Children from the Bradford Area School District may not want to hear that classes will start back Aug. 29, but their parents and guardians will likely be jubilant that the 2017-18 school year is finally around the corner.
At Monday’s board meeting, Superintendent Katharine Pude announced several back-to-school activities, and welcomed several new teachers approved by the board.
“It’s so hard to believe that school begins in two weeks,” Pude said. “Our Back-To-School Rally (for students) is scheduled for Saturday, Aug. 26, from 10 a.m. to noon at Parkway Field.”
She said sixth- and ninth-graders, and elementary students will report to classes at the usual time. Seventh- and eighth-graders and 10th, 11th and 12th-grade students, however, will have a three-hour delay for the start of their classes.
Pude said the administrative team will welcome back faculty and staff at 8 a.m. Aug. 25, which will include introducing new staff and covering new information, followed by the teachers’ participation in individual professional development.
New teachers approved by the school board are Samantha Behan, elementary teacher at George G. Blaisdell Elementary School, at bachelor step 1 salary of $40,538; Tiffany Campbell, elementary teacher at Blaisdell Elementary, at a bachelor step 1 salary of $40,538; Merinda Lawrence, elementary teacher at School Street Elementary School, at a bachelor step 1 salary of $40,538; Erikka Henretta, special education teacher at School Street, at a bachelor step 1 salary of $40,538; and Stephen Joblon, math teacher at the high school, at a bachelor step 1 salary of $42,088. Also approved was Lynette Eschrich, a 205-day secretary at the high school.
Resignations were accepted for teachers Barbara Kelly, enrichment teacher at the high school and Floyd C. Fretz Middle School, after four years of service; Brittany Parrett, third-grade teacher at School Street, after seven years of service; Brianna Huff, autistic support teacher at School Street, after three years of service; Mindy Stormer, third-grade teacher at School Street, after eight years service; and Misty Antonioli, math teacher at the high school after six years of service.
The board also accepted the resignation for the purpose of retirement of Ann Colestro, bus driver, after 27 years of service.
On another topic regarding the new school year, Pude said the state has published a new consolidated plan for public review, which essentially has a goal to lessen the impact of standardized testing.
Pude said Gov. Tom Wolf and Pedro Rivera, secretary of education, have announced that every grade level will see a decrease in testing time by 20 percent this spring, “while maintaining the breadth and depth of grade level standards in the shortened assessment.”
“This was done in response to the parental and educator push to decrease the amount of the school year spent on state assessments,” Pude explained.
In other matters, Pude said she was given “heartbreaking news” by Futures Rehabilitation Center that district students with extreme intellectual disabilities will no longer be accepted at the workshop to learn work skills. The two entities had partnered on the project to help the students the past 50 years.
“Because of new federal regulations, we are no longer allowed to contract with Futures to provide this service because they are unable to pay our students minimum wage” for doing jobs that include piece-work for Zippo Manufacturing Co., Pude said.
“The premise of the law is that these students need to be integrated into community jobs instead of in structured workshops,” she added. “We will search for alternate ways to meet the needs of these students.”
On a final note, Pude and Paul Ridley, board president, thanked the summer staff, as well as the maintenance staff, custodians, technology department and secretaries who worked on schedules, for their hard work the past three months.
“We appreciate all the work done behind the scenes” in preparation for the upcoming school year, Ridley said of the staff.
