Whitehall-Coplay School Board held committee meetings on education/student activities, operations/transportation and finance/personnel Nov. 14.

During the education/student activities meeting, Director of Teaching and Learning Renee Sallit discussed the Kutztown University reading internship program. Sallit was contacted by Kutztown about a program that partners student teachers, who will be enrolling in a master’s program for reading specialists, with local districts.

The student teachers will graduate in May 2023 with their teaching certifications and will begin the master’s program in the summer.

“If we would choose to partner with them, we would essentially hire these people to come in to work with our students,” Sallit said.

Students would intern Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays and could serve as day-to-day subs Mondays and Fridays if needed. According to Sallit, program participants will be able to assess students and participate in data meetings and will already be trained in some of the interventions currently in use in the Whitehall-Coplay School District. Sallit said the district is hoping to have one student at each elementary building.

The students will be required to do a three-week clinic with a few WCSD students between June and July. They must attend professional development days, faculty meetings and Title I nights. The students can co-teach with reading specialists or other teachers.

Sallit said the training they receive while working is “like an on-the-job interview.”

She added the program is highly recommended by Parkland, Oley Valley and Brandywine Heights Area school districts, which have partnered with Kutztown for the past three years. Sallit said Parkland hired six out of its seven interns.

Supervisors from Kutztown would come in to do evaluations and would only need to meet with principals two to three times a year for feedback.

If the internship program receives board approval, WCSD administrators will be able to select candidates who would start during the winter of 2023. WCSD would pay a fee directly to Kutztown for the internship program, and the district would pay interns if they substituted.

In other business, Christine Deutsch, supervisor of special education K-5, discussed the district’s partnership with Pennsylvania Training and Technical Assistance Network’s (PaTTAN) autism initiative.

Deutsch said there is a Multiple Disabilities Support behavioral classroom at Gockley Elementary this year that has been accepted into the initiative. She said current statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show one in 44 children has autism.

According to Deutsch, educational consultants from PaTTAN come in and provide on-site training and coaching for staff 10 hours each month and spend four hours a month doing on-site consultations. There is oversight provided by board-certified behavioral analysts.

PaTTAN also provides a progress assessment tool - VP MAPP - along with other materials and resources. Deutsch said there are 871 classrooms across the commonwealth that have been accepted into the autism initiative. In the beginning of the year, an initial site review is done to determine a baseline, and a final review is completed at the end of the year to see if and how often progress is being made.

In other business, Dr. Brian Deegan will be replacing Dr. Nicholas Tatalias as school physician. St. Luke’s University Health Network and Fox Rothschild LLP reviewed the new agreement, which will be moved forward for board approval.

Also during the meeting, the board reviewed a request to approve the June 5, 2023, graduation date at PPL Center in Allentown and decided to move it to the next board meeting’s agenda for approval.

During the finance committee meeting, Pennsylvania School District Liquid Asset Fund Senior Vice President and Senior Relations Manager Michael Stramara discussed the current investment market and cash flow management. Stramara said nonprofit PSDLAF tailors its financial services to each individual school district and tries to work with administrations to develop a cash flow for each school. Stramara discussed investments and said, for the district, treasuries seem to be the most sensible at this time.

There was an update provided on the Whitehall Township tax collection contract. WCSD’s solicitor notified the township tax office an agreement was needed by Nov. 30. A revised version from the tax office was received Oct. 31, and it was reviewed and sent back. A discussion was held with the township solicitor, and a final version was received hours before the board meeting.

The final version will be reviewed, and it will be shown to the board during the finance committee meeting Dec. 5.

During the operations/transportation meeting, the board proposed the 2023 adoption of rules and dates for board and committee meetings.

The education/student activities, operations/transportation and finance/personnel committee meetings will still be held the second Monday of each month, unless otherwise listed, beginning 4 p.m. and rotating monthly. Board meetings will be held the fourth Monday of each month, unless otherwise listed, beginning 7 p.m.

The proposed 2023 committee meeting dates are Jan. 9, Feb. 13, March 13, April 10, May 8, June 12, Aug. 14, Sept. 11, Oct. 9 and Nov. 13.

The proposed board meeting dates for 2023 are Jan. 23, Feb. 27, March 27, April 24, May 22, June 26, July 24, Aug. 28, Sept. 25, Oct. 23 and Nov. 20.

The board’s reorganization meeting will be held 4 p.m. Dec. 5, followed immediately by committee meetings. The next school board meeting will be 7 p.m. Dec. 19, on the third Monday rather than the fourth.