Mar 21, 2011 By Carla Destefano 2 min read

Board directors to be honored for district’s academic improvement

Brownsville Area School Board directors will be honored next week with an award that recognizes academic improvement in the district.

The University of Pittsburgh’s Tri-State Area School Study Council will present the board with the Richard Wynn Distinguished School Board Award Thursday at the Edgewood Country Club in Pittsburgh.

The council works with school districts in Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Ohio to help them carry through a strategic plan that is aimed at boosting testing scores and implementing efficient staff development.

According to Dr. Philip Savini, district superintendent, the council works with about 40 schools, and of those, only two receive the award annually.

“I brought the council in because when I got here, our scores were low and there was no set plan of staff development,” Savini said. “The board had to approve the use of the council because we pay a stipend for their services. The board has been actively involved in realizing our issues, and have approved purchases and funds for staff development training.”

Through the council, coaches worked with district officials to first analyze data of where the district began, then helped develop a strategic plan based on the strength and weaknesses of student performance.

“We revamped our entire curriculum for grades K-12. We also incorporated a staff development plan,” Savini said. “We implemented an entrepreneurship program at the high school, a behavioral management program at all the elementary schools and the student portfolio program, and expanded our cyber program.”

Savini said the award recognizes the students’ academic improvement based on raised scores over the last two years, a feat he feels is a direct result of the council’s guidance.

“In 2010, our scores went up by 8.09 percent and the state’s average was 6.4 percent,” he said.

“In reading, our scores went up by 1.4 percent above the state average in terms of improvement.”

Additionally, Savini said the district has been working with local organizations such as the Workforce Investment Board and Communities in Schools to help realize their academic goals.

“All of these strategies together have enabled us to have a consistent flow of education that is working very well,” he said.