AIC airs PDE profiles / By Martha Knight

The Port Allegany Academic Improvement Committee had a lively discussions Wednesday night, even though turnout was hampered by conflicts with other events.

Elementary principal Tracy Kio and junior-senior high school principal Marc Budd walked the group through the “performance profile” for their respective schools, as recently released by the Pennsylvania Department of Education.

Both were gratified that the reports indicate solid academic gains in the schools, but they continue to seek improvement—Budd said the goal is 50 percent improvement in school scores by 2019.

Budd quoted an analogy sometimes used in higher level gatherings of public education officials and educators, likening the state’s frequent changes of mandates and approaches to public school programs as “building the airplane while flying it.”

Teachers and other staff have to adjust and readjust, sometimes incorporating elements of two or more curriculums at once, preparing students for the various testing programs. Some students take and retake Keystone tests, for they will have to show proficiency in all key subjects in order to graduate. Common Core tests add their special requirements.

Soon teachers will face evaluations of their effectiveness, and they find that program’s complexities, along with other general increases in paperwork, are adding to their burdens.

Kio said he is pleased with the elementary school’s building level score of 79.9. Anything above 60 is considered good.

The administrator was especially glad to see Grade 3 reading come in at 84.75, but expressed concern over an 43.37 in writing, which was based on the percentage of students proficient or advanced in the PSSA test. Low writing performance numbers were very common in the region and the state this year, some observed.

Writing has not been emphasized in recent years, when PSSA tests did not measure it as such but pushed hard for reading and math results. Now that it is being assessed, much more writing instruction is being built into the curriculum, and even incorporated into other subjects, such as math.

For his part, Budd pointed to a building level score of 75.6 in the junior-senior high school. Math and reading/literature were in the middle and upper 60s, writing in the low 60s, but in science/biology PSSA and Keystone test scores brought that rating down to about 43.  Budd noted that the students taking the biology exam had taken the course two years previously. Still, growth in the subject was rated 98.5, elsewhere in the “report card.”

Budd noted that the new way of evaluating school and student achievement tracks individual cohorts of students, thus providing more meaningful information concerning each group’s gains.

Some parents and teachers discussed the recent parent-teacher conferences at both schools. Comments were generally favorable, but there were comparisons between the more informal, open-house style used in the past few years and the more structured individual appointments that used to be the norm.

Kio mentioned that parents are encouraged to utilize online contacts such as Remind101, a text messaging service that connects parents and teachers, and Shutterfly.

One father said that he takes two days off at the time of teacher conferences every year, so that he can see every teacher his children have, and other school staff who help them.

“I want the teacher prepared,” he said, explaining that he wants to see his children’s work and other indications of their progress. “I want to know where I can help.”

Budd noted that parents may make appointments with teachers at other times, not just during National Education Week.

A teacher reported that the school district has received a $2,500 grant to be used in an anti-bullying program. A team will attend workshops and share materials and information to assist the schools’ local anti-bullying program.

Two students brought up a concern they felt strongly about—the short supply of wireless access within the buildings. Often there are delays, or some computers are unable to connect to the network as needed.

Teachers present agreed that this has been a problem. It was revealed that there are a number of computers that are not in working order. It seemed to be the consensus that technology support staff are doing a good job but are “spread thin.”

AIC committee chairman Scott Moses said that as a school board member he can pursue the matter of provisioning for the network, and wireless access availability.

Moses said he is delighted to see parents getting excited about AIC’s new EPIC (Every Parent/Person Is/Important to a Child) campaign. The goal is to have more community involvement in the school.