Faculty and administrators discussed the success of the summer programs held throughout the district and changes to the curriculum which are being evaluated by staff, during the curriculum and technology committee meeting held Sept. 25.

“We didn’t get many students in attendance for the library program,” Assistant Superintendent for Teaching and Learning Dr. Lynn Fuini-Hetten said.

“I don’t think children are attending libraries at all very much anymore,” Director Audrey Frick said.

While the library program had limited interest by the students at Salisbury, the faculty agreed the e-book program has been very well received.

Zachary Brem, principal of the Harry S Truman Elementary School, said the two week summer camp held at the school was successful.

Thirty-three students from first through fifth grade attended the Title I program designed to assist in prevention of learning regression that can occur over the summer months.

The educational tools used for the program included Storytown for reading, Envisions for mathematics as well as other supplemental materials provided by the staff.

Fourteen students took advantage of the one week Title I non-fiction reading program held at Salisbury Middle School, according to Principal Ken Parliman. The reading was based on the current happenings at the DaVinci Center and included a trip to the center for a hands-on experience.

Seventh grade social studies teacher Matthew Tobias led the inaugural STEM based Camp Invention program at SMS. The fee-based course allowed students to use their creativity and intellect to build projects, including the creation of a mini robot, using their skills in technology.

HST held Camp Jump Start for students in kindergarten through fifth grades who had special education services through the school year at HST and Western Salisbury Elementary School. The camp included reading, writing and math and was created to prepare students for the upcoming school year.

“Have we ever considered opening up these programs for other students at the elementary level,” Director Joseph Gnall asked.

“Securing staff to keep it in line with the student to staff ratio for required Title I support may pose a challenge if we open the programs to additional students,” Ross Cooper, supervisor of instructional practice, said.

Fuini-Hetten said the popular Camp Invention was paid for by the students and other camps created over the years for the middle school students had not been as successful; however, Fuini-Hetten added it might be prudent to “explore other opportunities for the elementary school level children.”

Through 29 sessions over the course of the summer, administrators and faculty explored classroom learning practices to, according to Cooper, “enhance what the district is already doing.”

The sessions included analytical reading, writing, curricular and non-curricular workshops as well as place-based education.

Place-based education, according to Fuini-Hetten is “learning outside of the walls of the classroom” and would include any environment conducive to developing academically through enrichment.

Fuini-Hetten said 300 education professionals in the area recently attended the two day Eastern Pennsylvania Education Summit to share ideas, discuss challenges and the evolution of education in the upcoming years.

To determine what comes next, the district is evaluating current data, Pennsylvania System of School Assessment, Keystone and STAR test results, a stakeholder survey, teacher feedback and other assessment systems and how to use this knowledge going forward.

At the elementary level, faculty members attended professional development training for the Wilson Language Fundations program. The faculty and administrators are also examining math pacing, or the sequence of the lessons being taught in the math programs and are making changes to make lessons in mathematics more efficient, according to WSE Principal Dr. Grace Hartman.

Concerning writing skills, Brem said “Our focus this year will be on the conferencing portion of the writing workshops and the time that is spent with the student and teacher either individually or in small groups.” The district will be using the Fountas and Pinnell assessment system which focuses on the specific reading levels for each student.

SMS faculty is joining the efforts of the elementary schools as members of the faculty are taking advantage of a grant for reading and writing workshops. The school is also exploring its math and science programs and determining how to increase student interest in those fields.

Parliman said the choice of electives for the students is being discussed at the middle school level and the students will be given the opportunity to voice their opinion of elective choices through a survey.

Grading practices at SMS are being evaluated and faculty members will undergo training for the grading system. Parliman said the school will be utilizing Ken O’Connor’s program, “Fifteen Fixes for Broken Grades” as a guide.

“At the level of the high school, we are focusing on the ‘Profile of a Graduate’ and the ‘four Cs’ of education; critical thinking, communication, collaboration and creativity, which is significantly different at this level, as it is from discipline to discipline,” Salisbury High School Principal Heather Morningstar said. The school, continued Morningstar is “data rich and analysis poor” and will be examining “building a data proficiency model” to determine how to use the information efficiently.

As a result of a survey developed by Tracey Jacobi, director of special education, and Mike Vacaro, supervisor of special education, sent over the summer to Salisbury district teachers, more training pertaining to the required timelines for special education students will be offered to members of the faculty.

Jacobi and her staff are also examining the transfer procedures and transitional stages of special education students in the classroom and after graduation. The staff will review practices each month at the individual schools in the district and meet twice during the school year to review case files from beginning to end as they pertain to compliance and practices.

Jacobi and two other faculty members attended a “Gifted Boot Camp” at Capital Area Intermediate Unit and, according to Jacobi learned a great deal about gifted individualized education program writing for students. Jacobi said all of the gifted program faculty members have been invited to attend the second boot camp to study compliance skills.

Cooper said all information presented in the meeting by the faculty, as well as a great deal of helpful information including literature, videos, links to education resources, books, faculty information, learning skills and many other subjects are available to faculty and administrators through the yoursalisbury hub, wordpress.com.

A newsletter site called SMORE will also send out resources to faculty and administrators once a month. The information on the site will assist Salisbury’s educational mission moving forward. Some of the information will be sent out on social media for parents and students.

Concerning Teaching and Learning 2020, Fuini-Hetten said 1,752 laptops were configured and distributed to faculty and students. Apple iPads were given to instructional assistants.

During the first session of Leading Your Salisbury, teachers and administrators focused on Salisbury’s learning beliefs and the profile of the graduate, according to Fuini-Hetten. Personal goals and team actionplans will be created during the year to help build an understanding of Salisbury’s vision, the four Cs, learning beliefs and will “shift what our classrooms look like.”

Each of the administrators is working on a “passion” or “action” project to try to “remove some of the barriers from our system and personalize a learning-centered environment,” Fuini-Hetten said.

Superintendent Dr. Randy Ziegenfuss added Salisbury’s Podcast is available and 13 episodes are currently online. New podcasts are posted every two weeks.

“The podcasts are giving us national exposure,” Fuini-Hetten said, allowing other districts around the county to implement some of Salisbury’s practices.

A mandatory orientation session was held at the beginning of the school year for Virtual Academy Salisbury Township students. Cooper said the district continues to evaluate the rules and requirements in VAST and has eliminated rolling enrollment in the program. Thirteen students are currently enrolled in the system at a cost of approximately $3,500 per student.

In response to the “I Love Education” initiative taking place across the country, the administrators have developed a resolution to advocate for the students and public education in general, Ziegenfuss said. The initial draft presented at the meeting is to be reviewed by the board and changes will be considered prior to the final version.

The committee noted the next curriculum meeting will be held Oct. 30 at the Lehigh Carbon Community College campus.