EXCELLENCE
TODAY
FOR TOMORROW
SUPERINTENDENT’S REPORT – October 2007
Calendar Change
Last month we reported with great enthusiasm that we are the proud recipients of a
"Classrooms of the Future" grant in the amount of $431,000. This grant will impact
greatly our instructional program at Penncrest High School and we are eagerly preparing
for the arrival of the new equipment. More importantly, we are looking forward to the
professional development that will be provided for all faculty members in concert with this
grant.
To that end, we have decided to hold a grand Technology Inservice Day on Monday,
December 10. Why this day? Well, we are fortunate that we were able to engage a
nationally respected futurist and technology guru to address our employees. David
Warlick will be our keynote speaker on our "Flip the Switch Day" where we will all
continue our conversations about this year's theme: 2020 Vision in Rose Tree Media.
On December 10, we will host local dignitaries to assist us in "flipping the switch" to begin
our new work with Classrooms of the Future. Also, following the ceremonies, we will host
a student panel, with representatives from all levels in RTM who will instruct us in what
they would like to see in their classrooms as far as technology and the "new literacy" is
concerned. Following lunch, teachers will attend breakout sessions where colleagues will
demonstrate best practices in using technology in the classroom and David Warlick will
present an afternoon workshop specifically for those teachers who will be participants in
this year's Classrooms of the Future program. We are also inviting local districts to send
representatives to enjoy the presentations.
All of this excitement necessitates several calendar changes which we believe will be
well-received by parents. We will no longer have a half day on December 4 or on April 22
as listed on the current calendar. In place of those 2 half days, we will instead take one
full day on Monday, December 10, for teacher inservice. This makes childcare
arrangements easier for parents and is less disruptive in the spring. I apologize for any
inconvenience this change may cause, and we did not make this recommendation lightly.
Formal Board approval of this change will take place at the November meeting but we
want to start to spread the word to all parents and to our school community about our
plans. We will post this information in as many venues as possible in the coming weeks.
We thank you in advance for your understanding. If any parents wish to attend the
morning session on December 10, they are welcome. Please call the Superintendent's
office at 610-627-6002 so we will have a general idea of how many to expect. The
definite schedule will be posted on our website in the near future.
The Education Resource Center
Last month we had a ground breaking ceremony for our Education Resource Center at
Granite Run Mall. A great time was had by all! Students had a chance to don hard hats
and use a mallet to pound huge holes into the dry wall to signify that construction of the
facility has now begun. Even our Board President, Nancy Mackrides and Board Member
Veronica Barbato joined in the fun. We are delighted that this wonderful project is now
fully underway. Our students have begun the school year and are enjoying their specially
designed instruction as they await the completion of the new location. Our timeline now is
that we expect to move in over the winter break and start the New Year in our new digs!
What a great way to begin 2008! For those of you who want to know the location, our
ERC, affectionately nicknamed our "Mall School," will be located on the upper floor, near
Boscov's, across from the greeting card store. We have a generous space of 3500
square feet with a private entrance and Mr. John Guminsky, Manager of Granite Run
Mall, has been extremely supportive of our program and very welcoming. We are looking
forwarding to a mutually beneficial partnership.
Are You An Asset Builder?
On October 10, about one hundred fifty community members attended a very important
meeting during which students shared the results of the survey completed by secondary
students last year. I want to publicly commend all those students who prepared so
diligently, under the leadership of Dana Riker and others from Healthy Communities
Initiative and Rose Tree Media. I was very proud that evening of the candor with which
you spoke in telling us of your concerns and your ideas. We will be sure that we continue
this work in asset building. We videotaped the meeting that evening but have had a few
technology glitches that have prevented us from posting the video as yet. We hope to
have the video posted on our cable channel soon. Also, we will make the Executive
Summary available on our website and make available copies of the full text of the
surveys in our school libraries if any community member would like to read the survey
results in their entirety. I encourage you to get involved and become aware of what our
young folks are telling us.
Communication
As you know, we use our Global Connect phone call system whenever we wish to send a
message to one school or to the entire district. Parents need to make sure that your
school has current phone information for you so that the system information is up-todate. Just so you know, the system does call your home up to 6 times if there is a busy
signal. The system will leave a message on a machine, but of course, parents have to
check the machine! We are able to tell from our computers how many homes answered,
how many homes were "busy," and how many were not answered at all. We then give
the schools the next day a report of those families who were not able to be reached. We
always recommend that parents have a neighbor or friend to touch base with about
important messages should you have concerns. No phone chain system is perfect, and
this model certainly works better than anything we had before. If you know you did not
receive a message, please notify us immediately and we will make certain we check our
files for future message calls.
Beginning November 1, we are going to have the number 610-627-NEWS as our
information number. Though we have had a "hotline" number, no one seems to use it.
We have changed the number to one we hope you will remember. 627-NEWS will be
answered directly in the Superintendent's office. You may leave messages
anonymously. You may speak to someone live to ask any question at all. You may
check out rumors. You may inform us of rumors. This is our way of enhancing
communication with our community. This includes, parents, senior citizens, and
students. If you leave a message we will return your call within 24 hours. We will check
this line over the weekend and on days when school is closed. If we don't have the
answer for you immediately, we will direct you to the person who does. We hope this will
assist all in working with us to enhance open dialogue.