Canon-McMillan PSSA Results Discussed

At Monday night's Canon-McMillan School Board monthly agenda meeting, Director of Instruction and Curriculum Grace Lani presented the board with the final results from last school year's PSSA testing.

While not all goals were met, Lani was encouraged by the improvement in scores from the previous year.

According to Lani, there is a statewide initiative for schools to have 100 percent of their students meet minimum requirements on the PSSAs. This year, the performance goal number was 67 percent for math and 72 percent for reading.

All seven elementary buildings far exceeded this goal, with First Street Elementary scoring the highest in both math and reading, with 98.9 percent and 97.8 percent, respectively. In addition, all three middle schools surpassed the goal, with Cecil Intermediate leading in math with 90.4 percent and Canonsburg Middle School outperforming the others in reading with an 89.3 percent.

Unfortunately, Canon-McMillan High School only one of the two goal numbers, performing at a 78.9 percent in reading, but falling short in the math portion with a 63.3 percent. While this does not meet the goal, Lani said she is encouraged by the improvement by nearly 5 percent from last year.

“Was it the gains we wanted; no. But we are on our way up there,” Lani said.

The PSSAs are taken every year in the spring.

In other news, Technology Coordinator Matt Harding announced that he was able to reconfigure the district's Internet network for an improved speed, as well as a substantial savings. This year, the district will pay $1,400 per month as compared to $4,800 per month last year.

Also, Harding announced that all elementary teacher's computers are being replaced this year as well as the classroom computers for grades two through four. Typically, the district pays for old computer removal, but this year Harding was able to work with a company that paid the district $24,000 to buy the used equipment.

Business Manager Joni Mansmann announced that the district received unexpected money from the state for the accountability block grant and was able to hire two additional teachers for the year. The district will also be receiving the full findings shortly from the auditor general, and has already been notified of one finding.

The finding is due to an isolated error and will result in a savings of $50,000 for Canon McMillan schools, she said.

The next meeting of the board will be 7 p.m. Aug. 15.