BOARD NOTES: February 2020

Spring-Ford's Elite Eight

Douglas Reigner, 12th Grade House Principal, recognized the following students on being named as "Finalists" in the 2020 National Merit Scholarship Program:

• Aleena Ataher
• Harish Bayana
• Siddhant Chavan
• Deepak Kejariwal
• Ryan Pierce
• Aryan Singh
• Samuel Thomas
• Nicholas Tufillaro

 

More than 1.5 million juniors in more than 21,000 high schools entered the 2020 National Merit Scholarship Program. The nationwide pool of Semifinalists, representing less than 1% of US high school seniors, includes the highest-scoring entrants in each state. The number of Semifinalists in a state is proportional to the state's percentage of the national total of graduating seniors.

 

Click here to watch the full presentation.

 

Additional presentations included:

• Alexander Cifelli, Director of the Spring-Ford Area High School Spring Musical, and Spring-Ford Area High School Students provided a glimpse of the Spring Musical 42nd Street. Click here to watch the full presentation.
  
• Chief David Boyer, Lieutenant Gwendolyn Phillips, and Officer Terry Heydt provided a presentation on the A.L.I.C.E. Program. Click here to watch the full presentation.

LISTEN ON THE MOVE

TAKE NOTE: COMMITTEE UPDATES

Board Committee Updates

Curriculum and Technology Committee Meeting

The Curriculum and Technology Committee met on February 10, 2020 at 7:30 p.m. in the District Office Conference Room. Dr. Kelly Murray, Director of Curriculum and Instruction, provided updates on new and innovative projects coming out of the Curriculum and Instruction Department including:

• University of Pittsburgh Dual Enrollment: Spring-Ford Area High School students enrolled in French 4 and French 5 now have an opportunity to earn college credits from the University of Pittsburgh. Students enrolled in these Dual Enrollment classes can earn a transcript from the University of Pittsburgh for each course, at the cost of only $75 per credit ($225 per course).
• Social Emotional Learning (SEL) Curriculum Integration: Dr. Murray shared that moving forward SEL Competencies would be embedded within the district curriculum documentation to ensure that explicit skills were being connected, where appropriate, within the curriculum.
• RAMS Virtual Academy Initiative: Dr. Murray shared a proposal with the committee for consideration to investigate a fully integrated Spring-Ford Virtual Academy.
• Social Studies Curriculum Review Update: Mrs. Catie Gardy, Curriculum Supervisor, shared with the committee the K-5 Social Studies Curriculum resource. Note, the Board approved the purchase of the new textbooks and resources for the 2020-2021 school year in the amount of $159,281.47.
• Middle School Marching Band Uniforms: Mrs. Heidi Rochlin, Curriculum Supervisor, shared pictures of the new middle school marching band uniforms and requested that the board approve the purchase of the marching band uniforms. Note, Board approved the purchase of 180 Middle School Marching Band uniforms in the amount of $98,078.25.

 

Mr. Robert Catalano, Director of Technology, presented a review of the Spring-Ford Learning Technology Support plan, which outlined the distribution of devices through 2027.  Within the presentation, Mr. Catalano shared that we are currently on pace and budget to ensure device deployment, which includes the distribution of Chromebooks in the 2020-21 school year for students in grades 9, 11 and 12, resulting in all students in grade 9-12 with a district-issued device. 

 

The next meeting will be March 9, 2020 at 7:30 p.m.

 

Policy Committee Meeting

The Policy Committee met on February 10, 2020 at 6:30 p.m. in the District Office Conference Room. The committee discussed many open policies, reviewed the need to update many current policies, and reviewed new policies moved forward to the board for a First Reading:

• Policy #150 – PROGRAMS: Title I – Comparability of Services
  
• Policy #808 – OPERATIONS: Food Services

 

The Board approved the following policies which are attached:

• Policy #208 – PUPILS: Withdrawal from School
• Policy #225 – PUPILS: Students and the Police
• Policy #705 – PROPERTY: Safety
• Policy #709 – PROPERTY: Building Security
• Policy #911 – COMMUNITY: News Media Relations

 

The next meeting will be March 9, 2020 at 6:30 p.m.

 

 

Community Relations Committee Meeting

The Community Relations Committee met on February 4, 2020 at 7:30 p.m. in the District Office Conference Room. Ms. Erin Crew, Director of Communications, Marketing, and Media, provided a department update including:

• Submissions for the annual Excellence in Communications Contest (winners announced in late-March)
• RAMcast Podcast feedback
• Upcoming Parent Speaker Series screening of Screenages: Next Chapter

 

Mr. Andrew Rothermel, Manager of Communications Media, also provided an extensive update from the Ram Country TV studio including new shows, summer projects, and updated viewer statistics.

 

The committee also discussed changes to the Digital Sign Sponsorship program.

 

 

The Communication Relations Committee reviews the communication needs of the district. The primary outcomes and objectives of the Committee include gathering input through community engagement and committee processes; reviewing communication needs to ensure continuous improvement of district communications; and developing plans to expand productive parent and community involvement.

 

The next meeting will be April 7, 2020 at 7:30 p.m.

 

Finance Committee Meeting

The Finance Committee met on February 11, 2020 at 6:30 p.m. in the District Office Conference Room. Mr. James Fink, CFO, reviewed with the committee the district's liquidity, revenues, expenditures, and assessments. He also provided a Food Service update, noting that the new breakfast program sales are up to about 300 per day, totaling 22,000 since November. In addition, lunch sales are up to roughly 290,000, which is 10,000 more than last year. 

 

Mr. Fink also provided an update for the 2020-2021 Budget. The Preliminary Budget was approved by the Board on January 27, 2020. Since that time, Mr. Fink has been reviewing building budgets and has been working closely with the administration team to finalize needs for the 2020-2021 school year.

 

The next meeting will be March 10, 2020 at 6:30 p.m.

 

Property Committee Meeting

The Property Committee met on January 14, 2020 at 7:30 p.m. in the District Office Conference Room. Mr. Robert Hunter, Director of Planning, Operations and Facilities, gave an update on the High School Expansion Projects and the upcoming Demographic and Enrollment Study. Mr. Hunter will provide an in-depth presentation on the study during the Property Meeting on March 10, 2020. In addition, the committee discussed the Limerick Elementary School Fire Alarm Replacement Project, the Brooke Elementary School Heat Pump Replacement Project, a possible change the current Spring-Ford Area High School cafeteria layout, Governor Wolf's proposed grant funding for lead and asbestos clean-up and a district-wide painting schedule.

 

Chief David Boyer, Coordinator of Safety, Security, and Emergency Preparedness, provided an update on projects and initiatives including:

• The new Digital Radio System rollout
• Pending grant applications
• Glass security tinting
• The door re-numbering project at SFAHS
• Summer training opportunities

 

The next meeting will be March 10, 2020 at 7:30 p.m.

SFASD NEWS AND CALENDAR

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.

SPRING-FORD AREA SCHOOL DISTRICT

View in browser | Unsubscribe