Superintendent’s Report
July 14, 2011
Vacations:
As is typical for others during the summer months, our administrators have been taking advantage of somewhat quieter times to get away on vacation. Every administrator and many of our year-round support staff have taken some time already this summer. When Darcy, Lisa, or I are away, we remain in touch and available through phone and e-mail.
Summer Work:
Craig Cope and Robert Sweitzer are keeping their crews very busy with the on-going grounds work, traditional summer cleaning, and a massive move of teachers at all levels but especially at the elementary level. They continue to marvel at how much ‘stuff’ elementary teachers have.
Lisa Brown has several teachers working on summer curriculum development, especially at the HS level and preparing courses for cyber students that closely match the content and standards taught in more traditional classes. There are also a myriad of professional development offerings including many technology and literacy sessions. These are taught by our own teacher-leaders. Each teacher is to select the equivalent of 2 days worth of sessions (12 hours) but many are choosing to take well beyond that. The data teams from last school year have already met to review recent PSSA results. The results will be weighed against the goals the teams developed during the past school year and revised or enhanced as the data indicates would be appropriate.
Induction:
There will be a small group of less than a half dozen new hires, but we will provide an Induction training week for our new teacher hires August 15-18. This year it will be under Lisa Brown’s direction with support from many of our administrators. Since the Induction Plan is part of our PDE approved Strategic Plan, the offerings will be similar to that of the past but it will again be revised based on feedback from past participants.
BlendedSchools Academy:
KK Knudsen, some principals, and I continue to work with parents and families who are interested our own cyber, BlendedSchools Academy. We are confident that we have an excellent program for parents that prefer a cyber environment for they children, hold high academic expectations, and would like a Palmyra diploma. The blend of cyber and bricks-and-mortar classes also holds appeal for those who want and need the unique experience.
Lingle Avenue Elementary School:
Finishing touches are being made at Lingle. We are on schedule to take possession in time to move in and be ready for school to open in late August. Mr. Dick Brown has helped by donating seeds as well as planting time for a natural meadow and the retention basins. The Dedication Ceremony is being planned for Thursday, August 25. The tentative agenda includes:
o 1:45-2:45 - Regular Open House for Lingle students & parents
o 3:30-5:00 - Public open house with self-guided tours
o 5:00 - Short Dedication Ceremony
o Continued public open house until 6:00 PM.
Welcome Back:
It seems incredible but we already planning for our back-to-school staff days on August 23, 24, & 25. Our welcome back breakfast will be August 23 followed by in-service sessions and faculty meetings. August 24 is a teacher workday and August 25 is for grade level or department meetings and open houses for excited students and parents. Board members are invited to join all staff members for the breakfast on August 23 in the HS Café.
