The Salisbury Township School District school board held its monthly curriculum and technology committee meeting virtually via Zoom April 27.

Three students from Western Salisbury Elementary School were asked to provide a presentation for the board members, staff and community watching the meeting online. Their presentation was on leadership notebooks, which are used in both elementary schools in the district and which were shared with parents and guardians during student-led conferences this spring.

Student Tessa Kemmerer opened by giving details on what leadership notebooks are: a place to write school, class and personal mission statements, to document student successes and for recording Wildly Important Goals, or WIGS. These focus areas also align with the Leader in Me program implemented in district schools for over seven years.

Student Emily Lewis showed her notebook, which included her learning preferences and goals, and she sang the “7 Habit” song, which helps children remember each of the behaviors that are pillars of the program.

Finally, student Connor Simmons proudly shared his notebook, which included milestones such as counting to 100, knowing sight words and things he enjoys in school such as practicing his letters.

After the presentation, Salisbury High School Principal Heather Morningstar talked about the adoption of a new Pennsylvania-developed career-readiness software called Smart Futures. Students in the high school can use the program to develop career portfolios. “It works to help students develop a pathway,” Morningstar said.

To set up their profile, users will take an initial 10-minute questionnaire and then Smart Futures will provide information on career paths based on data related to student preferences. The system also provides a wealth of information on suggested career options such as the types of education needed, foundational skills necessary, related majors to pursue and more.

The Pennsylvania Department of Education will monitor the use of the application in accordance with standards for career-readiness in the state.

Smart Futures is similar to a program used previously, called Career Cruising; however, the newer software offers more options for the price. Students can apply the information in their portfolios in different ways when picking courses or searching for colleges and even when developing resumes for job opportunities while they are still in high school. The program is accessible for the students independently and does not need the supervision of the guidance department.

Director of Teaching and Learning for Salisbury School District Kelly Pauling gave her TL2020 update, focused on the implementation of the continuity of learning plan, which went into effect March 30.

Teachers have been creating organizers linking all learning activities and applicable instruction, focusing mainly on reading and math. The activities are flexible and most consist of optional “can-do” work and “must-do” work, required for assessment by educators.

Teachers are also encouraged to provide optional Zoom meeting sessions for students to provide light instruction, but also to engage in a community activity.

Surveys disseminated by the Salisbury staff found 96 percent of all students have access to the Internet, which is good news in terms of bridging students and staff during distance learning. Also, as of March 20, 95 percent of all technology devices were distributed to district families. There has been an established technology department drop-off and pickup window 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays for students needing repairs, maintenance or troubleshooting with school-owned devices.

Other good news for the district elementary schools was the award of the Farm to School Grant for Harry S Truman Elementary School and WSE.

The amount awarded by the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture was $8,812 and will provide funding to improve access to healthy, local foods and increase agriculture education opportunities for students in kindergarten through fifth grade.

The program aides to bridge the gap between children and the food system by connecting them to fresh, healthy food available from Pennsylvania agricultural producers in the community.

In other updates for the district, the state board of education science standards are under review as of September 2019, specifically in the areas of science and technology and environment and ecology. The focus has been on the alignment of current science standards to Next Generation Science Standards, which consolidates benchmarks and places an emphasis on big ideas, rather than an abundance of discrete knowledge.

In other business, Director of Special Education Dr. Tracey Jacobi said all special education teachers and related services are providing online instruction to their students and IEP meetings are being conducted through Zoom sessions with parents. In addition, educators are continuing their professional development through trainings offered by the Carbon Lehigh Intermediate Unit 21 and various other Webinars.

In closing, board member Carol Klinger remarked, “Our buildings look empty, but there is a lot of work going on - a lot more going on than people are aware of. Everyone is working hard, probably harder than they do on a normal basis”

The next curriculum and technology meeting will take place May 18 via Zoom.