The Salisbury Township Board of Directors held a curriculum and technology meeting Nov. 13. During the meeting, the board recognized a dedicated teacher, students updated the board on events held in each of the district’s schools and the board heard presentations relating to demographics, instructional programing and Keystone assessment summaries.

Superintendent Lynn Fuini-Hetten started the meeting by recognizing Megan Basile for her 15 years of dedicated service to the district as a coach and adviser. Basile has served the district as chair of the science department, an adviser for Pennsylvania Junior Academy of Science in both middle school and high school, Interact Club and National Honor Society. She also coached basketball.

Fuini-Hetten noted her dedication to student success and her ability to build strong connections with students through her kindness, positivity and empathetic nature.

High school student representatives Phoebe Ballek and Meredith Kelley highlighted the success of the girls field hockey team who, for the first time in 23 years qualified for Colonial League and district championships. The team took home silver.

The football team wrapped up its season as well as the cross-country team who participated in both league and district meets. Runners Gregor Tenzer won the boys MVP award, Lydia Fogel earned the girls MPV award and Riley Nemitz garnered an award for most improved.

In other news, the Salisbury High School Theater Department gave a successful presentation of the play “Our Town” and the debate team competed in the first of two debates and is currently in first place in the Lehigh Valley Interscholastic National Debate Association League.

The Student Government Association is planning the powder puff games which will be held Nov. 22.

Lehigh Career & Technical Institute student representative Joshua Orach reminded board members about the upcoming open house and reported LCTI students were invited to attend a recently held job fair at Lehigh Carbon Community College. Over 80 employers were at the fair and several Salisbury students were in attendance.

Salisbury Middle School student representative Lara Al-bajjali reported sixth grade students recently took a trip to Bake Oven Knob where they hiked to a ledge and used binoculars to identify flight patterns of migrating birds.

Eighth grade students went on the first part of a three-part program at Blue Mountain Ski Resort. Students learned how artificial snow is made on different parts of the mountain. The second part of the program will include learning how to ski or snowboard.

A canned food drive was held in advance of the annual Turkey Trot which will be held Nov. 25. All students will walk or run one mile and will be treated to hot chocolate or apple cider at the conclusion of the event.

Members of student council are busy planning a week of spirit events leading up to winter break including a winter movie day.

Fourth grade student representatives Avery Clauser and Jowell Tineo report students enjoyed a week full of exciting events leading up to the Salisbury Elementary School Color Run which was held Oct. 5.

Other memorable events held in October were fire prevention assemblies, Heavenly Hat Day, a book character parade and a kindergarten field trip to Valley Fruits and Veggies to pick pumpkins and visit the farm.

On Nov. 11 students saluted veterans on Veterans Day with breakfast. Veterans lined the walkway to school to greet students on the way into school and were invited to read books to students in classrooms.

Students also noted parent/teacher conferences will begin Nov. 21.

Assistant Superintendent Kelly Pauling gave an in depth presentation on a demographic summary based on the Oct. 1 child count and comparing data from 2017-2018 school through 2023-2024 school year.

This data is gathered and used to comply with Pennsylvania Department of Education requirements. It is also helpful to the district when applying for grants and as a way to assess programing needs for students.

Data is compiled in the areas of ethnicity, economically disadvantaged, English language learners, special education and gifted, student mobility, charter/cyber school enrollment, home-school enrollment and current enrollment by grade level.

Some noticeable trends include an increase in the economically disadvantaged category which resulted in the district qualifying for free breakfast and lunch for all students.

Administrators are also able to see changes in enrollment at cyber/charter schools which in 2023-2024 stands at 8.9%. Enrollment in charter schools has fluctuated over the years but has exhibited a propensity toward increasing numbers. Administrators have been reaching out to families to ascertain the reasons they chose these alternatives to attending Salisbury schools, making sure families know what our district has to offer and how the district can support them if it is necessary.

SHS Principal Heather Morningstar presented a Keystone Assessment Summary which, at the high school level, are end of course assessments that take the place of Pennsylvania State System of Assessment and is one component of graduation requirements.

Keystone assessments are given in three areas namely Mathematics/Algebra, Biology and Science and consist of two modules which can be taken multiple times until the end of a student’s junior year.

