In the most recent Back-to-School Shopping Forecast survey from PriceGrabber, 95 percent of shoppers will be using money-saving techniques to get school supplies this year. The survey also found that:
* 69 percent will shop online or use comparison shopping websites.
* 52 percent plan to spend as much as they did last year, while 35 percent say they’ll spend less.
* 55 percent will spread the cost of purchases over a longer period of time.

When you’re ready to stock up on backpacks, notebooks and an endless supply of pens, use these tips to help you be a smart back-to-school shopper:

S – Streamline your shopping.
* Instead of driving all over town to get what you need, get as much as you can at one-stop-shops such as Office Depot. Picking up school supplies and classroom supplies – such as tissues, disinfectant wipes, etc. – saves you time and hassle. And it keeps you out of frustrating traffic.
* Check the store’s website before you go – make sure it will have the supplies you need so you don’t waste time looking for something that’s not there. If what you need isn’t in-store, consider ordering online.

M – Make a list.
* Work with your child to craft your shopping list before hitting the stores.
* Many retailers work with local PTAs and school districts to secure back-to-school shopping lists, making it easy to find exactly what your child needs.
* Take an extra pen with you and have your child check off supplies as you get them.

A – Ads and alerts.
* To help you save money, pay attention to the weekly ad inserts in your local newspaper. Combining sale prices with coupons saves you even more. Keep an eye out for super savings, such as Office Depot’s Penny Savers, when you can find many core supplies on sale for just a penny.
* You can also sign up for special deal alerts through retailers’ websites and Facebook pages, giving you the scoop on extra savings.
* If you want to avoid overfilling your email inbox, set up a separate email account just for retail alerts.

R – Rewards and rebates.
* Many retailers have rewards programs that let you in on extra savings.
* Some retailers also have programs that help you earn school supplies for your school. For example, during the back to school season, parents and teachers can give back to communities through Office Depot’s “5% Back to Schools” program, in which 5 percent of purchases goes, in the form of a credit, to a designated school to use towards supplies.
* To take advantage of rebates, check manufacturer websites as well as retailer websites for the latest ways to get money back.

T – Technology tips.
* Keep your computers up to date with the latest virus and malware protection.
* If your child will be doing online research for homework, you can put some parental controls in place to protect your child – check out Google SafeSearch, AOL Parent Controls or ATT Smart Controls, or with your current Internet provider.
* You can see user and professional reviews of parental control software at www.consumersearch.com.

Taking a little time to do your homework now will help you save time and money on school supplies when you’re ready to start shopping. To get the latest in back-to-school savings, visit www.officedepot.com.

The two students are De-Anna Real, of William Penn Senior High in York, and Jamal James, of West Philadelphia High School in Philadelphia. They were among a group of 20 students from 10 states to receive a scholarship. Each student’s high school will also receive a $1,000 grant from the Charles Schwab Foundation.

“The achievement of these two young people should send a strong message to their friends and families, their teachers and principals, and school districts and school boards around Pennsylvania,” said Kaplan. “If more Pennsylvania students and schools follow their example and focus on the importance of financial literacy, Pennsylvania’s economic future will be stronger.”

The competition is designed to illustrate the relevance of financial capability, allowing students to demonstrate what they have learned and assess their financial knowledge. The competition also challenges high school teachers and other educators to teach the basics of personal finance to their students.

More students from Pennsylvania scored in the top 20 percent of the competition than from any other state. Pennsylvania high schools and teachers participated in greater numbers than other states and Pennsylvania students ranked third in the number of perfect scores achieved. Information about this national competition can be found online at www.challenge.treas.gov

The Department of Banking, through its Office of Financial Education, helps Pennsylvania’s teachers incorporate age-appropriate personal finance principles into the reading, math and other subjects they already teach. For more information, visit www.moneysbestfriend.com

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Presentations will focus on education plans and strategies within the tri-county area.  The Membership Breakfast will be held on Thursday, September 9, 2010 from 7 – 9 AM at Spring Hollow Golf Club, 3350 Schuylkill Road in Spring City.

The Superintendents in attendance will be given the opportunity to speak about the programs that their school districts are initiating to prepare high school students for a future in the workplace. The school districts to present include Boyertown, Pottstown, Pottsgrove, and Spring-Ford School Districts.

The Chamber will also proudly introduce the following new members that have joined since the last Membership Breakfast held on June 10th: TMC Business Solutions, A.C. Miller Concrete Products, Inc., Copperfield Inn at Lakeside, RK Consulting Services, The Growth Coach, J. H. White Financial Services, LLC., Goose’s Tobacco Outlet & Café, The Post Publications, Physicians Care Surgical Hospital, Money Management International, Java Heaven.

