroom photographs, program histories and obituaries. Please include a source whenever possible. Submit an educator or correction.
Profile in development: Randy Stewart is being documented for his work as a district educator and as a wrestling coach during one of Mount Union’s strongest eras. His sports contribution also appears on Area Notable Sports.

Help Complete the School Record

Nominate an Educator

If you know someone who deserves to be here, please nominate them. Teachers, administrators, counselors, staff members, coaches and advisers may all be considered.

Please do not submit student records, grades, medical information or other private material. Contact information is used only to review and follow up on the nomination and will not be published without permission.

District Leadership

Superintendent Timeline

This working timeline separates Mount Union’s local supervising principals from the later superintendents of the Mount Union Area School District. During the 1960s, the local supervising principal was the chief administrator of the Mount Union school system, while the Huntingdon County superintendent held a separate countywide office. Pennsylvania reorganized those offices around 1970–1971, establishing district superintendents and replacing the county school structure with intermediate units. Where exact appointment or departure dates have not yet been verified, only the confirmed period is shown.

Captain Jack Era · Local Supervising Principals

Confirmed in 1968–June 1969 · local supervising principal

Melvin D. McCorkle

McCorkle served as Mount Union’s supervising principal and local chief school administrator. A January 1968 school-board report separately identifies Donald Miller as Huntingdon County superintendent of schools, Russell Roddy as assistant county superintendent, McCorkle as Mount Union’s supervising principal, and Frederic N. Radle as principal of the junior-senior high school. Mount Union therefore did not yet have its own district superintendent at that point. Contemporary reporting identifies Radle as McCorkle’s local successor following McCorkle’s death in June 1969.

Mount Union Area Superintendents

Local chief administrator February 1970 · elected district superintendent December 1970

Frederic N. “Fred” Radle

Radle succeeded Melvin D. McCorkle in Mount Union’s top local administrative post in February 1970. During Pennsylvania’s statewide reorganization of school administration, he was formally elected district superintendent in December 1970. He served until his death in September 1974.

September 1974–June 30, 1975 · acting

John Miller

Miller served as acting superintendent following Fred Radle’s death. He continued in the role through June 30, 1975, while the district selected Radle’s permanent successor.

July 1, 1975–June 30, 1989

Harold S. Estep Jr.

A Captain Jack Class of 1952 graduate, Estep taught general science and coached at Mount Union for eight years through 1965 before entering school administration. The board elected him superintendent on February 17, 1975, and his four-year contract began July 1, 1975. On March 27, 1989, the board accepted his retirement effective September 25. After his superintendent contract expired June 30, he served as associate to the new superintendent from July 1 through September 25 to support the leadership transition. The Daily News, March 28, 1989.

July 1, 1989–June 30, 2006

Dr. Jerry L. Dunkle

The board hired Dunkle on April 10, 1989, to succeed Harold Estep as superintendent effective July 1. He provided consulting services to the district during the transition from April 10 through June 30, while Estep later served as an associate to the new superintendent through September 25. A Bedford native, Dunkle earned his undergraduate degree in social studies and history from Shippensburg University, a master’s degree from Temple University, a doctorate in education from the University of Pennsylvania, and an administrative degree from Western Maryland College. Before Mount Union, he taught at William Penn High School in Harrisburg, served as an assistant principal at John Harris High School, led the Cumberland-Perry Area Vocational-Technical School as principal, and worked as Bedford Area’s assistant superintendent and then superintendent. He retired from Mount Union effective June 30, 2006, after which James A. Estep succeeded him. The Daily News, April 11, 1989.

July 1, 2006–June 2010

James A. Estep

The school board selected Estep in April 2006 to succeed Dr. Jerry Dunkle following Dunkle’s June 30 departure. Estep served during the high-school renovation period and the district’s public opposition to proposed statewide graduation competency assessments. He attended his final board meeting on June 28, 2010, when he welcomed his successor, Dr. Brett Gilliland.

Appointed May 24, 2010 · served July 2010–December 2017

Dr. Brett A. Gilliland

A 1988 Mount Union graduate, Gilliland was named superintendent on May 24, 2010, to replace James A. Estep and began leading the district that July. He served through December 2017 before moving to Tuscarora Intermediate Unit 11. After 12 years of service with the intermediate unit, he became its executive director on July 1, 2026. The district approved Amy Smith’s superintendent contract to begin January 1, 2018. TIU 11 executive-director biography.

January 1, 2018–June 30, 2025

Dr. Amy J. Smith

Smith resigned as Mount Union’s junior-high principal effective December 31, 2017, and received a three-year superintendent contract beginning January 1, 2018. Her administration included the COVID-19 disruption, closure of Mapleton-Union Elementary, reconfiguration of the remaining elementary buildings, and the move of district administration to North Industrial Drive. On March 17, 2025, the school board accepted what contemporary coverage described as her sudden retirement, effective June 30, 2025, one year before her contract was scheduled to expire.

July 1, 2025–May 3, 2026 · interim

Michelle “Micki” Dutrow

Dutrow had more than 35 years of experience in public education and served as superintendent of the West Branch Area School District from at least 2014 through 2025. She had not previously worked for MUASD. Her Mount Union service began when the district appointed her interim superintendent following Dr. Amy Smith’s retirement, and she served during the search for its next superintendent.

