Earlier this month, parents and a few students made their way into the auditorium of Salisbury High School for a parent scheduling night.

The event provided parents with an overview of scheduling options for the 2016-2017 school year.

In the hallway entrance, a table of informational pamphlets for Lehigh Career and Technical Institute was manned by Colleen Fahey, a Career Pathway advisor for the school. Mac Nagle, a graduate of LCTI, assisted, and both spoke with incoming attendees who sought to learn about the schools’ offerings.

LCTI provides courses in many fields including culinary arts, business and communication technology and cosmetology.

As the crowd funneled into the auditorium entrance, handouts for SHS mathematical course sequencing and instructions for course requests were made available.

Heather Morningstar, high school principal, opened the presentation by welcoming the audience of approximately 60 people.

Fahey explained the benefits of students attending Lehigh Career and Technical Institute.

“Students can come to LCTI their senior year of high school. They can still get a taste for their career.”

Nagle who graduated from LCTI with a certificate in electrical technology, told of how he was contacted by his present employer, Lutron, while in his senior year at LCTI.

Next, a series of abbreviated presentations were given by staff members of SHS about the scheduling process.

Lee Ann Kriner, one of the three guidance counselors at SHS explained the use of block scheduling at the high school.

“We like the idea of a block scheduling. We’ve been doing this for about four or five years,” Kriner said.

Block scheduling allows students to have fewer classes per day with each class meeting for 80 minutes. Students then have a different set of classes the following day.

Shannon Stokes, guidance counselor for the Virtual Academy Salisbury Township program and coordinator for the dual enrollment program at SHS, touched on both programs.

VAST is the district’s online program for students who choose to complete their schooling from home at their own pace.

Dual enrollment enables students to earn college credit while still attending high school. Students enroll in college courses taught at SHS by high school faculty.

Mike Anderson, guidance counselor, explained how to review courses on the district’s community web portal. Anderson explained the importance of parents having access to this online tool to review student grades and to submit course requests.

Academic department staff gave overviews of courses available for the upcoming school year. The teacher representatives included Kelly Butterbaugh – English; Angela Xander – math; Jennifer Brinson – social studies; Megan Basile – science; Holly Borthwick, business/informational technology and family and consumer sciences, Rachael Reinecke – arts and humanities, Laura Dos Santos – world languages and Kyle Grim – health / physical education.

Teachers representing each course reviewed scheduling options for the upcoming school year. Butterbaugh, a teacher for the English department said a new elective called, “Film and Fiction.” will be available. Xander referenced the SHS mathematic course sequencing handout, which included criteria for grades nine through 12.

Beginning Feb. 22, incoming eighth graders will meet with guidance counselors to discuss upcoming classes for August through January, 2017 semester.

After the presentation, teachers were available in assigned classrooms for parents needing additional information.

For more information, visit http://www.stsd.org/SalisburyHigh and follow the quick link to, “High School Schedules.”