The Breakfast is $25 per Member prepaid; $30 per Member invoiced; & $30 per non-member.  The event is being sponsored by Diamond Credit Union.  For more information about this event, visit the Chamber Calendar on www.tricountyareachamber.com.

The TriCounty Area Chamber of Commerce is a membership based, business advocacy organization serving over 600 businesses in southeastern Berks, western Montgomery, and northern Chester Counties and along the Route 422 Corridor.  The mission of the organization is to provide relevant membership services and proactive leadership to enhance economic opportunity and quality of life within our region.  For more information, contact the Chamber office at 610.326.2900 or visit tricountyareachamber.com.

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An explosion on the BP operated Deepwater Horizon oil rig killed eleven crew members on April 20, 2010, sparking the greatest environmental disaster in United States history. In combination with the Texas City Refinery Explosion and the Prudohoe Bay Oil Spill, this marks the third serious incident involving BP in the United States in the last five years. Current estimates put the amount of oil being discharged from the broken well at above 1,050,000 US gallons per day! There are over 400 different species of animals living in the area affected by the spill. 330 sea turtles and 39 dolphins have been found dead within the spill area (NOAA). BP is operating oil skimmers and other cleanup tools to try to remove oil from the water and Louisiana is building oil containment berms to halt the spread of oil. Experts are uncertain what effect, if any, these efforts will have.

View what your town would look like here.

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Governor Rendell said 46 school districts will receive more than $600 million in bonds made possible through the federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The ARRA program will save the districts – and taxpayers — an estimated $513 million in financing costs.

“These funds will help put people to work on vital construction projects, save energy costs and help improve educational programs – and the attractive financing will save the taxpayers more than half a billion in financing costs,” Governor Rendell said. “With federal help, we lowered costs and are helping our districts make these terrific improvements. It’s what the Recovery Act is all about.”

Governor Rendell said the school districts – a mix of large and small, rural and urban — will use the special financing toward projects that will reduce their energy or water consumption, construction that will enable a district to boost its kindergarten, pre-K or upgrade early childhood education, or give more students access to science, technology or engineering lab settings.

The 46 school districts have plans for 101 projects which meet those priorities; 63 projects will reduce energy or water consumption; 28 will improve early childhood education facilities and; 27 will increase access to applied learning labs.

Pennsylvania’s allocation for the Qualified School Construction Bonds was $602 million – the sixth largest allocation in the nation. Under the program, the federal government pays essentially 100 percent of the interest on the QSCB bonds, which are issued under the recovery act’s Build America Bonds program.

“We went one step further to decrease the costs,” Governor Rendell said. “For the first time in the commonwealth’s history, we’re doing one single bond issue, which means that rather than 46 school districts each paying their own bond counsel and underwriting, the Public School Building Authority will handle the function for all of them at once.  It means that each district will pay just a small portion of the one-time cost for the bond work.”

Governor Rendell was joined today by representatives of four districts receiving the funds: Lancaster, Palmyra, Donegal and York.

Below is a list, by region, of school districts eligible for QSCB funds, and the amount (in thousands):

Altoona/Johnstown Area: $14,214
Clearfield Area – $1,965
Harmony Area – $9,700
Glendale -$2,549

Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Area: $125,177
Scranton – $59,627
Stroudsburg Area – $17,000
Wilkes-Barre Area – $800
Williamsport Area – $32,750
Wyoming Valley West – $15,000

Greater Philadelphia:  $83,242
Downingtown Area – $28,303
Great Valley – $999
Lower Moreland Twp – $1,000
Norristown Area – $15,600
Radnor Township – $1,500
Southeast Delco – $15,750
Upper Darby – $5,090
William Penn – $15,000

Lehigh Valley: $20,666
Allentown City – $5,666
Conrad Weiser Area – $15,000

Northeast: $28,852
Carbondale Area – $15,000
East Stroudsburg Area – $1,220
Hazleton Area – $10,370
Panther Valley – $2,262

Greater Pittsburgh: $153,444
Big Beaver Falls Area – $1,638
Cornell – $476
Duquesne City – $645
East Allegheny – $15,000
Farrell Area – $810
Jeannette City – $1,715
McKeesport Area – $15,000
New Castle Area – $15,000
Peters Township – $770
Pittsburgh – $50,503
Sharon City – $15,000
South Fayette Twp – $16,887
Washington – $20,000

