August 2008

Teacher Certification and Tenure

            I have been approached several times by members of the community and school board to define teacher tenure and the certification process. 

These items listed below will give an overview of what it takes to be a temporary, professional employee or professional employee and what it takes to be granted tenure within the state of Pennsylvania.  This also outlines some areas that are valid causes for the dismissal of a professional employee.

First, let’s clarify a legal definition of a teacher which is, “a professional employee, temporary professional employee, a substitute or instructor in public schools within the Commonwealth who devotes 50% or more time to teaching or other educational activities.”  Second, the qualifications are:  an individual must be of good moral character, at least 18 years of age, a citizen of the United States and certified in the appropriate area.  There then are two different areas for classification at the district level:  one is a temporary professional employee, which is a certified teacher who has not completed the required probationary period of three (3) years and has not earned tenure.  The second is a professional employee which is a certified teacher who has been granted tenure by the school board.  There are two types of instructional certificates:  Instructional I is a teaching certificate issued to those individuals who have successfully completed an approved, baccalaureate program who are recommended by their University for the certificate.  The certificate is valid for six (6) teaching years in the areas listed on the certificate.  Instructional II is a teaching certificate issued by the Pennsylvania Department of Education after the holder of the Instructional I has successfully completed a minimum of three (3) years teaching and earned an additional 24 credits.  The certificate is valid for 99 years.

            Teacher tenure falls under Act 16 of 1996.  “Teacher tenure is looked at for a temporary, professional employee who is initially employed by a school district on or after June 30, 1996 whose work has been certified by the district superintendent to the secretary of the school district during the last four (4) months of the third year of service as being satisfactory shall thereafter be a professional employee within the meaning of this article.” 

The only valid causes for dismissal of a professional employee or a temporary, professional employee are:  “immorality; incompetency; unsatisfactory teaching performance, based upon two (2) consecutive ratings of employee’s teaching experience that are to include classroom observations not less than four (4) months apart in which the employee’s teaching performance is rated unsatisfactory; intemperance; cruelty; persistent negligence in the performance of duties; willful neglect of duties; physical or mental disability, as documented by competent medical evidence, which after reasonable accommodation of such disability as required law substantially interferes with the employee’s ability to perform the essential functions of the position; subversive activities; conviction of a felony or acceptance of a guilty plea of a nolo contendere  therefore; persistent and willful violation or failure to comply with laws including board directives and policies. 

July 2008

Dress Code

            At various times during the course of the school year, the school board, along with the representatives of the teacher’s unions, meet to discuss issues or concerns facing the district.  Over the past several months, some discussions have centered on the violations of the student dress code.  Staff members have discussed with the board that students come to school dressed inappropriately at various times during the course of the school year.  The dress code is listed below for your review so you can see what items are enforced within the school.

            Dress:  An individual’s habit of dress and personal grooming are an important part of his/her total personality and they often determine not only his/her attitude toward himself/herself, but also the way others look at him/her.  These regulations will be enforced to ensure the health and safety of all students and to minimize the disruption of education within the classroom due to the potentially distracting nature of certain styles of dress.

1.                  Safe and appropriate footwear is required.

2.                  Bare midriffs, see through blouses, low cut tops, tops that expose one shoulder, undershirts, tube tops, halter tops, and tank top style shirts with less than two-inch straps over the shoulders, are inappropriate attire and not permitted.

3.                  No short shorts, skirts or dresses are permitted.  The length of these garments must be no higher than fingertip length with arms extended alongside of the body.

4.                  Clothing, buttons, accessories or other insignias deemed inappropriate are not permitted in school.  This includes items that are sexually suggestive, or that mock, ridicule or demean a race, religion or culture.  Clothing items that display references to drugs, tobacco products, vulgarity or alcoholic beverages may not be worn in school.

5.                  Hats, headbands and headwear are not to be worn during school hours.

6.                  Extremely tattered or excessively long clothing is prohibited.  Also prohibited are extremely baggy pants.  All pants are to be worn at waist level.

7.                  Any items worn as jewelry or clothing that could present a safety problem or are a distraction to the educational process are not allowed.

8.                  Any item, material, jewelry, clothing, make-up, etc. that is deemed as being excessive because of its potential to create a safety problem or to be a distraction to the educational process is not permitted.

9.                  Individual classroom teachers may impose additional dress regulations as they relate to their curriculum.  These regulations may be imposed to ensure health and/or safety and must have the prior approval of the principal.  Such additional regulations are to be posted in the classroom and students are to be informed of these regulations.

