Schools

Redistricting Concerns Dominate 'Community Conversations' With School District

ArdWood Civic President Alex McDonnell said the community remains unhappy about 2009 redistricting decisions.

Tensions over last year's redistricting decisions were the focus at the ArdWood Civic Association's "Community Conversations" with school administrators on Tuesday night, Oct. 5.

According to parents, buses taking students from South Ardmore to Harriton High School have been called "loser cruiser" and "the black bus" by students in the district. Alex McDonnell, President of the Ardwood Civic Association and moderator for the discussion, asked on behalf of parents what was being done in the school district to ensure that students were treated fairly and able to feel comfortable at their new high school.

Superintendent Chris McGinley, on hand with five school district head principals, said that he first heard about the term "loser cruiser" last winter, and found it outrageous. "Harriton conducted an investigation," McGinley said, but the school was unable to locate the source of the name-calling. "If anyone has direct knowledge about that, I would encourage you to call [Harriton Head Principal Steve] Kline to report the specifics," McGinley said.

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Kline said, "We weren't able to get very far with the investigation. We heard the term, but that was all we were able to uncover." He also agreed with the superintendent about reporting incidents. Both said that calls can be made anonymously to protect the children, and giving names of the offenders would be helpful, according to Kline.

Helping Students Transition

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The school district also said they were focusing heavily on helping transitioning students adjust to their new schools, whether Harriton or into high school in general.

"We try to be really thoughtful to the kids who may have not traditionally gone to Harriton," McGinley said. "We're trying to make sure they have as much information as we can give."

Parents are invited to a "chat and chew" parent orientation event on Thursday, Oct. 14 at Harriton. Dinner provided by the school will be followed by seminars for the parents to give them a deeper understanding of what Harriton has to offer and how the school operates, Kline said. Transportation is being offered to those who need it to get to and back from the high school.

The district also implemented a slew of policies aimed at helping students transition from elementary school to middle school, and middle school to high school.

"I don't know how long it will take to erase the pain of the redistricting, but for now our primary focus is on helping kids transition," McGinley said.

McDonnell also read questions from Civic Association members on two other hot button issues, the achievement gap and webcam use.

Achievement Gap Concerns

McGinley presented the district's plans on eliminating the long-standing difference between the scores on standardized tests of white students and black students in the district.

"For many years, Lower Merion operated as 10 very different schools, with good teachers and good intentions, but no systematic way to monitor progress and change," McGinley said. "This is an issue we have been addressing, what is the experience of every child in the district and how do we make it better?"

McGinley said one important change made recently is the model for evaluating student performance. Each principal in the district now has an additional role as the head of an "achievement team," used to evaluate how effective teaching is for each child.

"It replaced something called the 'child study team,' which I have a negative reaction toward," McGinley said. "The notion was to study the child to figure out what is wrong with the child. The achievement team's focus on fixing the program to support the child, not fixing the child – every child must achieve."

To meet that goal the superintendent said that the district must do three things: make changes to the curriculum, build better support and increase parent engagement. McGinley said that the district hired a staff member to educate teachers on African American history to incorporate into their lessons as a pilot program, and implemented a new minority achievement program to challenge minority students to take more rigorous classes.

Webcam Issues

Two questions were asked about the district's ongoing litigation battle over alleged spying using district issued laptops. Residents wanted to know who is being held accountable and what expense the case is costing the taxpayers. Another question asked what percent of the webcam images taken were of African American males.

McGinley said he did not know what percent of the images were African American males, but that attorneys have told the district that those students were not overrepresented. He also said that some personnel actions were taken to hold individuals accountable for the incident, but those matters would not be disclosed publicly.

"It is correct that this has damaged the reputation of the school district and we have a to make up," McGinley said. "It is correct that it has cost the district a lot of money, some of which will be paid by insurance, but it is correct that that money will not be used for educational purposes."

"We are engaged in efforts to make sure people understand the value of the technology in our classrooms to build back the reputation of the school district," McGinley said.

Other School News

Before the question and answer session, each principal and the superintendent gave a report on news in the schools.

Recess has been moved to before lunch at the elementary schools, allowing students to get the wiggles out and then settle down, eat and use the restroom before returning to the classrooms. Penn Valley Elementary School Principal Scott Mitchell said that the change has helped save instructional time.

A new math program was also implemented at the elementary school level, allowing students to grapple with problems on a much more hands on level than traditional math approaches. Penn Wynne Elementary School Principal Shawn Bernatowicz said the program has been successful in its initial run.

School enrollment as a whole is up in the district, but McGinley said he does not foresee any need to redistrict elementary schools or any other level due to higher enrollment. McGinley said the schools hope that the increased enrollment is a good sign for school revenues, which are collected when real estate is bought or sold and new residents move into the township.


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