Northwest: $30,505
Corry Area – $2,901
Erie City – $22,078
Otto-Eldred – $5,526

Susquehanna Valley: $146,310
Donegal – $17,000
Harrisburg City – $9,194
Lancaster – $55,281
Lebanon – $15,000
Mahanoy Area – $2,235
Palmyra Area – $15,000
Purchase Line – $8,000
York City – $24,600

Statewide total: $602.4 million

For more information, visit the Department of Education online at www.pde.state.pa.us. For more information about how the commonwealth is investing federal Recovery Act funds to benefit Pennsylvania residents, visit www.recovery.pa.gov.

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“Today is a special milestone in the lives of our graduates,” said Sheldon Thorpe, President of the Pennsylvania Virtual Charter School Board of Trustees and a pioneer PAVCS parent enrolled since the school’s creation in 2001. “The PAVCS Board is passionate about helping each student who enrolls reach his or her fullest potential as a student. The graduation today is -a confirmation of the realization of our mission.”

Graduation ceremonies were held June 5 at Four Points by Sheraton, 800 East Park Drive, Harrisburg, PA

“This commencement exercise recognizes commitment to education put forth by the partners in our unique Diamond Model of Partnership,” said Joanne Jones Barnett, CEO of the Pennsylvania Virtual Charter School. “Graduation recognizes the hard work, commitment and many sacrifices students and their parents and Learning Coaches – made – to participate in the PAVCS model of choice in public education. Our graduates and their families share this moment with their – teachers, family support staff, school administrators and staff as well as – other adults who have played a part in the metamorphosis from child to young adult.”

The PAVCS Diamond Model Partnership is a collaborative partnership integrating parents, teachers, family support coordinators and K12 Inc. © curriculum, ensuring all PAVCS students reach their full academic and social potential. This partnership has resulted in PAVCS posting the highest overall scores of all of the state’s cyber charter schools on the Pennsylvania System of School Assessment, the state’s standardized test related to No Child Left Behind.

MONTGOMERY COUNTY

Rachael Bechtel
Mason Brendlinger
Danielle Brown
Kelsey Carpenter
Melissa Dippold
Ashley Gillan
Paige A. Jamison
Jeremy Knapper
Gregory Tamaki

BERKS COUNTY

Dale Bond
Patrick Bond
James Carraghan
Brittany Marie Friend
Carrie Anne Holley
Danielle Kramlich
Earl Mitchell Jr.
Jessica Snyder

BUCKS COUNTY

Virginia Plexico
Julie Wolotkiewicz

CHESTER COUNTY

Robert Bruce Kennedy III
Nicole Pierantozzi
Rachel Schoonmaker
Kierstin Wallace
Kaitlin Wallace
Ian Whitman

DELAWARE COUNTY

Brandi Caroselli
Malcolm Carter
Carissa Anne Ciociola
Janel Ealy
Jeffery Ealy
Brandyn McNair
Alisha Scott
Candice Sessoms

LEHIGH COUNTY

Brooke Finkbeiner
Angela Garcia
Katheryn Marcks
Yasmin Nicole Vazquez

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Students in the Montgomery County area who made the list include:

Angelica Webster ’10 of Pottstown, PA

Christopher DiCamillo ’12 of Abington, PA

Stephanie Seeley ’11 of Ambler, PA

Katherine Bryson ’11 of Norristown, PA

Amanda Natale ’10 of Trooper, PA

Jennifer Bridgens ’11 of Audubon, PA

Kristen Angelo ’11 of Norristown, PA

Stephanie Bernardini ’12 of King Of Prussia, PA

Lindsay Hale ’10 of Collegeville, PA

Rosana DiBenedetto ’10 of Collegeville, PA

Lyndsay Fitzer ’10 of North Wales, PA

Katiemarie Gale ’12 of Plymouth Meeting, PA

Nicholas Latch ’11 of Royersford, PA

Kathleen Esbensen ’10 of Royersford, PA

Kelly Kugler ’11 of Gilbertsville, PA

Immaculata University, a Catholic, coeducational institution, is located 20 miles west of Philadelphia, south of the intersection of route 30 and 352, between Paoli and Exton.

