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:
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:
Welcome to Spring-Ford! The Spring-Ford Board of School Directors would like to welcome the following staff member to the Spring-Ford family:
The Office of Human Resources is dedicated to providing excellent personnel services by assisting the district's schools and departments in hiring and retaining the best qualified applicants. The Office of Human Resources is responsible for all aspects of personnel relations from the time of hire through to retirement or resignation. The department procedures support the implementation of the District's plan of achievement by providing optimal service and support to meet the collective needs of our students, staff and community.
Click here to review and apply to current job opportunities. LISTEN ON THE MOVE Board Table Talk x RAMcast Have you heard? Spring-Ford has a new podcast! RAMcast gives parents, students, and the Spring-Ford community a peek into the everyday happenings at Spring-Ford. Hosts Erin Crew and Andrew Rothermel will introduce you to administrators, teachers, students, parents, and other members of the Spring-Ford community.
This week, hear from Colleen Zasowski, President of the Spring-Ford Board of School Directors, as she provides an update after the February School Board meetings. The RAMcast is available wherever you listen to podcasts! Currently, you can listen to the RAMcast on: 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:
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:
The Board approved the following policies which are attached:
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:
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 next meeting will be March 10, 2020 at 7:30 p.m. SFASD NEWS AND CALENDAR QUICK LINKS SFASD CALENDAR March - 2020
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 |