Students, school districts gear up for new year
North Allegheny
Students returned to the classroom Thursday. Although enrollment numbers aren’t tabulated until October, the district expects more than 8,500 students.
The district is moving toward the full implementation of FOCUS 2020 so that all students in grades one to 12 will have a school-issued laptop or iPadto use for the year — both inclass and at home.
There are several new administrators. Joseph Sciullo was hired as the director of student services in late May. Jillian Bichsel was hired as the director of curriculum, assessment and professional development in July. David Deramo is the new principal at Ingomar Middle School and Jenna Fraser is the new assistant principal of the intermediate high school.
McCandless police Officers Mike Metzger and Todd Ray were selected to be the schoolresource officers at the high schools. Officer Metzger will be at the intermediate high school, and Officer Ray willbe at the senior high.
North Hills
Students returned to school Tuesday.
The district will use programs and curriculum aligned with Sandy Hook Promise, a national nonprofit organization founded and led by family members affected by the Sandy Hook mass shooting in 2012.
The Start with Hello program encourages school community members to ensure that no one eats alone at lunch (or across any other experience) to instill the power and rewardof social inclusion.
The Say Something programprovides tools and practices to recognize the signs and signals of a potential threat and teaches and instills in participants how to take action and reinforces theneed to “Say Something.”
The middle school also was designated as a No Place for Hate school by the AntiDefamation League at the end of last school year. The school was awarded the designation because of its efforts encouraging inclusion for all and by all students.
All elementary students will learn computer literacy, including keyboarding, word processing, spreadsheets, presentations, digital citizenship andcomputer coding.
Several new classes will be available for high school and middle school students, including Child Growth and Development; Sports, Arts and Entertainment Management; Computer Security, and Cyber Security and the Law. Also, students can choose from a slate of reimagined health and physical education courses, including Outdoor Adventures with training in canoeing, fly-fishing, kayaking, archery and rock climbing; Foundations of Yoga, Pilates and Mindfulness; Personal Fitness and Sports Officiating, and Principalsof Coaching.
At the middle school, seventh-graders will take Introduction to Coding, and eighthgraders may choose to take Digital Fabrication, where students will learn to control computer technology to produce both 3-dimensional and 2- dimensional art works.
Project Connect will continue to place iPads into the hands of all students in grades six through nine.
Mt. Lebanon
The district is starting a “social emotional learning and mindfulness” initiative in all of its schools.
The new year started off with a presentation from Christopher Willard on Aug. 20. Mr. Willard is a psychologist and educational consultant and teaches at Harvard Medical School. The event supported one of Mt. Lebanon’s focus areas this year, which is student and staff mental health and well-being.
Regarding safety, the high school has added a school resource officer. The officer is a member of the Mt. Lebanon Police Department, but will work in the high school.
The district also has partnered with the police department to launch the Student Protect app, a new mobile alert and suspicious-activity reporting tool. The app is free and available to download on both Android and iPhones.
The app will allow students, parents and community members to send anonymous tips to report things like threats, firearms or weapons concerns, suspicious activities or bullying.
Additionally, the district was selected by Google for Education to be a Google Reference District — one of fewer than a dozen school districts in Pennsylvania to be selected.
Thedistrict was recognized for its strong vision of the use of Google tools to further education. Google Reference Districts have to host one or more Google for Education focused eventsper year.
McKeesport Area
The district is taking steps to ensure the safety of its students with additional security measuresin all buildings.
Metal detectors have been added at the district’s elementary buildings. The high school and middle school already were equipped with metal detectors. The district also purchased a portable metal detector to be used at outdoor events like football games.
All classrooms doors will have locking devices installed.
The district also implemented an alert notification system for all district computers, an emergency response plan app for mobile devices, cameras to capture license plate information, and ALICE Institute certification and trainingfor staff and students.
The district also is rolling out a pilot one-to-one iPad program in which all third-grade studentswill receive iPads.
The one-to-one initiative has a $76,000 cost to the district, which includes staff training and equipment.
“Using this implementation as a pilot program, we will gaugei ts success and determine the feasibility of continuing ,” district spokesperson Kristen James said.
Peters Township
The district has joined forces with Rachel’s Challenge. The programming will kick off Sept. 25.
Rachel’s Challenge is an organization led by the father of Rachel Joy Scott, who was killed in the 1999 Columbine HighSchool shooting.
Rachel’s Challenge works to reduce violence and improve compassion by providing programming to high schools and communities across the country.
At 6:30 p.m. Sept. 25, the district will welcome Rachel’s father, Darrell Scott, at an event at South Hills Bible Chapel.
Parents should note that the Sept. 25 discussion regarding safety will include details and audio from the Columbine High School shooting and may not be appropriate for all children.
Shaler Area
The biggest change in the district is the opening of Scott Primary School. Students enrolled in kindergarten through third grade at Jeffery and Rogers primary schools will be the first classes to enter the new building on the first day of school Aug. 29.
Rogers Primary School closed its doors April 2015 following an electrical fire. Students were housed in the Burchfield Primary School through the end of that year and for the next two years while Scott was being built on the Scott Avenue site where Rogersformerly stood.
Jeffery Primary School was closed at the end of last school year. It had been scheduled to close after the school district completed a feasibility/facilities study in 2014, but that was held up by the fire. The building is 60 years old and remains Shaler Area property.
Spokeswoman Bethany Baker said an open house and formal ribbon-cutting will be held later this fall.
Teachers at Burchfield Primary have been busy taking back their classrooms and preparing for the new year with just their own students for the first time in more than two years.
Reserve Primary became the final school in the district’s continuing safety improvement program to receive a captured vestibule entrance. Improved doors also will open to students arriving at Shaler Area Elementary.
For the rest of the year, the district plans to conduct a risk assessment for every building while updating it’s emergency plan and continuing staff training.
A new principal will greet students at Reserve’s new entrance. Marty Martynuska was the principal for 15 years at Marzolf Primary School and five years at Shaler Area Middle School.
Eloise Milligan, the former Reserve principal, has transitioned to a new role in the district’s central offices and will continue to oversee the federal programs, as well as coordinate curriculum.
The new middle school principal, Eric Stennett, returns to the district with 27 years in school administration, most recently as principal of Hampton Township Middle School.
Meal prices for the upcoming school year are $1.20 for breakfast and $2.15 for lunch in the primary and elementary schools and $ 1.25 and $2.40, respectively, at the middle and high schools.
Shaler Area received a $19,245 grant from the state Department of Education to support its kindergarten through sixth grade breakfast program this year.