BOARD NOTES: October 2019
National Merit Scholarship Program Recognition
On October 28, the Board of School Directors recognized students who have recently been named as Scholar, Commended and Semifinalists for the 2020 National Merit Scholarship Program.
The Board recognized Katie E. Bogia, on being named as a "Scholar" in the 2019-2020 National Hispanic Recognition Program.
The Board recognized the following 13 students on being named as "Commended Students" in the 2020 National Merit Scholarship Program:
- Aastha Bansal
- Katie E. Bogia
- Gabriella Curry
- Charleston R. Huntington
- Inaya S. Khan
- William J. Marchese
- Kevin P. Mouck
- Abigail E. Peterman
- Sean H. Pham
- Jared M. Pierce
- Rachel J. Rutkowski
- Jenna L. Tumelty
- Victor Wen
The Board recognized the following 8 students on being named as "Semifinalists" in the 2020 National Merit Scholarship Program:
- Aleena I. Ataher
- Harish V. Bayana
- Siddhant S. Chavan
- Deepak Kejariwal
- Ryan N. Pierce
- Aryan Singh
- Samuel S. Thomas
- Nicholas S. Tufillaro
Commended Students
Scholar Student
Semifinalists
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Student Athlete Recognition
The Board recognized Isabel Mejia and Riley Burke, members of the Spring-Ford High School Girls' Tennis Team, for winning the 2019 Pioneer Athletic Conference (PAC) Girls' Tennis Doubles Championship and qualifying for the PIAA District One Girls' Tennis Doubles Tournament.
The Board recognized Caitlyn Krause, a member of the Spring-Ford High School Girls' Tennis Team, for winning the 2019 Pioneer Athletic Conference (PAC) Girls' Singles Championship and qualifying for the PIAA District One Girls' Tennis Tournament.
The Board recognized the Spring-Ford High School Girls' Tennis Team and their coaches, Todd Reagan, Devon Staino, and Karen Canuso for winning the 2019 Pioneer Athletic Conference (PAC) Girls' Tennis Championship.
The Board recognized Nicole Yun, a member of the Spring-Ford High School Girls' Golf Team for winning the 2019 Pioneer Athletic Conference (PAC) Girls' Golf Championship and qualifying for the PIAA District One Girls' Golf Tournament.
The Board recognized the Spring-Ford High School Girls' Golf Team and their coaches, John Brennan and Timothy Hughes for winning the 2019 Pioneer Athletic Conference (PAC) Girls' Golf Championship and qualifying for the PIAA District One Girls' Golf Tournament.
Girls' Golf Team
Girls' Tennis Team
BOARD PRESENTATIONS
AP Capstone Program Presentation
Mrs. Jaclyn Ritter and Mrs. Julie Korchowsky, SFAHS Teachers, and Dr. Patrick Nugent, High School Principal, present an "Update on the AP Capstone Program."
The AP Capstone program aims to empower students by fostering the research, argumentation, and communication skills that are at the core of college readiness and essential for lifelong learning; providing a setting to build on the knowledge and rigorous course work of AP in an interdisciplinary format. AP Capstone offers students a unique opportunity to distinguish themselves to colleges and universities by choosing to challenge themselves academically. AP Capstone consists of two separate courses, AP Seminar and AP Research.
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Opportunities to Earn College Credit Presentation
Dr. Kelly Murray, Director of Curriculum and Instruction, Dr. Patrick Nugent, High School 10-12 Principal, Tricia Benner, College Career Coordinator, presented on "Opportunities to Earn College Credit."
Dual credit enrollment provides junior and senior students with a preview of college level instruction, the opportunity to earn college credit which can be transferred to most colleges and universities, and the chance to take advanced and intellectually challenging courses. Students will be able to use these courses for both college and high school credit. Dual credit classes are semester-based classes that typically meet on an every-other-day basis.
TAKE NOTE: COMMITTEE UPDATES
Board Committee Updates
Curriculum and Technology Committee Meeting
The Curriculum and Technology Committee met on Tuesday, October 1 in the District Office. Dr. Kelly Murray, Director of Curriculum and Instruction, presented an overview of the opportunities within the district for students to earn college credit while in high school. The committee learned there are many opportunities for Spring-Ford students in order to have some credits upon entering college.
Updates were provided by Mrs. Catie Gardy, Curriculum Supervisor, regarding Literacy, Social Studies, and Library updates. Updates included: Kindergarten Fundations and Leveled Literacy Intervention Resources. Updates were provided by Mrs. Heidi Rochlin, Curriculum Supervisor, regarding Math, Science and Music Updates. Updates included: Chief Science Officer, 5th and 6th grade teacher meeting with Instructional Coaches, K-12 Music Book Study & ST Math with fluency added. Discussion regarding fluency included the addition to ST Math and Number Talks.
On the technology side, Mr. Robert Catalano, Director of Technology, informed the committee that digital security is a top priority for his department. His focus is to stay up to date with the trends to keep Spring-Ford secure. Mr. Catalano will be requesting a 3rd party analysis of our security systems. He is also determining if there is a need for an additional back-up of data off-site.