            As part of the educational chit chat meeting, the teachers took a survey of their colleagues to determine what their feelings were on a potential student dress code.  The comments are still being reviewed.  The potential to move forward with the dress code would be a process that would have to be thoroughly investigated and reviewed with teachers, administrators, students and parents to determine the appropriateness of instituting that in the Milton Area School District.  At this point in time, there is no movement on behalf of the district to institute a dress code in the coming school year, but simply to begin the investigation process looking into this particular matter.

            The attempt in the July blog is to see what kind of comments or feedback individuals would have regarding this issue.

June 2008

Summer Activities

            As another school year comes to a close, it is important that parents and students take the time in the summer to refresh and relax a little bit before the start of another school year.

            First, I would like to congratulate the graduates of the Class of 2008.  These students have left an impression of the school district that has not been seen in years, including their efforts to work with Mr. Conn to raise $30,000 for Team Cambodia to build the Milton School in Cambodia.  This is impressive beyond belief. 

Parents can take some time over the summer to allow their students to unwind but then also keep their academic skills sharp.  One approach would be reading with their son or daughter or providing books for them to read independently in an environment where they will feel comfortable.  If you have questions about what books your son or daughter should be reading over the summer for their grade level suggestions are posted on the district web page.  Feel free to review that list which has also been provided to the Milton Public Library.

            In the other academic areas, it does not hurt to have your son or daughter work on simple games that keep them focused, whether it is math skills or science skills.  Pick up a book at the local book stores for activity worksheets.  Children like hands-on activities that can be done around the house that give them a sense of contributing. 

There are ample opportunities with the various clubs and camp activities running over the summer that would assist to get your son or daughter engaged in a social circle that will stimulate an educational environment.  One such activity would be the summer band camp being run for elementary students on various nights over several weeks that would allow your child to sharpen their instrumental skills if they are interested in instrumental music program.

            Overall, students need to take the time in the summer to relax.  I would also strongly recommend any activity that would engage your child intellectually and physically during the course of the summer.  This will allow them to stay sharp and fresh so that the transition back at the beginning of next school year would be a successful one.

Teacher Selection Process

              For the 2007-2008 school year, the district has instituted a new screening process for potential applicants within the district.  It has been a tweaking of the current system in some manner, but a complete re-tooling in other areas.  There is a four (4) phase system:

            Phase I is the application screening process.  Once an application is received in the district, it is reviewed for a variety of areas such as, GPA, Praxis scores, certifications, Master’s or Doctorate degree, previous teaching experience, substituting, and multi-cultural experience.  Each particular category receives a score based upon a variety of point values.  Once the applications are scored, they are shipped out to the building level principal, Curriculum Coordinator, Supervisor of Special Education and/or Superintendent, depending upon the position.  Each individual application is reviewed by the administrator, and they determine whether or not to recommend that each individual continue through the process or not continue through the process.  Next, the applications are passed on to the next administrator.   This is done as applications arrive, as opposed to waiting until after the deadline.  The goal by doing this is to speed up the process of reviewing the applications in a timely manner so that the interviews can begin quickly after the closing of the application deadline.  Also, the application information is contained in a spreadsheet in a district drop box.  This allows all of the administrators to log on and add their scores into the spreadsheet. Teaching applications are separated based on novice teachers (fresh out of the university) or practicing teachers (individuals who may have been teaching or have filled a long-term substitute position for at least ½ of a school year).

            Phase II is a phone interview.  Once the field has been narrowed down, a phone interview is conducted for a wider pool of applicants to determine if the applicant should be called into the district for a formal interview.  The phone interview will be conducted by the building principal/supervisor and a teacher.  The idea there is to gain some initial information and determine if that individual should go to the next phase.  Once the phone interview is completed, a scoring sheet is completed to determine who will make it to the formal interview. 

Phase III is a formal interview.  The formal interview will be conducted in the school district central office.  The interview will include the building principal/supervisor, Curriculum Coordinator, and Superintendent.  The formal interview will have 13 directed questions that will be scored on a Likert Scale to determine the applicant’s response appropriate to questions in a variety of categories.  These scores are then totaled to determine which candidate answered the questions most appropriately as reviewed by the interview team. The top candidates in that category will be brought in for Phase IV.

Phase IV is a demo-teaching.  The demo-teaching time has been extended from 15 to 20 minutes.  The topic will be selected by the teaching candidate in the subject area for which they are interviewing.  Previously, a topic was given to the candidates to see how they would instruct in that topic.  The district will now leave it a little more open-ended to see what the applicant will try to present with respect to an area of interest within that certification.

