Jan 20, 2003 By Joyce Koballa 4 min read

PERRYOPOLIS – The Frazier School District has been recognized in a report conducted by a Pittsburgh-based education center that has continued to measure student performance in the region’s 138 school districts over the last four years. The Educational Policy and Issues Center, in its latest report, indicates that Frazier’s focus on training teachers, instituting new programs and curriculum and raising expectations is a good example of how the district is preparing its students for future success.

The center, created by the Allegheny Conference on Community Development in 1992, was designed to work with the community to assure that all children in southwestern Pennsylvania receive a world-class education and also to promote communication and collaboration between educational and business leaders in the region.

In 1999, the center issued its first report, which included a comprehensive look at the cumulative performance of the region’s 138 school districts as measured against eight leading indicators of education excellence.

That same year, the center also challenged the region to adopt a zero-tolerance policy for students not able to read or do math by the end of fifth grade, when the Pennsylvania State System of Assessment (PSSA) test is first administered.

Since then, 50 school districts, including Frazier, have adopted that goal as their own.

With the federal No Child Left Behind Act, every child must be proficient in reading and math by 2014, making accountability “the watchword in education,” according to the center.

While many school districts are scrambling to meet the mandated performance standards, Frazier’s improvement to implement those standards dates back to 1995.

Dr. Frederick Smeigh, superintendent, said that although no one program is the magic bullet for increased PSSA scores, it requires systematic change.

“There has to be a consistent focus,” said Smeigh.

While no single event prompted the change at Frazier, Smeigh said it was simply an acknowledgement that “every child can learn.”

“It’s not student ability that counts. It’s how hard they work,” he added.

In the 2000-2001 school year, Frazier launched Contemporary Mathematics in Context (CMIC), a program in grades nine through 12 structured to meet the various learning abilities of students while preparing them for success in everyday life. Block scheduling also was added.

“We’ve found that this scheduling method has really helped with concentration and motivation,” said Smeigh.

At the middle school, the district integrated a math series from Glencoe to grades six, seven and eight and administered integrated language arts series for students in kindergarten through fifth grade.

Before incorporating the new programs, the district analyzed data to find weaknesses, then identified research-based programs that were proven to work, such as CMIC and Glencoe. “We weren’t interested in experimenting,” said Smeigh.

After the school board agreed to adopt the programs, the staff was trained on how to use them.

“We changed the culture of the schools,” said Smeigh. “We raised expectations.”

With this the third year for CMIC, Smeigh said the program has had a positive effect on both the students and teachers.

While Frazier continues to take positive strides to improve its curriculum, Smeigh acknowledged that the district is not where it needs to be but has come quite far where the PSSA is concerned.

In 2001, the state Department of Education established four performance levels for the PSSA exams, requiring that all students must show proficiency in order to graduate from one of the state’s 501 school districts.

According to the center’s report, the 2002 PSSA scores for the region’s school districts revealed that about 40 percent of fifth-graders were not proficient in reading, and 44 percent of them were not proficient in math.

For 11th grade, which serves as the statewide assessment before graduation, about 40 percent did not demonstrate proficiency in reading, and almost half were not proficient in math.

At Frazier, the high school alone has seen a 160-point gain in math and 80-point rise in reading on the PSSA. In addition, writing scores increased by 200 points.

Beginning this year, students are not only required to demonstrate proficiency in order to graduate, but also they must meet the district’s regular graduation requirements, in addition to having a minimum grade-point average of 1.50.

In 2005 and after, students must have a 1.75 grade-point average in order to graduate.