Policy Update
The Policy Committee met on Monday, October 14 at the District Office. Administration provided brief updates on policies 225, 705, 709, and 805. The committee will review these policies again in November. In addition, the Committee decided to place a hold on revising Policy 826 until a need arises or an update from PSBA becomes available.
Administration recommended suspending discussions about policies 705, 705.1, 705.2, and 805 based on a need for more discussion and vetting. The next meeting will be held on Monday, November 11, 2019 in the District Office.
Community Relations Committee Meeting
The Community Relations Committee met on October 14 in the District Office. The committee recommended moving forward with a screening of the movie Screenagers: Next Generation. Information will be sent district-wide in early 2020 with the date and time.
Mr. Andrew Rothermel, Manager of Communications Media, provided an update about RCTV's news programs and current stats. Mr. Rothermel reported that as of October, the YouTube channel has more than 500 subscribers, has live streamed 14 athletic events this year, produced 10 Spotlight Videos, is using a new Mobil WiFi system for streaming, and rolled out two new shows – Staff Connections and Field Trips. He is using data and statistics from YouTube to streamline content and is focusing in on shorter more powerful videos.
Ms. Erin Crew, Director of Communications, Marketing and Media, shared a full list of upcoming events, as well as New in '19 initiatives including a new faculty/staff newsletter called Take 5. The goal of Take 5 is to share district-wide updates, stories and events focusing on faculty/staff, curriculum, technology, and more. The publication provides "just enough" information to consume in five minutes. Ms. Crew also took time over the summer to make some website changes including a newly revamped News and Media page, and make Weekly Updates easier to find online. As the district's webmaster, she is constantly looking to make improvements to the district website.
Finance Committee Meeting
The Finance Committee met on Tuesday, October 8, 2019 in the District Office Conference Room. Mr. Jim Fink, Chief Financial Officer, provided a Food Service Update. As of October 1, all elementary buildings had rolled out their Breakfast Programs and 1,061 breakfasts were served in one week alone. Oaks Elementary School is outperforming the other elementary schools with breakfast service! Grades 5-8 launched breakfast on October 21st, and grades 9-12 will launch on November 4th.
Mr. Fink also provided a draft timeline for the 2020/2021 Budget. Mr. Fink stated it was a Presidential Primary year which then shrinks the budget calendar but will be able to closely follow the same schedule as last year. A presentation of proposed preliminary budget will take place at the work session in November and adoption of budget is projected to occur at the Board meeting in May 2020, as was done last year.
Property Committee Meeting
The Property Committee met on October 8 in the district office. Mr. Robert Hunter, Director of Planning, Operations and Facilities, provided an update on the High School Expansion Project. The committee discussed the District Wide Facilities Condition Assessment project and reviewed data collected from school site visits.
The committee also discussed the need to have an updated Demographic/Enrollment study to support the recently completed Facilities Condition Assessment (FCA). ICS Consulting, who conducted the FCA, provided the District with a proposal to conduct the study which Administration is recommending for Board Approval. The next meeting will be held at the District Office on November 12, 2019.
Legislative Update
Charter Reform: Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) is still seeking public comments on charter school reform. What can you do? Anyone wishing to provide data, information and comment that would be helpful to PDE in preparing proposed rule making should forward this information by November 4, 2019, to the Office of the Secretary, 333 Market Street, 10th Floor, Harrisburg, PA 17126.
Senate Bill 334: This bill greatly restricts the ability of school districts to seek appeals of under-assessed properties, only allowing appeals to be sought under very limited circumstances. By limiting the right to initiate appeals, particularly with large commercial properties, school districts will experience significant losses in revenue, which will have to be addressed by property tax increases. What can you do? Ask your Senator to vote no to SB334.
TAKE NOTE: BOARD UPDATES
Town Hall Meeting Replay
Did you miss the Town Hall Meeting? Click the link below to watch the full meeting online which touched on topics including:
- State of the District Update
- Budget Update
- Vaping
- School Safety Update
- Exploring School Start Times
Save the Date: Ribbon Cutting Celebration
Please join us for a Ribbon Cutting and Tour of the new Corridor, Performing Arts, and Physical Education areas!
WHEN: Saturday, November 16 at 11 a.m.
WHERE: Spring-Ford Area High School, 350 South Lewis Road, Royersford
DETAILS: Guided tours, live music, student artwork, morning snacks and coffee will be offered. Click here to RSVP.
SFASD NEWS AND CALENDAR
QUICK LINKS
SFASD CALENDAR
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The Spring-Ford Area School District affirms that no person shall, on the basis of sex, disability, race, color, age, creed, religion, sexual orientation, national origin, ancestry, veteran's status or genetic information be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination in any educational program or activity. In addition, no person shall, on any of these bases, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination in employment, or recruitment, or consideration, or selection therefore, whether full-time or part-time, under any educational program or activity operated by the school district. The district shall make reasonable accommodations for qualified individuals with disabilities upon request. Please contact the Title IX Coordinator (Director of Human Resources) 857 S. Lewis Road, Royersford, PA, or at 610-705-6000 ext. 6124. Refer to Board Policy No. 103 for further information about the district's Nondiscrimination in Participation, Employment, Contract Practices.
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SPRING-FORD AREA SCHOOL DISTRICT