The Salisbury Township Board of Directors held a curriculum and technology committee meeting Feb. 19 where they honored the second of three Alumni Wall of Honor recipients, received student reports, a teaching and learning update and were provided drafts of several district plans.

The meeting began with District Superintendent Lynn Fuini-Hetten announcing the newest 2024 Wall of Honor recipient from the Class of 1999 alumni Rocky Urich.

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.

Urich was nominated by his wife Julia Urich who spoke on behalf of her hardworking but unassuming husband.

In 2012, Rocky created FireRock Productions, a video production company that services small businesses and nonprofit organizations in the Lehigh Valley as well as international companies such as Ocean Spray®. He has been recognized for both filming and editing and has earned 38 Emmy nominations and 15 Emmy Awards from the National Academy of Arts and Sciences. He was also awarded 20 American Advertising Awards from the American Advertising Federation.

Additionally, Urich is an adjunct professor in the TV/film department at DeSales University and garners high praise from industry colleagues. He is known for being generous with his time and talents and has worked on countless pro bono projects.

Urich spoke briefly about teachers who recognized his talent at a young age and encouraged him to pursue art as a career and provided an outlet for him to communicate that led to his success in the film industry. He went on to express his appreciation to the board for recognizing his creative talents and accomplishments.

He also took the time to recognize his wife Julia noting all the accolades she mentioned were accomplished as a team.

Next, Salisbury High School student reporters Payton Kao and Gianna Olds relayed the highlights and happenings at SHS. The debate team, under the direction of Michael Barna, finished the 2024-2025 season with a record of 30-2 and they will move on to the semifinal competition.

In other news, the Salisbury Theater Department will present this year’s spring musical “The Hello Girls” March 13-16 and fresh from a successful Model U.N. conference, students will soon head to Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y.

In sports news, several teams will be competing in post season play including boys basketball, unified boccie, wrestling and the swim team while girls basketball and the rifle team have wrapped up their winter seasons. Spring sports will begin the first week in March.

The course selection process for the 2025-2026 school year has begun with students submitting their course selections in mid- February.

Salisbury Middle School student Anaiyah Ortiz reports the Falcon 5 Club is working on creating bulletin boards for each grade level that highlight the Falcon 5 traits. A contest will be held when the bulletin boards are complete.

The Blog Club has been busy with monthly blogs which include trivia, interviews and articles about field trips and other important student events.

Students are looking forward to spirit days and dressing up as your favorite duo.

Dressing up will also be necessary during the much anticipated semiformal dance which will be held at the middle school on Feb. 21.

Eighth grade students recently went skiing and snowboarding at Blue Mountain Ski Resort and sixth grade students headed to Blue Mountain to take part in The Science of Sliding program which includes educational activities and snow tubing.

The What’s So Cool About Manufacturing? club went on a field trip Jan. 20 to tour Polymer Contours to learn about the company and how the business started.

Salisbury Elementary School student Sophia Skirvin reported students are enjoying all the PTO-sponsored clubs as well as the many other activities taking place this month including the 100th day of school celebration, Valentine’s Day, a night of skating at Skateaway and a band concert.

Additionally, third grade students enjoyed the many interactive exhibits on their field trip to the Franklin Institute.

SES Principal Zachary Brem shared teaching and learning updates which include recently held data meetings to update winter goals for all grade levels as well as Multi-Tiered System of Support groups and working toward submitting an MTSS for Specific Learning Disabilities application to the Pennsylvania Department of Education for accreditation.

Recently, staff members in grades 3-5 met to create a seamless alignment of Next Generation Science Standards between grade levels and SES staff are exploring a new program to address social emotional learning.

Assistant Superintendent Kelly Pauling highlighted developments at the middle school level starting with the iPad pilot program which is currently underway.

Seventh grade math teacher Michael Posch has been working with Lehigh University to incorporate MathPal, an AI tutor program, into the current IXL program to offer pre-algebra and algebra students another tool for support and practice.

At the high school level, a video on the dual enrollment program has been created in cooperation with the Carbon Lehigh Intermediate Unit 21. The video features students and their stories and the many options available for students to participate in the dual enrollment program.

Dr. Tracey Jacobi, director of special education, reported a team of administrators and teachers recently attended the annual Pennsylvania Department of Education Conference in Hershey. The team was able to attend workshops focused on mental health, inclusion practices, small group instruction, models of co-teaching and the interagency process for students with complex needs. She added the conference provided practical information for the benefit of students.

The CLIU 21 has conducted focus groups and surveys as part of the comprehensive plan and in an effort to share outcomes with the public, a YouTube video has been created which highlights areas of success as well as areas in need of improvement.

Pauling presented drafts for several plans including a draft of the comprehensive plan which identified two areas in need of fine tuning in math K-8 and science K-12.

Drafts for the comprehensive plan, a new teacher induction plan, a professional development plan and a gifted plan will be posted for 28 days on the district website for public review and comment. Revisions will be made based on the feedback received and final plans will be brought to the board for approval in March.

The Salisbury Township School District board will hold a curriculum and technology committee 7 p.m. March 19. All meetings are held in the administration building, 1140 Salisbury Road, Allentown.