Rose Tree Media School District is headquartered in Media, Pennsylvania, United States. It is serviced by the Delaware County Intermediate Unit. It has approximately 3,700 students in its six schools.
The district includes the following municipalities: Media Borough, Edgmont Township, Middletown Township, and Upper Providence Township.
Media is a borough in and the county seat of Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States,about 13 miles (21 km) west of Philadelphia. Media was incorporated in 1850 at the same time that it was named the county seat.[4] The population was 5,327 at the 2010 census,[5] down from 5,533 at the 2000 census.
In June 2006, it became the first fair trade town in America.
Edgmont Township, otherwise known by the post office name of “Edgemont” (ZIP code 19028), is a semi-rural suburban area in western Delaware County. It was one of the first townships in Pennsylvania, founded in the late 1680s. The name is derived from the ancient royal manor of Edgemond in Shropshire, England, where Joseph Baker, one of the earliest settlers to the township, emigrated from. Joseph Baker was the representative for Delaware County in the Provincial Assembly. Today, Edgmont is home to a rather wide socioeconomic range.
Along the rural area along Valley Road are many high-income neighborhoods such as Allee, Okehocking Hills, and Fiveormore. On Delchester Road is the rather posh new neighborhood known as Somerhill. On the major north-south thoroughfare through Edgmont, Providence Road, several upscale single-family homes on large lots predominate as well as other high-income neighborhoods such as Springton Chase and Runnymeade Farms. There is also a retirement home known as White Horse Village.
Within Edgmont lies a very tiny village that is not incorporated known as Gradyville (19039). It consists mainly of a post office, a gas station, a flower shop, an antique shop, one or two houses, and an English-language Orthodox church.
Though Edgmont has its own post office as mentioned previously, most of the area is served by the Newtown Square post office (19073), the Media post office (19063), or the Glen Mills post office as it delivers mail directly to residences.
Middletown Township population was 15,807 at the 2010 census. The Pennsylvania State University has an undergraduate satellite campus called Penn State Brandywine located in the north-central portion of the township, while Neumann University, a private co-educational Franciscan university, is located in nearby Aston Township.
Originally established in 1686, Middletown Township adopted a Home Rule Charter in 1978. The township is governed by the council-manager system, a representative form of government in which the seven elected officials set policy for the township and the manager oversees the delivery of all public services and programs.
Middletown Township was probably established as a township in 1686, but it is first mentioned in 1687 when John Martin was established as constable. The name of the township is believed to be derived from its position in the middle or central of Chester County where it resided until 1789 when Delaware County was created from the eastern portion of Chester County.
The John J. Tyler Arboretum and Ridley Creek State Park are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Upper Providence Township is located around and north of the borough of Media, and about 15 miles (24 km) west of center city Philadelphia. The population was 10,142 at the 2010 census.[3] The township lies between Ridley Creek on the west and Crum Creek on the east. Most of Ridley Creek State Park is in the township towards the northern edge. Zoning is 98% residential, 1% commercial and 1% industrial, with minimal space zoned to commercial business.
The area was settled about 1683 and formed into Providence Township. On October 17, 1683, the residents of Providence Township petitioned the Court of Chester County, of which they were then a part, to establish a road from Providence to Chester. The court approved the creation of Providence Great Road (now Route 252). Upper Providence Township and Nether Providence Township, Pennsylvania split in 1687. The borough of Media was formed in 1850 from pieces of both townships.
Water power was used extensively in the township’s early history, with local mills including Sycamore Mills or Bishop’s Mills built on Ridley Creek in 1718, Robinett Grist Mill (1687), Malin’s Grist Mill (1770), Register’s Nail Factory (1812), and Palmer’s Mills (1802).
The first school in the township was the Blue Hill School near Chapel and Providence roads, started with money left by Quaker James Turner in his 1787 will. The Union Library on Sycamore Mill Road opened in 1813 and had over 800 volumes by 1843. Sandy Bank School opened in 1836, was rebuilt 1905 and enlarged in 1926. Lower Banks School opened in 1872. The Rose Tree Union School District was established in 1947.
The Rose Tree Tavern, built in 1739, was a well-known inn in the late 19th century as a summer resort for Philadelphians. Steeplechase races and fox hunts were held there by the Rose Tree Hunt Club.[7] It still stands after having been moved to Rose Tree Park and was recently renovated, reopening its doors in 2011 as a tourism office.