Uniontown official pleased with program
The Uniontown Area School District has implemented an educational initiative to improve student behavior at Lafayette School, and improvements already are evident, Superintendent Charles Machesky said Wednesday. And, Machesky said if T-Base Therapeutic Program is successful, it can be implemented districtwide.
“In schools, the focus is too often on the negative,” Machesky said. He said the program offers a different approach to disciplining students with behavioral problems.
According to one of the program’s founders, California University of Pennsylvania professor Regis Lazor, T-Base is an in-house mentoring system that focuses on the strengths and local resources rather than the negative aspects and behaviors. He said the system has been implemented in the Pittsburgh City Schools, and the results are positive.
“It is basically a staff training program. It was developed exclusively to work with children with challenging behavior,” Lazor said.
The short-term intervention program should be completed in the fall after the staff has been introduced to the basic ideas of the system. Lazor said ideally the staff will then carry the program principles on to others in the school and throughout the district. Lazor also commended the Lafayette staff and showed the board letters of appreciation for the program.
“There are absolutely fantastic people that work at Lafayette School,” he said.
Machesky praised the board for initiating the program.
“When any school district steps up…I think the board needs to be commended for allowing us to participate,” he said.
The board also approved the advertisement and tabulation of bids for the high school stadium renovation and upgrades to the high school pool.
Director of Buildings and Grounds Rob Smalley told the board that the scoreboard, the lighting and some shower units must be replaced in the pool area. He said the proposal includes an upgrade to plumbing problems in the shower area and an upgrade to the rooftop ventilation system.
Smalley also told the board that while the bids will include all the upgrades to the stadium, the board can act at their leisure and are not required to start any renovations. The stadium project includes upgrades to the visitors bleachers, more handicapped accessibility and replacement of the stadium lights.
The board also conducted the following business:
– Approved a resolution exempting property tax, earned income tax, net profit tax, mercantile and business privilege tax for the Fayette Bank Building, designated as an enhancement to the Fayette County Business Park in the Keystone Opportunity Zone. The county already has approved the KOZ designation for the building, owned by Gary Gearing, but the city has not.
– Authorized the A.J. McMullen Wrestling Boosters to proceed with the wrestling facility once funding is secured.
– Hired Chuck Durso as a language arts teacher at A.J. McMullen, effective today.
– Announced that school will not be held from Tuesday, Sept. 16, to Friday, Sept. 19, due to traffic concerns created by the PGA golf tournament at Nemacolin Woodlands that week. Machesky said that the missed days will not affect the start of school or the graduation date already planned for June 2.
“It will disrupt the school process, but I would rather err on the side of children’s safety,” Machesky said.