Connellsville Area School District devises educational plan
CONNELLSVILLE – An educational plan that will prepare Connellsville Area School District students to achieve their life goals through the next decade is on its way to Harrisburg, with administrators now faced with the task of implementing the strategic plan. “We want our students to succeed and this plan will help us, help them,” said Bob McLuckey, district director of secondary education, who was tapped last year to oversee the formulation of the required Pennsylvania Department of Education document.
The department requires all schools to develop a long-range plan that outlines instruction and technology goals, staff development, special education and teacher induction benchmarks.
For nearly a year a steering committee, comprised of administrators, educators, parents, students and other members of the community met to assess the current status of the district and establish goals for the six-year term of the strategic plan.
“It is a long process,” said McLuckey. “The plan must show in detail how the school intends to incorporate the standards adopted by the (state) department into the curriculum.”
McLuckey added that participation by the community-at-large was commendable.
“(The steering committee) was very devoted to the task,” he said. “There were many meetings, and their dedication to volunteering their time and sharing their expertise allowed us to formulate a plan that will help our students succeed.”
The plan, he said, places student achievement at the center of the goals and strategies. “Because of the emphasis of PSSA (Pennsylvania System of School Assessment) and AYP (Adequate Yearly Progress), we have geared our goals to meet those standards,” said McLuckey. “Higher performances in math and reading are necessary. Science, too, will soon be added to the mix and we must improve our graduation rate.”
The plan targets eight specific areas to assist with the improvement benchmarks, including the restructuring of curriculum at the elementary and secondary levels and at the Connellsville Area Career and Technical Center, staffing modifications and to put in place overseers and committees that will continue to monitor the educational programs.
—
Integrated math: The program, said McLuckey, combines various math categories into a single course.
In most cases, the student takes a single course of math such as Algebra I, II, geometry and trigonometry in junior high or at the senior high level.
However, the PSSA test includes all mathematic categories that can lower scores if the student is not familiar with a particular course.
“In order to prepare the students for the test, the integrated math program would provide units of study in all aspects,” said McLuckey. “There would be some geometry, algebra, numbers and operation, measurement and some probability and statistics (curriculum); it would give the student a dose of all categories of mathematics each year.”
—
Academic coaching positions: The yet to be created math, reading and science coaching positions would allow for three program overseers to assist with the selection of curriculum and staff instruction along with the analysis of PSSA test scores and recommendation of needed changes.
A goal of the reading, math and science coaches, said McLuckey, would be to establish a consistent curriculum at all schools.
—
Local alternative education program: The program addresses the needs of students unable to function in a regular classroom. The district now transports students to Intermediate Unit 1 operated programs outside the district, but McLuckey said a goal of the strategic plan is to have a program within the Connellsville Area School District.
—
Improvements at the Connellsville Area Career and Technical Center: While the district has implemented two new programs at the school, the strategic plan outlines the incorporation of academics for students enrolled at the center that now transfer to the high school to obtain instruction in math, science, social studies and English.
The plan would have academic courses taught at the center.
“We want to get the career and technical center teachers working hand-in-hand with the academic teachers to create a better educational environment,” said McLuckey.
—
Special education inclusion: The federal No Child Left Behind initiative is promoting the mainstreaming of special education students into the regular classroom, whenever possible, said McLuckey. The strategic plan allows for educational support for those students transitioning from the special educational classroom to the regular classroom.
“We want all of our students to be successful,” said McLuckey.
—
Mandated advisory committees: The committees, comprised of representatives of all grade levels, will assess the district’s educational process and make recommendations for any needed improvements for compliance with the four performance goals – graduation, mathematics, reading and science – set by the Pennsylvania Department of Education.
—
School readiness and transitions recommendations: District statistics indicate that many students are not ready to be promoted from kindergarten to first grade, sixth to seventh grade and ninth to tenth grade, said McLuckey.
The strategic plan recommends the assessment of youngsters preparing to enter kindergarten to determine if they have the necessary skills to enter school and offer a summer program if the student has not acquired the required skills. The guidance counselors will develop plans to assist those transitioning from the elementary to junior high level and junior high to senior high level.
—
Courses rewritten in a new format: In order to meet the benchmarks set by the state department of education and reach its own goals, said McLuckey, the district will restructure the curriculum that will establish when certain courses are taught in the classroom.
“We want to get everyone on the same page,” said McLuckey.
The next step, said McLuckey is to have an advisory committee named so that it can begin assessing any trouble areas and make recommendations for improvement.
“I hope to see a lot of things get moving,” he said. “We can’t waste any time.”