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Those students honored include:

BASKETBALL:

Eighth Grader Zachary Schellenger of Coatesville – MVP Award

Eighth Grader Matthew McSurdy of Collegeville – MVP Award

Eight Grader Timothy McClatchy of Wayne – Spirit Award

Seventh Grader James Cashel– Sportsmanship Award

Seventh Grader John Hegarty of West Chester – Sportsmanship Award

Sixth Grader Robert Boland of West Chester – Sportsmanship Award

BASEBALL

Eighth Grader Robert Watters of Downingtown – MVP Award

Eighth Grader William Dokas of Malvern – Spirit Award

Eighth Grader Joseph Bilotti of Philadelphia – Sportsmanship Award

SOCCER

Eighth Grader Matthew Sidor of Media – MVP Award

Seventh Grader Andrew Shannon of Royersford – Spirit Award

Eighth Grader John McCarthy of Berwyn – Sportsmanship Award

Sixth Grader Sean Fulmer of Broomall – Sportsmanship Award

Devon Prep is a private Catholic, college preparatory school for young men in grades six to 12 conducted by the Piarist Fathers. Devon Prep’s Middle School Athletic Program competes independently against local Catholic, public and independent schools in

soccer, basketball and baseball   For more information call 610-688-7337 or visit www.devonprep.com and www.facebook.com/devonprep.

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“I believe it is important to recognize the talents and hard work of students who excel equally in academics and sports,” said Congressman Sestak. “As you may know, one of the national security pillars I strongly support is Education. I know that my own experience balancing the demands of schoolwork and athletics helped to make me who I am,” said Joe. “As these students leave high school to start careers, go to college, or join the armed services, they are well prepared to meet the challenges of the real world.”

Seventy-six scholar-athletes and their families, coaches, teachers and friends joined Congressman Sestak at the event filling the auditorium at Delaware County Community Hall with over 200 people.

The local students recognized as Scholar-Athletes are listed below:

SPRING-FORD SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL
Matthew Dwyer of Collegeville
Varsity letter for Swimming; Swimming District Qualifier

Diana Michel of Collegeville
Cross Country and Track and Field; Cross Country All-Team

ACADEMY OF NOTRE DAME DE NAMUR
Ann Kelly of Newtown Square
Field Hockey and Indoor and Outdoor Track; All-State Indoor Track

ACADEMY PARK HIGH SCHOOL
Danté Mitchell of Folcroft
Football and Track and Field; Valedictorian

Erin Gallagher of Collingdale
Field Hockey, Track, and Lacrosse; 1st Team All Delaware Valley in Field Hockey

AGNES IRWIN SCHOOL
Alexis Caris of Aston
Varsity Volleyball and Softball; National Merit Finalist

ARCHBISHOP JOHN CARROLL HIGH SCHOOL
Emmett Filippelli of Devon
Varsity Soccer and Lacrosse; 1st Team All-Catholic

Aimee Gennaro of Havertown
Varsity Soccer and Lacrosse; 2nd Academic Honors

BISHOP SHANAHAN HIGH SCHOOL
Christopher Cusick of West Chester
Football and Track and Field; Captain Football

Mary Worrell of West Chester
Basketball; National Honor Society

CARDINAL O’HARA HIGH SCHOOL
Sean  Rafferty of Broomall
Soccer and Tennis; Varsity Letters in Soccer and Tennis

Madeline Hotz of Media
Softball, Cross Country, and Track; Varsity Letters in Softball and Cross Country

CFS, SCHOOL AT CHURCH FARM
Chad Pohlig of Lansdowne
Soccer, Baseball and Basketball; Varsity Starter in Soccer and Baseball

CHICHESTER HIGH SCHOOL
Amy Hultzapple of Boothwyn
Field Hockey and Lacrosse; All Delaware Valley Honors

Robert Power of Boothwyn
All-State Swimming Team; State Champ in Breststroke

CONESTOGA HIGH SCHOOL
Jeffrey Chu of Berwyn
Varsity Lacrosse, Squash, and Cross Country; National Merit Scholarship Qualifier

COUNTRY DAY SCHOOL-SACRED HEART
Katie Dempsey of Drexel Hill
Varsity Field Hockey and Lacrosse; Captain

DELAWARE VALLEY FRIENDS SCHOOL
Ryan Jahnle of Villanova
Tennis; MVP

FRIENDS CENTRAL SCHOOL
Marc Parker of Bryn Mawr
Varsity Soccer, swimming, and Track and Field; Captain of Soccer Team

Emily Brodsky of Bryn Mawr
Varsity Basketball, Lacrosse and Varsity Soccer; Captain- Basketball and Lacrosse

GARNET VALLEY HIGH SCHOOL
Andrew Weber of Garnet Valley
Football, Track and Field; Football All-Central League

