The East Penn school board held its Sept. 13 meeting with attendees both in-person and livestream via the district’s YouTube channel.

During the public comment period, a handful of community members took to the podium to give their opinions on masking in schools; however, commentary this time was much more subdued than during previous meetings.

Superintendent Kristen Campbell gave a district update, saying, “Overall our teachers and staff had a successful start to school.” She mentioned 7,980 students returned to classes this September. She thanked students and parents for minding the mask policies, regardless of disagreements over their implementation.

She informed the board of an FAQ section available on the district website that can provide useful answers about the current health and safety plan. She also reminded attendees about the COVID-19 dashboard maintained by the district, saying it offers family resources specific to COVID-19, data on the current case counts per building as well as an option to receive email notifications about new cases, since the school will not default to sending an alert to the entire district this year.

Campbell also elaborated on contact tracing in East Penn schools. The district follows a protocol when notified of a case that has very specific detailed steps and is based on Pennsylvania Department of Health and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines. The school nurse or principal will reach out to families to walk those in close contact through the process and teachers will communicate with parents about completion of work during a quarantine period.

In the spirit of promoting belonging and appreciation for contributions of student and staff, the East Penn Pride Award program has been created.

According to the district website, the pride award “recognizes the outstanding achievements of the faculty, staff and volunteers of the East Penn School District.” The nominees should “exemplify PRIDE – perseverance, responsibility, integrity, dedication and excellence – while promoting a positive, respectful and supportive learning environment in our East Penn schools.” Individual recipients will be recognized monthly. More information on nominating eligible parties can be found on the district website.

On Oct. 4, the East Penn School District Education Foundation is sponsoring its annual golf outing, proceeds from which will benefit STEM education initiatives.

Several motions were passed Sept. 13, including an updated board policy, payment of bills, use of district facilities and curriculum pertaining to educational conferences. The personnel items also passed unanimously, and of note was the appointment of Thomas Ruhf, formerly of Southern Lehigh, to the position of principal of Eyer Middle School effective Nov. 15 or sooner following the resignation of Dr. Michael P. Kelly. Erin Murphy was appointed interim principal effective Sept. 17.

During discussion of the Pennsylvania Department of Education Emergency Instructional Time Template, members of the board talked about what the provisions would allow for in the event in-person instruction is not feasible for students on a case-by-case basis. Important points were made regarding the importance of reviewing the students’ circumstances individually to allow for the most appropriate combination of distance-learning instruction methods. The distinction was made between this motion and flexible instructional days. The motion was passed unanimously.

The resolution for the 2022 Pennsylvania School Boards Association slate of candidates including David Schapp uncontested for president-elect, Allison Mathis uncontested for vice president, Edward Brown uncontested for east zone representative, Richard Frerichs, William LaCoff and Nathan Mains for multiple PSBA insurance trust trustee positions and Jennifer Davidson, Deana Lancenes, Bethanne Zeigler and Jaime Lynn Zimerofsky for the school board secretaries forum steering committee.

The next regular board meeting will be held 7:30 p.m. Sept. 27.