Response to Trib Article

The following is our response to the combined answer provided by our opponents to the Tribune-Review's question, "What is the biggest issue facing the school district?" in this article: https://triblive.com/local/bethel-park-journal/get-to-know-bethel-parks-primary-election-candidates/

Rather than providing four individual answers, our opponents chose to provide four different answers in a combined response. Let's look at each one individually.

"1. Facilities and transportation: We will refine plans for the new elementary school and Independence Middle School renovations while prioritizing a safe learning environment and pursuing solutions to the bus driver shortage."

• The construction plans for the new elementary school have already been refined, bids have already been awarded, and construction plans are already drawn. Any additional changes at this point would be costly and drastically increase the construction timeline.

• The IMS renovation will be completed before the new terms start.

• The educational plans for both schools are well underway following development by our very capable and experienced administrative team of educational professionals.

• There will be a community forum about the Elementary School programming on 5/19 at 7 pm in the NAMS auditorium, where everyone can learn more.

• Providing students with a safe learning environment is one of the reasons the new elementary school is being built. The new school will have the necessary safety and security measures that public schools currently require, which were not feasible or possible at all of the smaller sites.

• The current board and administration have been working very hard to pursue every possible solution for the bus driver shortage. This is a problem that is affecting all schools and independent transportation providers in the region. No stone has been left unturned, and we have not stopped trying to resolve this issue. 

"2. Academic recovery and enhancement: We will develop programs to close learning gaps from covid-19. While Core Knowledge Language Arts has improved reading scores, we’ll focus on boosting math proficiency. Expanding STEM opportunities will ensure a well-rounded curriculum."

• We have been offering programming to reduce learning gaps caused by the COVID-19 pandemic for several years now, and the programs continue to be available

• Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS) and Universal Design for Learning (UDL) are appropriate solutions for enhancing academics and are the current expectations in our schools.

• Instructional blocks have been enlarged for core subjects. These provide time for appropriate remediation, practice, and extension, while the programming for reinforcing and remediating content has been improved

• Math proficiency has been identified as an area that needs improvement. This is why the Mathematics Department facilitators have built a team of educators to select an updated curriculum (which will be piloted next school year), analyze the results, and make recommendations to the board the following year.

• As far as our opponents' plan to expand STEM opportunities, this is something the current board has already been hard at work on. STEM/STEAM/STREAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math/Arts/Resiliency) offerings have been increasing for several years at every level, and more will be starting soon:

• Students in the new elementary school will have STREAM classrooms and curriculum as well as access to Smithsonian hands-on science kits, which are already in use.

• The Invention Land and Unified Arts programs are already provided to students in the middle schools.

• Updated courses in programming, engineering, coding, biology, and more are currently available at the High School and will be continually updated and expanded.

• Information about all of this and more can be found on the Curriculum and Instruction page on the district website: https://www.bpsd.org/apps/pages/index.jsp?uREC_ID=4123369&type=d&pREC_ID=2497651

• Please stop by the high school on May 3rd from 1-4 pm to experience our Art & STEAM Festival and see what is happening in our schools!

"3. Communication Improvements: We will share concise board meeting summaries and utilize ParentSquare to keep families informed."

• All public board meetings are open to the public, simulcasted on the district's YouTube channel, and available for viewing on YouTube after the meetings

• All agendas and items are provided to the public in advance on BoardDocs, and are available to be reviewed after the meetings, including voting records

• Parent Square is a district communication platform, not a board communication platform, and is managed by our Director of Communications & PR. 

• Any citizen is welcome to provide summaries of any public meeting to anyone they choose. You don't need to wait to be a board member to do that. Since an apparent lack of summaries of board meetings is something our opponents feel is a top problem facing our district, we hope that even if they do not win the election in November, this is a service they will provide.

"4. Teacher Support: We will invest in professional development and maintain a positive, secure work environment for all educators."

• Excellent professional development (PD) for staff at all levels has been a mission of the board and administrative team for several years. We're so pleased that PD is now tailored to specific positions--providing exactly what each group needs, including time to work together and learn from one another.

• Our current board members have repeatedly expressed their appreciation for the district providing consultation from our partners at the IU and PaTTAN, and encouraging staff to attend various PD opportunities that are applicable to their roles. In fact, we consistently request staff feedback and reviews of the PD that is being offered, and it continues to be highly rated.

• Our current board's focus on treating all staff as the vital and important educational partners that they are has included staff wellness days and programs to support them in feeling valued and taking care of themselves.

Our current school board has been hard at work addressing many of the problems facing our district. Help us continue our work by voting for incumbents Buffie Faes and Sharon Janosik, and for current candidate Colleen Sokira.

Finally, we encourage you to review our current Strategic Plan, which contains the plans created by our administration and board in partnership towards continuous improvement.  Much of what our opponents have said they'd like to do is what we've already worked to put into motion:  https://www.bpsd.org/apps/pages/index.jsp?uREC_ID=4121650&type=d&pREC_ID=2497480