Katelyn Loughery of Garnet Valley
Field Hockey, Ultimate Frisbee, Soccer; Ambassador Award

GERMANTOWN ACADEMY
Margot Wummer of Havertown
Water Polo and Swimming; Captain

GREAT VALLEY HIGH SCHOOL
Christopher Yake of Malvern
Track and Field; Captain

HAVERFORD HIGH SCHOOL
Edward  Donnelly of Ardmore
Cross Country and Track; National Merit Commended Scholar

Sarah Somers of Haverford
Cross Country, Swimming, and Track; National Merit Semi-Finalist

INTERBORO HIGH SCHOOL
Bob Mulholland of Glenolden
Varsity Football and Wrestling; Track and Field; Captain – Wrestling and Track

Kellie Medendorp of Prospect Park
Cross Country and Winter and Spring Track and Field; Cross Country Team MVP

KENNEDY-KENRICK CATHOLIC HIGH SCHOOL
Matthew Moloney of Norristown
Soccer, Baseball and Basketball; 1st Team All-Catholic

Angela Sortino of Eagleville
Volleyball, Basketball and Softball; Volleyball All-Catholic

MALVERN PREPARATORY SCHOOL
Wallace Spencer, Jr. of Boothwyn
Football, Winter and Spring Track; Indoor Track MVP

MARPLE NEWTOWN HIGH SCHOOL
Jeremy Hwang of Broomall
Swimming and Tennis; Team MVP

Kate Homa of Newtown Square
Soccer and Softball; Varsity Starter in Soccer and Softball

MERION MERCY ACADEMY
Laura Buongiorno of Newtown Square
Crew; Team Captain

MONSIGNOR BONNER HIGH SCHOOL
Michael Murphy of Glenolden
Football, Wrestling and Rugby; AP Scholar Award

Alexandra Topa of Drexel Hill
Soccer, Basketball, and Softball; 1st Academic Honors

NORRISTOWN HIGH SCHOOL
Brandon Bell of Norristown
Baseball and Basketball ; All Area American Legion 1st Teams

Shari Kluth of Jeffersonville
Varsity Softball; National Honor Society

OVERBROOK SCHOOL FOR THE BLIND
Jeffery Boudwin of Drexel Hill
Swimming, Wrestling, and Goal Ball; Varsity Letters in Swimming and Goal Ball

PENN WOOD HIGH SCHOOL
Richard Lion of Lansdowne
Football and Wrestling; Wrestling MVP

Terayah Overton of Lansdowne
Field Hockey and Lacrosse; 1st Team All Delaware Valley in Field Hockey

PENNCREST HIGH SCHOOL
Neil Campbell of Media
Cross Country and Track and Field; 1st Team All-County

Lauren Tusar of Media
Varsity Track and Field, Soccer; All-State Track and Field

RADNOR HIGH SCHOOL
Kelyn Freedman of Newtown Square
Varsity Cross Country, Basketball, and Lacrosse; All-League First Team

Jin Hwang of Bryn Mawr
Swimming, Golf and Crew; Class President

RIDLEY HIGH SCHOOL
Timothy Kirk of Secane
Wrestling; Featured in Sports Illustrated

Rebecca Donkin of Folsom
Field Hockay, Lacrosse and  Basketball; Field Hockey 1st Team All-Central

SPRINGFIELD HIGH SCHOOL
Alexander Furia of Morton
Winter and Spring Track; Member of Hi-Q

Morgan Russom of Springfield
Field Hockey, Track, Lacrosse, and Sailing; National Honor Society

ST. JOSEPH’S PREPARATORY SCHOOL
Stephen O’Hara of West Chester
Football and Lacrosse; Football 1st team All-Catholic

STRATH HAVEN HIGH SCHOOL
Richard Scott of Wallingford
Varsity Cross Country, Indoor and Outdoor Track; State Qualifier in Cross Country

Katherine Loiselle of Wallingford
Cross Country and Track; Cross Country Captain

SUN VALLEY HIGH SCHOOL
Michael O’Malley of Aston
Ice Hockey, Baseball and Soccer; Citizenship Award

Danielle Volpe of Aston
Field Hockey and Lacrosse; 1st Team All-League in Field Hockey

THE BALDWIN SCHOOL
Noelle Niu of Swarthmore
Swimming and Soccer; Captain of Swim Team

THE EPISCOPAL ACADEMY
Kyle Brooman of Ardmore
Soccer, Wrestling and Baseball; Most career wins in school history

