The Salisbury Township Board of Directors held a curriculum and technology committee meeting Jan. 22 where they honored the first of three Alumni Wall of Fame recipients and received student reports, a teaching and learning update and a presentation on the summary of changes to the 2025-2026 program of studies.

District Superintendent Lynn Fuini-Hetten began the meeting by announcing the 2024 Salisbury Township Alumni Wall of Honor recipient Benjamin Pascal.

Recipients of this award must be a Salisbury graduate who has demonstrated a commitment to learning, is accomplished in their chosen field and has had a positive impact on the community through volunteerism and/or service to others.

Pascal, a 1999 graduate is the co-founder and chief business officer of Invisible Sentinel, a BioMérieu Company noted for developing advanced molecular tests that support the safety of the food and beverage industry worldwide. He has been named to the Philadelphia Business Journal’s 40 Under 40, lectures at Lehigh University and has had several articles published in The Morning Call, Philadelphia Inquirer and The New York Times. He also serves on the board of the Myrtle Siegried, MD and Michael Vigilante, MD Memorial Scholarship Fund.

Pascal, who has moved his family back to Salisbury, credited his dad Dr. Joseph Pascal for guiding him on the path to science. He reminisced about several Salisbury teachers who fostered his love of science and challenged him on the way including Mr. Good, Mr. Hilaire, Mrs. Smith and Mr. Maciag.

Salisbury High School students Claire Nichols and Soledad Lausch gave the highlights of the many events taking place at the high school starting with sports. The swim team recently held its senior night and the seasons for both boys and girls basketball teams are in full swing.

Michael Barna and his first place debate team are scheduled to host a debate Jan. 28. Students will have the opportunity to tune in during Falcon period to watch the debate unfold.

Rehearsals for the spring musical “The Hello Girls” have begun. The show will run March 13-16.

The baseball team will host the third annual cash bingo 1 p.m. Feb. 2 in the Salisbury Middle School cafeteria. Tickets are discounted in advance and there will be a basket raffle, pull tabs and a 50/50 drawing during the event.

The Class of 2027 will have a bake sale during the Jan. 29 boys basketball game. Additionally, they are selling Gertrude Hawk candy bars to raise money for the sophomore class.

In appreciation for all their hard work, the Student Government Association presented board members with a card and plants in honor of Board of School Directors’ Recognition month.

SMS students Kaelyn Beers and Brinlee Neitz reported winter sports are wrapping up their season while spring sports are gearing up for the start of the season.

The ski club has started weekly trips to Blue Mountain Ski Resort and will continue to ski every Wednesday over the next five weeks.

On Feb. 13, all eighth grade students will have the opportunity to take a field trip to Blue Mountain to learn to ski or snowboard.

Upcoming events middle school students are looking forward to include the Feb. 21 Interact Club sponsored winter semiformal and themed spirit days every Wednesday.

Board members were each presented with an appreciation gift.

Salisbury Elementary School students Logan Hoffman and Cyrus Mitchell recounted all the fun events students enjoyed before the winter break such as the PTO holiday shop, winter concerts, spirit week, classroom movies and celebrations.

This month students sported their finest blue and white Jan. 14 to celebrate Falcon Pride Day and on Jan. 21, students had the opportunity to take part in one of 16 different PTO after school clubs.

Not to be outdone, SES students brought the swag! Gift bags, cards and the newest SES T-shirts were given to each board member to show their appreciation for a job well done.

SHS president of the Sewing for Charity Club, Cameron Kubinsky was next up to express his appreciation on behalf of the club “for all the board does for our school district, our education and our futures.” He then presented members with custom embroidered tote bags created by club members.

He also took the time to recognize Assistant Superintendent Kelly Pauling for all she has done to help procure a grant to purchase a top- of-the-line embroidery machine for the sewing department. The new equipment has opened up a myriad entrepreneurial opportunities for the club and with guidance from Holly Borthwick and other teachers’ students will be able to expand its use in the areas of family and consumer science, business and marketing.

Rounding out the evening’s theme of honor and appreciation, Director Sarah Nemitz was recognized for her five years of service to the Pennsylvania School Boards Association. Fuini-Hetten presented her with a certificate to the 2024 PSBA Honor Roll Service Program.

The summary of changes to the 2025-2026 program was the next item on the agenda which was presented by SHS Assistant Principal Jane Brennan and Principal Heather Morningstar. She noted Advanced Placement Psychology and German IV were added to the Seton Hall and Moravian University dual enrollment offerings.

In an effort to offer students a broader range of coursework, Global Corporate Perspectives and Marketing for the 21st Century will now be offered in grades 9-12. Government will be offered in grades 9-12 and psychology and economics will be offered in grades 10-12.

In the area of science, special attention was paid to assuring courses are STEELS aligned which is defined as Science, Technology & Engineering, Environmental Literacy & Sustainability Standards. Some changes have been made to the scope and sequence of science courses, for example, biology will now be offered in grade 10 rather than grade 9.

Building administrators shared highlights from their respective buildings during the teaching and learning updates starting with SES Principal Zach Brem.

Students receiving ESL services are currently taking WIDA Assessments to determine growth made in the area of language acquisition.

Fourth grade students are excited to begin starting the new jobs they have applied for and all students have the opportunity to take part in the popular after school PTO-sponsored clubs.

In other news, Brem and teachers Heather Cumello, Dana Kosman and Diane Kasaczun attended a multitiered system of support leadership summit where they presented information relating to the work they are doing at SES.

SMS Assistant Principal Robert Sawicki highlighted the school’s learning labs. Eighth grade students focused on Imagineering and used their creativity as well as math, physics and engineering to design their own theme parks.

Innovation was the theme for seventh grade learning labs as they used STEM projects to build zip line transporters and earthquake resistant buildings.

The sixth grade expansion committee learning lab worked on creating its own island and developing a sports franchise that included designing logos, mascots, researching cities and stadiums.

Director of Special Education Tracey Jacobi updated the board on the number of early intervention students transitioning from the Intermediate Unit to the school aged program. Much like last year the number is extremely high. Last year the district had 23 incoming EI students and as of December 2024, there are currently 22 EI students. In person meetings with families will continue and are scheduled to take place Feb. 3 and Feb. 21. Families are encouraged to bring their child to the meeting.

Supervisor of Special Education Michael Vacaro reported on interventions and curriculum at the secondary level. For students who have identified math deficits, special education teachers are piloting Math180 to help close gaps for students who are one to two years below grade level. Student growth will be evaluated before recommendations for full implementation of the program will be made.

At the middle school level a committee is reviewing research-based math materials in grade 5-8 to help bridge the gaps. Currently, VMath is being evaluated.

Pauling continued the presentation by outlining steps she has been taking to partner with Lehigh University to tap into their expertise in the fields of special education, school leadership, mental health and applications for AI. She has established contact with the associate dean of research to explore opportunities for Salisbury students to participate in research.

The next meeting of the curriculum and technology committee will be held 7 p.m. Feb. 19 followed by a regular school board meeting. All meetings are held in the administration building, 1140 Salisbury Road, Allentown.