page_title: Lancaster County, Pennsylvania
section_title: Education
hierarchical_section_title: Lancaster County, Pennsylvania / Education
caption_attribution_description: Map of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, United States Public School Districts
context_page_description: Lancaster County locally, sometimes nicknamed the Garden Spot of America or Pennsylvania Dutch Country, is a county located in the south central part of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2010 census, the population was 519,445. Its county seat is Lancaster.
  Lancaster County comprises the Lancaster, Pennsylvania, Metropolitan Statistical Area.
  The County of Lancaster is a popular tourist destination, with its Amish community a major attraction. Contrary to popular belief, the word "Dutch" in "Pennsylvania Dutch" is not a mistranslation, but rather a corruption of the Pennsylvania German endonym Deitsch, which means "Pennsylvania Dutch / German" or "German". Ultimately, the terms Deitsch, Dutch, Diets and Deutsch are all cognates of the Proto-Germanic word *þiudiskaz meaning "popular" or "of the people". The continued use of "Dutch" instead of "German" was strengthened by the Pennsylvania Dutch in the 19th century as a way of distinguishing themselves from later waves of German immigrants to the United States, with the Pennsylvania Dutch referring to themselves as Deitsche and to Germans as Deitschlenner whom they saw as a related but distinct group.
context_section_description: Lancaster County's colleges include Eastern Mennonite University, Elizabethtown College, Franklin & Marshall College, Harrisburg Area Community College, Lancaster Bible College, Lancaster Theological Seminary, Millersville University of Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania College of Art and Design, Thaddeus Stevens College of Technology, and PA College of Health Sciences.
  There are 16 public school districts in the county:
  Cocalico
  Columbia Borough
  Conestoga Valley
  Donegal
  Eastern Lancaster County
  Elizabethtown Area
  Ephrata Area
  Hempfield
  Lampeter-Strasburg
  Lancaster
  Manheim Central
  Manheim Township
  Penn Manor
  Pequea Valley
  Solanco
  Warwick.
  There is also one charter school, the La Academia Charter School.
  Lancaster Country Day School, an independent day school, is located on the west end of Lancaster City.
  Linden Hall, an independent boarding and day school for girls, is located in Lititz.
  Lancaster County has a federated library system with 14 member libraries, three branches and a bookmobile. The Library System of Lancaster County was established in April 1987 to provide countywide services and cooperative programs for its member libraries. The Board of Lancaster County Commissioners appoints the Library System of Lancaster County's seven-member board of directors. The System is an agent of the Commonwealth.
caption: Map of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania Public School Districts
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