A letter is sent, once a candidate has been formally approved by the School Board, informing the applicant that the position has been filled.  This letter is sent to anyone who has been interviewed either through a Phase II phone interview on up. 

The goal of the Milton Area School District is 1) to try to formalize the interview process to allow applicants to be scored in a non-biased manner and allow for an openness for candidates to apply to the district and receive a fair score and 2) to continue to add to quality teaching staff of the Milton Area School District by hiring the best teachers to work with the students of the community.

April 2008

Confidentiality

              Several times during the course of the school year, incidents occur within the walls of the school that involve students, teachers, staff, and /or other employees of the district.  At times these situations involve either the behavior of individuals or situations that individuals are placed in that would lead to the involvement of rumors or misinformation.  Some of these situations dealing with student behavior, teacher behavior or employee behavior can lead to concerns on behalf of people within the community, students or other employees.  Due to confidentiality, the district cannot release information about these situations. 

Even when phone calls have been made to the district regarding student behavior, the response from the administration will typically be “we are addressing the issue at hand”, or “the situation is being reviewed and handled properly by the district”.  We cannot give out details regarding the situations due to the confidentiality of the student being a minor or a person being an employee of the district.  At times, individuals who are calling the district are upset with the responses given by the administration in these particular situations because of the feeling we are being deceitful or hiding information.  The goal of the district is not to hide information, but to protect the integrity of the individual who may be involved in the situation.  The district’s approach has always been that there are two sides to every story.  We try to gather information around each side of that story and make a determination on how to move forward in the best interest of all parties involved. 

Incidents may be things at the school such as student fights, the drug dogs coming in for a random search on behalf of the district, or a variety of other situations that occur in the schools during any given school year.  The district must be very cautious in releasing information to the public regarding anything that transpires on school grounds.  At times, this requirement of shielding information from the public looks like the district is not doing anything.  I want to assure individuals in the community that the district does address the concerns of the community when we are confronted with those concerns.  If you have an issue with information that is being discussed within the community, feel free to call the district administration of the building that you may think is the source of that information and let that administrator know you have concerns.  You will then hear that either it is already being addressed or if they are not already aware of a situation that it will be addressed. 

Please at any point in time call the district office (742-7614) and ask for Dr. William Clark with concerns that you may have regarding the information that is being heard through the rumor mill, text messages, emails, or any other source.  This will give us an opportunity to let you know how the district is reacting to the information.

March 2008

            Due to the severe weather during the 2007-08 school year, all five make-up days had to be used due to inclement weather.  In order to allow graduation to stay on time, a proposal will be taken to the school board on March 11^th to consider shortening the Easter break in order to accommodate for an additional snow day or flood day, if needed.  The proposal is to consider March 24^th as an additional day to be used, if needed, for a make-up day if school would be closed between now and March 20^th.  If any additional days would be needed, they would have to be added on to the end of the district calendar.

            Parents who have made plans to take their son or daughter out of school for extended travel over the Easter holiday season would need to fill out an Educational Trip form in order to have the trip approved.  Future calendars for the district will be designed in such a manner to include the Easter Monday as a potential make-up day built into the calendar.

            The goal of the district calendar with respect to the adjustment is to keep graduation on schedule.  Many families plan activities around the graduation date, such as invitations for family members coming from out of town.  Also, the district needs to consider students who are graduating and starting summer classes as well.  Since this is a senior year activity and it is a capstone of the student’s educational career, keeping the graduation date intact is a critical issue that needs to be accomplished when considering adjustments to the district calendar due to school closings.

February 2008

During the month of February, a meeting was conducted with the various pre-K providers that surround the Milton Area School District.  The meeting with the providers was to review the expectations for students attending kindergarten. 

Through the discussions between the providers, teachers and administrators of the Milton Area School District, it was decided to try to offer an early registration and screening for students who attend the pre-K provider facilities and establish possible dates for kindergarten teachers to observe the pre-K sites.  The goals of the early screening will be to allow the district to provide an overview of expectations for students who will be enrolling in kindergarten and alleviate some parental fears surrounding the transition to kindergarten.  Issues to be reviewed are kindergarten registration, transportation, and kindergarten curriculum.  The goal of the observation dates will be to allow the pre-K instructors and elementary teachers an opportunity to interact and exchange teaching strategies.

An orientation will be held on March 19, 2008 at White Deer Elementary School.  At that time, students who are attending the providers’ facilities will be able to be screened and registered for the coming school year.  Any parent who does not have their child attend a pre-k program is welcome to attend the orientation as well by calling White Deer Elementary at 568-6201.

