Dr. William Clark

Superintendent’s Corner

October 2007

Every year when I have discussions with local businesses regarding what the district can do for them, the common theme seems to be to get students to work on time, to have students be creative problem solvers, and to have students be able to work with others.  This is a difficult task for the school district to accomplish when we are being held accountable for the Pennsylvania Systems School Assessment Standards as well, and employers want soft skills.

This year the Milton Area School District, in partnership with the Central PA Chamber Business in Education Committee, is implementing a new program called School Counts.  The School Counts program was started at Central Columbia Vo-Tech several years ago and has been advocated by the Pennsylvania Heartland Coalition Superintendents’ Group as an initiative to implement in local school districts this year.The goal of the School Counts program is to get students to sign up, on their own, for potential recognition in several areas at the conclusion of the school year.   In order to receive recognition, students must obtain a C or better in every course, achieve a 95% attendance and punctuality record, complete high school in eight (8) consecutive semesters, and take more than the minimum graduation requirements.  If students attain this, at the conclusion of each year they will receive recognition.  If they are able to attain this all four (4) years of high school, they will receive a gold-seal certificate for their accomplishments.

The idea behind this recognition is to also allow local businesses to support the program, not as a monetary thing but more as a program where they would want to see applicants have this credential when interviewing at their business.  For example, if an employer would see that a student has received a School Counts certificate, they would understand the above listed criteria that have been met by the student.  Knowing that the student has been able to accomplish this fete, they will know and hopefully see that this student would be a worthwhile employee with respect to punctuality and motivation to be a team player.

We are working with the local businesses to provide potential educational discounts to students who would receive these awards.  But, the important recognition would be on employment applications to allow them to be noted as an individual of high regard from the school.

If you are interested in participating in the School Counts program, please visit the Central PA Chamber web site (www.centralpachamber.com) and click on School Counts to see the information that is available there.  Or you can contact the school district.   This year, the program is only being run at the high school, grades 9 through 12.  Other attendance initiatives take place on a yearly basis at the Middle School and Elementary schools to reward students for excellent attendance.

Superintendent’s Corner
August 2007

            As part of teacher contract negotiations during the school year, five (5) minutes were added to the school day.  In reviewing the start and end times for teachers and students over the summer, the administration collectively looked at making adjustments at all levels in order to better meet the educational needs of the students.

            The chart below outlines the old start and end times for teachers and students.  You can see that 15 minutes, on average, have been added to each building level with the high school seeing the greatest increase, 17 minutes.  The adjustments in time will greatly impact and increase the instructional time that the students will receive during the course of the school day, as well as the school year and over the lifetime of the student’s attendance in the district.

          I know these adjustments, overall, will cause changes on the home front with respect to sitters, bus times and a variety of other things.  But, once again, the purpose is to have more instructional time for students.

         If we take a look at the number of minutes that will be increased within all five (5) district buildings, the average increase is 15.4 minutes per day.  If you take that figure times 180 days, it is 2,772 minutes.  Across the district, the average day is seven (7) hours.  So, 46 hours and 12 minutes will be gained by this slight adjustment of the student schedule over the course of the school year.  If we figure that out using a seven hour day, that is six and one-half (6 ½) days of instruction gained per year.  If we take that number times the educational life cycle of a student for public education (13 years, K-12), that will be a gain of 84 ½ days over the child’s educational career in Milton.  This is approximately an additional one-half year of instructional time gained by this adjustment. 

       One of the biggest things that school districts struggle with is instructional time in trying to get everything accomplished, whether it is D.A.R.E., academic curriculum, or the arts.  By increasing the instructional time, we can still maintain the academics and specials that students attend during the course of the school year. This can be done without feeling that anything has to be eliminated so the district can continue to address the areas in PSSA exams in reading, writing, mathematics and beginning this year, science.

        This increase in the instructional time will allow us to further concentrate on the academic areas where we are being assessed, but not eliminate any of the other worthwhile programs for our students.  The result will be our continued commitment to providing opportunities to students in all areas of their lives.

Superintendent’s Corner

July 2007

Communication

            Casual conversations provide opportunities.  Several times people have said they know I am busy and do not want to take much of my time.  The opposite is true - I would rather have a discussion with an individual regarding their concerns and ideas because an opportunity may afford itself at some point in time down the road to resolve their issue.

            Communication at the school district is critical to the success and operation of the school system, whether that communication is a casual encounter in the supermarket or at a ball game, or a more formal encounter with a one-on-one meeting with a parent or concerned citizen who has an issue they would like to discuss.

            Several times, these casual or formal conversations have led to improvements in the overall district and maybe even surrounding the school.  For example:  during the Superintendent’s Entry Plan, a discussion was held with a teacher to talk about his concerns about the district.  His concerns stressed the lack of a sidewalk on King Street where a large percentage of students walk to school.  He explained to me that the students would walk in the street or in the private yards due to a lack of a sidewalk in that vicinity adjacent to the school.  After listening to that teacher’s concern, the information was filed away to be used at another time, not knowing when the opportunity to use that information would arise.  At one point, a casual conversation was being held between me and the Borough Manager.  During that conversation, the King Street issue was brought to the Borough Manager’s attention.  He understood our concerns and said that he would look into the matter.  Lo and behold, several months later, the Borough Manager was able to find a grant for safe ways to school.  The Safe Ways to School grant was for funds coming from the state to allow areas that were not safe for kids to walk to school to be converted as a safe way for kids to get to school.  The Borough Manager quickly pursued that grant with a letter of support from the school district.  Within months, the grant was awarded to the Borough and a partnership began between the district, the borough and the community to put in the sidewalks to provide a safe way to school.

            This is one of several examples that have occurred during the past several years with conversations and communications that I have had with individuals who reside in the community.

            At some point in time, if you have a concern, please call or email me to discuss that concern.  If you do not get an immediate response from me, please be patient to allow me to get back to you and discuss your concerns or issues.