Morningstar’s data analysis presentation showed mathematics scores increased considerably, biology scores decreased and scores on the literature assessments remained about the same.

When examining academic growth scores generated through The Pennsylvania Value-Added Assessment System, it shows that even though students may not be achieving proficiency at state level thresholds students are making multiple years growth in one year. In other words, when you measure test scores using a growth model a tremendous amount of learning is taking place.

Another test the district has been administering to all 10th grade students over the past two years is the Armed Service Vocational Aptitude Battery Test. This battery of tests measures developed abilities and predicts future academic and occupational success in the military.

If students score above 31 on the test they can satisfy a graduation pathway making retaking any components of the Keystone test not proficient unnecessary which affects how the school as a whole meets state benchmarks. In the past, 43% of students scored 31 or above on the ASVAB test.

Morningstar summarized the strengths of the district as 98% of students met career standards benchmarks, attendance rates exceed statewide averages, English Language Arts and Biology scores meet or exceed statewide growth standards and math proficiency has increased 14% in one year.

In terms of areas of weaknesses the district has had more parents opting students out of taking Keystone tests than in any other year and graduation pathways have led to a decrease in motivation for students to pursue proficiency on Keystones which negatively affects the school’s overall performance.

Other areas of concern are inconsistent subgroup scores, lower proficiency rates in both biology and literature as well as a graduation rate that is not as high as administrators would like to see. Due to the small sizes of the graduating classes, if a few students do not graduate on time it has a significant effect on graduation rates.

In terms of next steps, the high school has implemented a new Foundations of Algebra class for students who are lacking algebra preparedness skills. Administration anticipates students will have a better understanding of Algebra which will in turn have a positive impact on Algebra test scores.

The English department frequently evaluates data to understand what subtests students may need more help with and they work closely with their counterparts in middle school to analyze students’ scores to see if there is a correlation between PSSA performance and Keystone performance.

In the area of science, there are soon to be changes in the curriculum in response to new science standards being adopted by the state resulting in the creation of new assessments in the near future. Labs in remediation are offered to boost scores in biology but motivating students to retake tests when they have already completed a pathway to graduation is proving to be difficult.

During the teaching and learning update portion of the meeting, Pauling reported SES held two parent engagement nights; the first was held to assist families who would like to volunteer in classrooms with the necessary paperwork to obtain their clearances.

First grade teachers Dara Ackerman and Heather Cumello led an information session for parents about the new UFLI phonics curriculum they are piloting. Approximately 12 families participated and learned how they can help their children with phonics skills at home.

Pauling also reported the comprehensive planning process is continuing. Gifted education was a recent topic of discussion and the next discussion scheduled for November will center around student achievement.

A comprehensive list of the district’s technology applications was shared with the board; many of these resources are paid for through grant money and some are free. ESL teachers are requesting the use of two new technology resources. The first application, NewsELA offers students better access to content area text by providing the flexibility of selecting text at an appropriate level of readability for each student. The second application, AMIRA is an AI generated support tool in the areas of phonics and fluency. A request was also made to pilot Math180 to boost math skills.

The middle school is currently in the midst of a comprehensive support plan with PaTTAN to improve math support. The team met with facilitators to identify strategies to provide intervention support with the current structure and design and implement a multitiered system of support for all students.

Shifting gears to family and consumer science, a commercial embroidery machine has recently been purchased at the request of teacher Holly Borthwick. The machine will be utilized in class as well as the Sewing for Charity Club and students are excited to take their sewing skills to the next level as they learn how to use embroidery to customize their projects.

A new program entitled Golf in Schools will be piloted in third grade. The curriculum was developed by PGA professionals and is designed to teach the fundamental skills of golf as well as the mental and physical benefits of the game. All equipment for the program will be loaned to the district.

Fourth grade instrumental music lessons have been added to the school day for interested students with $3,500 in funding provided by the Salisbury Education Foundation and the Music Booster Club. Presently, 47 students have signed up for the program.

A reorganization meeting, operations/finance committee meeting and a regular school board meeting will be held 7 p.m. Dec. 4 in the administration building, 1140 Salisbury Road, Allentown.