SMETHPORT — Penn Colleges’ dual enrollment program in partnership with the Seneca Highlands Career and Technical Center in Port Allegany is paying big dividends for the students in several ways.
In an academic year-end report to the Intermediate Unit 9 directors Monday — IU9 administers the CTC — James Young, CTC director, said that during the 2018-19 school year students not only earned college credits, but saved $35,712 at the 2018-19 tuition rate.
Twenty-four students, representing seven of the center’s 10 participating districts, were enrolled in the courses of information, technology and society, heavy duty brake systems and sanitation, earning 64 total credits.
“Our students’ grades show they can be successful at the college level when they graduate with a college grade point average,” Young said. “For example, most two- and four-year colleges require information, technology and society.”
In board personnel matters, the IU directors, acting on the recommendation of the St. Marys Area School District, approved the appointment of Kathryn Blake as their representative to the IU9 board. She will serve for a term of three years from July 1, 2019, to June 30, 2022.
Meanwhile, there is still a vacancy on the board after the Oswayo Valley School Board accepted the resignation of Kimberly Voorhees from this post. She remains an OV school director.
Among the successful votes on financial matters was one with estimated expenditures and revenues for the IU to provide Act 89 auxiliary services, such as remedial reading and math, enrichment and standardized testing services to the non-public schools in McKean, Cameron, Elk and Potter counties.
The directors approved a contract with The Guidance Center, which will provide year-round services to pregnant and parenting teens through the IU9 ELECT program grant from the Departments of Education and Human Services from July 1, 2019, through June 30, 202, with total expenses not to exceed $259,765 for 2019-20.
Beginning Aug. 1, IU9 has implemented the SwiftMD telemedicine service for all employees. This service provides high-quality convenient medical care via the phone or videoconference, 24 hours a day, seven days a week at a fee of $4 per employee per month, thereby reducing claims on the IU9 health coverage, as well as reducing time off for doctor appointments.
Anita Danielson, administrative assistant to the executive director, said, “This service is outside the medical insurance and will keep our costs down since we pay claims. Some of our districts have already have SwiftMD and are seeing savings.”
Danielson also noted that SwiftMD guarantees that IU9 will at least break even on an annual cost of the program.
Directors also unanimously OK’d an agreement with the Commonwealth Charter Academy Charter School beginning Sept. 1, 2019, through Aug. 31, 2020, through which an IU9 occupational therapist will provide OT services to the Pa Virtual Charter School at a rate of $90 per hour.
In a related matter, Thomas Kerek, the Kane Area School District’s IU9 representative and rural school advocate, noted how cyber charter schools are draining more than $1 billion annually from public schools with no oversight.
He urged members of the districts’ respective Pennsylvania School Boards Association’s Legislative Action Committees to keep state lawmakers informed about educational issues.