Also, through the efforts of the district and the C.S.I.U., a pre-K program was started this year at the Milton Senior High School.  The idea was to have the program start at the High School in order to allow the High School students who are enrolled in the child care classes to provide assistance in the pre-K program.  This has proven successful in a variety of ways. The students feel very comfortable doing mini lessons with the teachers from the C.S.I.U. under the supervision of the child care instructor, Jill Chubb.  One student, Amanda Whipple, has undertaken a senior project of trying to raise funds for a playground right outside of the child care classroom.  She has been very successful in raising funds.  The C.S.I.U. has collaborated and provided additional funds that will allow this senior project to become a reality.

The items above are just two examples of the District trying to reach out to students who are of pre-enrollment age.  The District knows that there are many students we may not be able to reach.  Information is provided on the district web site www.milton.k12.pa.us concerning what parents of pre-K students can do with their children at home if they choose to get them kindergarten ready.

Our goal is to provide reference materials for all parents or pre-K providers in order to all allow children to make the transition to the school system as easy as possible for children and their parents.

School Board Recognition

January is designated by the Pennsylvania School Board Association (PSBA) as School Board Recognition Month.  This is the one time of the year when the Board is recognized for its diligence and service to the community.  In order to recognize this service, we should take a moment to reflect on how many meetings a board member may attend in any given year.  With two board meetings every month, with the exception of July when there is only one meeting because of the summer, the typical board meets 23 times during the course of the school year.  The meetings times can range anywhere from ½ hour to six or seven (6-7) hours depending on the topics and issues at that particular point in time.

Board members are also assigned to serve on various committees of the board such as Athletic, Education & Personnel, Transportation, Finance, Meet & Discuss and Technology.  These various committees will convene depending upon the issues that may take place within the school.  Board members may also attend, during any given month, dinner meetings with the Parent/Student Associations, as well as the annual Board retreat in January after the Board Reorganization meeting.

The average board member, according to PSBA statistics, puts in 40 hours per week reviewing materials to prepare themselves for upcoming meetings or educational issues that may need addressed.  In Milton, the board members receive weekly email updates on educational issues that have transpired during the week.  The goal of these weekly issues is to provide information to the board members so that they can be aware of issues that may involve their constituents.

Some board members will also attend various school events such as athletics, the arts, or student and staff meetings, depending on what is happening that particular month.  The information that is provided to board members when first stepping into the position, according to district policy, is a copy of the School Code, the budget, the Strategic Plan, and various policies that may be relevant to the position.  A new board member orientation is held once individuals are elected to the position.  During that orientation, the above information is provided to them for review prior to them being sworn in at their first official meeting.  Sitting board members volunteer to serve as a mentor for new board members.

Board members receive no compensation for the time and effort they put in for the district.  During Board Recognition Month, the administrative team, students and teachers try to provide small tokens of appreciation for the board’s effort during the school year.

If you see your board members this month, please take a minute to thank them for the time and effort they put in to assist the district administration, teachers and students, and to provide the community with a high quality educational opportunity for the students so that they can be successful in their future endeavors.

            As we hit the holiday time of the school year, I would like to take a moment to reflect upon some projects that the district staff and students have undertaken in order to serve those who are less fortunate who live within the district and outside the country. 

     Since 2001, the Milton Area School District has operated a Caring Fund to meet the on-going needs of children and their families in the district. The fund was originally established in the “spirit of giving” following the events of September 11^th.  During the holiday season, individuals and groups have supported the fund in lieu of holiday gift exchanges.  The Caring Fund helps with the purchase of glasses, clothing, food, emergency medical needs, and school related expenses that some families are unable to afford throughout the school year. A gift to the Caring Fund at the holidays would enable a child to receive glasses, a winter coat, a yearbook upon graduation, an activity fee for a summer program, or a backpack at the start of the school year. Any contributions to the Caring Fund would be greatly appreciated and facilitated through the Business Office by calling 742-7614.  Questions regarding the fund can be directed to the Guidance Office at James F. Baugher Elementary at 742-7631.  The school district is very appreciative of the many churches that have added an extra layer of support by providing Christmas gifts and food baskets for some of our families.  The District is grateful for the on-going support of our local social service agencies.  Many families have benefited from their year-round commitment to helping those in need.