THE HAVERFORD SCHOOL
Robert Greco of Wayne
Varsity Squash; Captain of Squash team

THE SHIPLEY SCHOOL
Andrew White of Wayne
Squash and Baseball; Captain of Squash team

Jennifer Nichols of Newtown Square
Volleyball and Softball; National Merit Finalist

UPPER DARBY HIGH SCHOOL
Brendan Ryan of Upper Darby
Baseball and Golf; Rotary Student of the Month

Amanda McCann of Drexel Hill
Soccer, Softball and Swimming; Soccer team MVP

UPPER MERION AREA HIGH SCHOOL
Geoffrey Rushlau of King of Prussia
Cross Country, Track and Crew; Top Scholar

Kirtida Patel of King of Prussia
Tennis and Track; Captain of Tennis team

VALLEY FORGE MILITARY ACADEMY
Alexander Reeves of Swarthmore
Swimming and Rugby; Valedictorian

VILLA MARIA ACADEMY
Anna  Zarkoski of Trooper
Field Hockey and Basketball; Junior Olympics Alternate

WEST CHESTER BAYARD RUSTIN HIGH SCHOOL
Erik Shaw of Glen Mills
Wrestling and Cross Country; Wrestling Coaches Award

Lindsay Zajac of Thornton
Varsity Tennis; Coaches Award for Tennis

WEST CHESTER CHRISTIAN SCHOOL
Tres Ramirez of Glen Mills
Soccer, Basketball and Baseball; Outstanding Basketball Player of the Year

WESTTOWN SCHOOL
Madison McKee of Malvern
Varsity Tennis and Lacrosse; Dorm Prefect

Erich Sirinek of West Chester
Varsity Soccer, Baseball and Varsity Basketball; Captain of Soccer, Baseball, and Basketball teams

Joe Sestak was elected to Congress in 2006 after a distinguished 31-year career in the United States Navy, and he is honored to represent the Southeastern Pennsylvania district where he was born and raised. He is a Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate seat from Pennsylvania.  During his Navy career, Joe attained the rank of 3-star Admiral, served in the White House as Director for Defense Policy on President Clinton’s National Security Council, served in the Pentagon as Deputy Chief of Naval Operations, and led a series of operational commands at sea, culminating in command of the USS George Washington Aircraft Carrier Battle Group (30 ships, 100 aircraft, and 15,000 sailors/marines/aviators/SEALs) during combat operations in Afghanistan and Iraq. In our nation’s time of crisis in the immediate aftermath of 9/11, the Navy turned to Joe Sestak to serve as the first Director of “Deep Blue,” the Navy anti-terrorism unit formed in response to the attacks. Joe is the highest-ranking former military officer ever elected to either branch of Congress. He graduated second in his class from the U.S. Naval Academy and holds a Master’s in Public Administration and a PhD in Political Economy and Government from Harvard University. Joe lives in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, with his wife, Susan, and daughter, Alex, and proudly represents the 7th District, where his mother and many of his seven siblings still reside.

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Tunkhannock Area High School Principal Gregory Ellsworth illegally searched the 17-year-old’s phone in January 2009, even though she intended the racy photos to be “seen only herself and, perhaps, her long-time boyfriend,” according to the federal lawsuit.

It says the principal gave the phone to George Skumanick Jr., at the time the Wyoming County district attorney, who threatened to file felony child pornography charges against the girl unless she took a class on sexual violence.

The suit, filed in Scranton, seeks unspecified damages against Ellsworth, the district, the county, prosecutors and a detective. It also seeks the destruction of any images still in the possession of law enforcement.

The district in rural northeastern Pennsylvania was at the center of the nation’s first criminal case involving sexting – the practice of sending explicit photos via text message – to reach a federal appeals court.

District Superintendent Michael J. Healey, the school district’s lawyer and current District Attorney Jeff Mitchell all declined to comment Thursday, saying they had not seen the suit. Ellsworth and Skumanick did not immediately return phone messages.

“I was absolutely horrified and humiliated to learn that school officials, men in (the) DA’s office, and police had seen naked pictures of me,” said the plaintiff, now 19 and identified in court documents only by the initials N.N. She graduated in 2009.

“Those pictures were extremely private and not meant for anyone else’s eyes. What they did is the equivalent of spying on me through my bedroom window,” she said in a statement released by the American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania, which is representing her.

The court ruled in March that prosecutors could not criminally charge a teenage girl who appeared in a photo similar to the one involved in the latest lawsuit.

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