Local students head back to class
Ready or not, it’s time for young summer vacationers to trade in their bicycles for book bags. All local schools open Monday for the first day of the 2002-2003 school year.
Several school districts have new leadership, while most have at least a few new teachers ready to greet students. Beyond the annual extensive cleaning the school buildings get each summer, several local schools are at the tail end or in the midst of renovations.
Changes in the educational programs are in store in some cases, and a new federal law promises some other changes.
The No Child Left Behind Act, signed into law earlier this year by President Bush, goes into effect with the start of the school year and may have the most obvious effect on the Albert Gallatin Area School District.
Parents of students in the district’s Friendship Hill and Masontown elementary schools have the option to remove their children from those schools in favor of another of A.G.’s elementary schools.
Acting Superintendent Walter Vicinelly said two parents had expressed early interest, although he did not have a definite count available by Friday, and parents could still choose this option after school starts. Because it has the capacity to accept more students, George J. Plava Elementary School in McClellandtown was selected as the option.
Friendship Hill and Masontown are named on a “school-improvement list” as academically troubled schools based on the history of results on the Pennsylvania System of School Assessment standardized tests and other assessments, giving parents the opportunity to choose a better performing school.
Vicinelly said letters were sent to parents, and informational meetings were held.
“I talked about school choice and the school improvement plan that would involve parents. I talked about other things we were doing in those schools and districtwide to improve,” he said.
He said improvement efforts include getting parents more involved with the schools
A school can be dropped from the list after two years of improvement.
Schools also can be named to that list without the consequence of school choice. That was the case for A.G.’s D. Ferd Swaney and Smithfield elementary schools, Perry Elementary in the Frazier School District and Southmoreland Junior High School in the Southmoreland School District, named on the list but requiring no action by the districts.
“There will be a lot of pressure on all school districts from the No Child Left Behind Act, and sadly, at this point, there’s been no total clarification from the state or the federal government on what we need to do to be compliant,” said Uniontown Area School District’s new superintendent, Chuck Machesky.
No Child Left Behind Act has been hailed as a means of accountability, and with its requirements for schools, it includes more standardized testing.
Machesky said all school officials are concerned about student achievement and how they may exceed the higher expectations.
“There is a certain percent of improvement they want, but what do you do once you get there and can’t go any higher?” he asked. “That’s a point of restless evenings for superintendents and administrators.”
Machesky said as Uniontown’s new administrative head after the retirement this summer of Dr. Darrell Uphold, he is excited to welcome students and parents back to school.
Except for a full day of classes Monday, students will have half-days the first week while teachers spend the afternoons in training.
Franklin School has gone through an overhaul and is set to open on time, except for new offices that are temporarily displaced in the school’s library until finishing touches are completed. Machesky verified that the school received approval to open by the state Department of Labor and Industry.
Uniontown’s school board is expected to award bids in September for a similar renovation project at Wharton School.
In neighboring Laurel Highlands School District, work continues for the second school year at the junior high school, which is being converted into a middle school.
Superintendent Dr. Ronald Sheba said the school received an occupancy permit from the labor and industry department, allowing the school to open Monday as scheduled.
He said construction would continue as the school year progresses but with no interference with the students, as the work areas are partitioned off and barricaded.
A.G. also is in the second school year of renovations at the middle school in McClellandtown.
Brownsville Area School District is considering several options for building renovations.
A Jefferson-Morgan School District renovation project at the elementary school also wraps up as the school year starts, although students will not immediately use the library and music rooms, as those rooms are being completed.
Frazier School District’s high school/middle school was painted in new colors, in time for the start of classes.
The school district also is one of the districts with new faculty. The school board hired nine teachers when the directors last met.
Other school boards have hired new teachers, while California Area School Board approached the new school year with six teacher vacancies.
Superintendent Dr. Marian Stephens, whose term as superintendent ends June 30, 2003, informed the school board she does not want to be considered for a further stint in the position, and the school board agreed to accept other candidates.
Southeastern Greene School District is among those in which a new superintendent is in place.
Dr. Philip Savini Jr., who last served as assistant to the superintendent until the June retirement of James F. Burns from the top post, said he is excited about his new duties. After five years with the district, Savini said he had the advantage of having established a rapport with the staff and parents, and that prior relationship make the transition a little easier.
Savini said staff development in reading and mathematics is a feature of the preparations for this first day back to school.
The district expanded its robotics program at the high school and the school-to-work program. Savini said the district is also introducing two leadership programs for students.
Central Greene School District has a new superintendent, as Dr. Jerome Bartley moves from assistant superintendent into the higher position after the retirement of Donald Painter.
John Halfhill replaced Dr. John Kenney as superintendent at Southmoreland School District.
The Intermediate Unit 1, which offers a variety of services to all the school districts in Fayette, Greene and Washington counties, also has a new administrative leader. On the retirement of Samuel Craighead, Dr. Lawrence O’Shea took over as the new executive director.
Among other highlights from the local school districts, Carmichaels Area School District has replaced the half-day kindergarten sessions with a full day of classes and added a third kindergarten class.
The contract expired June 30 between the district and the Carmichaels Area Education Association. School Board President Ron Ferek, who is among the negotiators for the district, reported that the two sides have agreed to keep working under the terms of the old contract while talks continue.