            In order to reach outside of the community this year, under the direction of Mr. Michael Conn, the district has undertaken the Cambodia School project.  Mr. Conn and his daughter visited Cambodia over the summer and were deeply moved by their experience with respect to the poverty that they witnessed in that region of the world.  Upon returning to the school district from Southeast Asia, Mr. Conn did some research about the American Assistance for Cambodia (http://cambodiaschools.com).  The web site provides information on a rural school project about an effort to build schools for children in rural Cambodia.  So far, this group has built 300 schools in the Cambodian countryside.  Under the direction of Mr. Conn, he has formed a team of students and a club called “Team Cambodia.”  They will be working to raise funds to build a Milton School in Cambodia.  The total amount that the students must raise is $30,000.00, and they hope to do that within the course of this school year.  This money will pay for textbooks, teachers, solar panels for electricity, a computer lab, access to the internet, and a well to supply fresh water.  This shows the teacher and students’ commitment to this project which will be kicked off at the December 21 assembly for the students and staff at the Milton Senior High School.  A variety of clubs are working to provide additional assistance to Team Cambodia Club to supply funds to make the school in Cambodia a reality. Questions regarding the fund can be directed to the High School Office at 742-7611.

As many of you are aware around the Milton Area School District and also around the country, there have been recent media reports due to the increase of the methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infections in schools.  The spread of MRSA has gotten a lot of press recently regarding a student in Virginia dying from MRSA.  Most districts across the Commonwealth are trying to address this issue daily through cleaning schools at the conclusion of each school day prior to the arrival of the students the following day.

Due to concerns received in the last several weeks from parents via emails and phone calls, I would like to address this issue in my monthly Blog.

Early on, at the beginning of the football season, the district did receive a report from the trainer regarding two individuals having potential staph infections.  Once the trainer identified staph and sent those students to their family physicians, the students were treated and returned to school.

The district is stepping up the cleanliness of the buildings in a variety of areas.

• A minimum of two (2) times per week in the weight room and football locker room we will be using a fogger with QUAT-64 which is a broad spectrum disinfectant
• Every evening, the floors, showers, toilets, sinks and urinals are cleaned in the football locker room
• Every night all of the equipment is wiped down in the weight room
• Every other night, all desks in the classrooms are cleaned
• Every night, all doors and door handles are cleaned
• A minimum of twice per week, we will begin fogging the wrestling room starting in November Every day we will begin scrubbing the wrestling mats in November
• Every night, after sinks are cleaned, extra mist is sprayed and left on there
• Every night we are cleaning the stair handrails
• Every night we are cleaning the beds, floors and restrooms in each nurse’s office

This is just one area where we are trying to address this issue.  These areas were already being cleaned, but in order to step up cleaning for the staph and what it can cause, we are trying to address these areas.

Some things that parents can remind their kids: 

• good hygiene such as encouraging students to take showers after practice using anti-bacterial soap dispensers in the showers and at sinks
• launder all gear, undergarments and outerwear
• avoid sharing towels on the sidelines, the mat side or courtside
• avoid whirlpools or common tubs with any wounds, scrapes or abrasions
• avoid sharing razors, disposable or otherwise, and athletic gear such as t-shirts, shorts and equipment

Some recommendations that we have seen from the Department of Health regarding MRSA include:

• Athletes should report all abrasions, cuts and skin lesions to the athletic trainer for proper cleansing and treatment
• Athletic trainers should refer any suspicious skin lesion to the student’s family doctor
• All wounds should be treated and covered by the athletic trainer
• Facilities as described above will be cleaned daily
• All health care personnel must keep hands clean by washing thoroughly with antibacterial soap

In order to keep parents more aware of this, a letter will be sent home the beginning of November outlining some of the concerns that we have received.

At this point in time, there have been no identified MRSA cases at the Milton Area School District, but we are vigilant in watching for those.  If any individuals are identified, they will be sent for proper medical treatment.I think children at all levels should be encouraged to practice good hygiene with cleanliness, not just the students involved in athletics.  This does carry over into the home as much as it does into the school.  Regardless of the school cleaning, with the students entering and exiting every day, we must be vigilant and clean the building every day prior to their return due to the potential germs that are brought into school daily.If you would like to learn more MRSA and read some guidelines, you can visit the web site at the Department of Health (www.health.state.pa.us) or the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (www.cdc.org) or there is a link on the district website to www.kidshealth.org/research/mrsa.html.

If any student has been identified outside of school as having any infection, please inform the school of that infection so that we can take proper precautions at the school.

If you have any questions or concerns regarding this issue, please call the building principal or building nurse as they are prepared to answer questions regarding this particular issue.

This information that has been provided to you has been gathered from various internet sites listed above.  Some additional has also been utilized from other districts that they have used to educate their community.