May 4, 2026–present

Jen Taylor

Taylor brought nearly 19 years of public-education experience to Mount Union. She began as an English language arts teacher and curriculum coordinator at Dauphin County Technical School from July 2007 through June 2017. She then served as an assistant principal in the West Shore School District from July 2017 through July 2022, including work with the district’s online-learning program and as a senior-class assistant principal at Red Land High School. Taylor joined the DuBois Area School District in July 2022 as principal of DuBois Area Middle School and advanced to director of curriculum, instruction, and assessment in July 2024, serving in that district-level role until coming to Mount Union. Her public professional profile records a Superintendent Letter of Eligibility issued by Point Park University in August 2015. Taylor succeeded interim superintendent Micki Dutrow in 2026, and the Pennsylvania Department of Education records her Mount Union commission beginning May 4, 2026, with a term extending through June 30, 2029. Sources: DuBois Area Middle School, West Shore School District, and Jen Taylor’s public professional profile.

Help complete the record: This chronology is well supported but not yet complete. Research is still needed to document the administrators who served before McCorkle or during the district’s earliest organization. Submit a correction or source.

Leadership sources: The Daily News archive and Rebecca Berdar, “Superintendent’s ‘retirement’ approved” (March 19, 2025); Pennsylvania Public School Code provisions governing the 1969–1971 transition from supervising principals and county superintendents to district superintendents and intermediate units; Mount Union Area School District profiles, agendas, minutes, handbooks, evaluations, and administrative records; West Branch Area School District plans, minutes, handbooks, evaluations, and Pennsylvania performance audit; Generation180 professional biography; Pennsylvania Department of Education EdNA administrator record; Pennsylvania House Education Committee transcript (2007); public professional histories; and the Harold S. Estep Jr. obituary published by Anderson Family Funeral Homes.

Community record · October 2026

School life in October 2026

A growing Trojan marching band

Miriam Shugarts’s October 9 student report described the Mount Union marching band’s growth from 13 to 45 members under director Tyler Dixon. Many members are junior-high students, with new participants introduced through the Memorial Day parade, a band picnic and summer camp.

The 2026–27 show, Get Punked, includes “Smells Like Teen Spirit,” “Buddy Holly” and a Blink-182 mashup. The band is also expanding its instrumental pit. A possible future Disney trip is described as a long-term goal, not an announced or booked trip.

Tyler Dixon directs the Mount Union marching band during a football-field performance.
Tyler Dixon directs the Mount Union marching band during a football-field performance. Credit: Miriam Shugarts; The Daily News, October 9, 2026, p. 8.

Source: The Daily News, October 9, 2026, p. 8, “Dixon leads growth of Trojan marching band”.

An interim principal for 2026–27

In Kavanagh Edwards’s October 9 student interview, Dwayne Northcraft described returning as interim senior-high principal for the 2026–27 school year after serving as interim junior-high principal in 2025–26. The report says the district continues its search for a permanent principal.

Northcraft discussed improving instruction, supporting extracurricular activities and opening the gym during lunch shifts for students to play basketball and volleyball. This is a dated account of the interim appointment, not a claim that a permanent appointment has been made.

Dwayne Northcraft in the Mount Union Area Senior High School office.
Dwayne Northcraft in the Mount Union Area Senior High School office. Credit: Kavanagh Edwards; The Daily News, October 9, 2026, p. 9.

Source: The Daily News, October 9, 2026, p. 9, “Mount Union welcomes Northcraft as interim senior high principal”.

The 2026 homecoming court

Mount Union’s 2026 homecoming court, as identified in the October 9 student newspaper report.
Mount Union’s 2026 homecoming court, as identified in the October 9 student newspaper report. Credit: Na’Zyhia Bradshaw; The Daily News, October 9, 2026, p. 9.

The newspaper identifies the back row, from left, as Hussan Posey, Ty’Jeir Hooper, Messiah Madison, Levi Hunsinger, Jamon Ranck and Nasir Collins; front row: Madailein Briggs, Talia Whitesel, Haley Atherton, Aubrey Baker, Payton Williams and Vada Banks.

Source: The Daily News, October 9, 2026, p. 9, “MUASD homecoming preparations are extensive”.

Community record · Updated October 17, 2026

Outdoor learning and classroom connections

A new Outdoor Club

Stephanie Stains organized a new Outdoor Club for MUAHS senior-high students. Its first trip took students to Whipple Dam State Park on September 29. Fishing, hiking, outdoor skills, cleanups and state-park visits are among its activities. Autumn Byler, Raquel Ernest, Ben Smith, Yvette Satteson and Danielle Solt support the club. DCNR assistance is planned; specific October activity dates were not announced.

Welcoming student teachers

Juniata College student teachers Sarah Sackett and Aaylah Ludwiczak are gaining classroom experience at MUAHS. Sackett’s mentor is Haley Krause; Ludwiczak’s is Susan Dimoff. These are student-teaching placements.

Source: The Daily News, October 16, p. 10, Nevaeh Boyd, “MUAHS introduces new Outdoor Club”; Sofie Atherton, “Juniata College student teachers gain experience at MUAHS”.