CV Board Goes Back to School

Chartiers Valley school directors didn’t spend Tuesday night’s workshop meeting sitting behind their large boardroom desks. Instead, they immersed themselves in a high school classroom and saw firsthand what students are learning.

Teacher Alan Welding and nearly 40 students in his rhetorical communications class demonstrated how they use technology and laptop computers each day at school

“How long has it been since the school board has been in a classroom and seen what it’s like in person?” Welding said.

Welding discussed the impact of advertising – one of the topics in his class - and went through what seemed almost like a classroom lecture on an electronic white board.

“Doing projects can show how these tools can be used in the real world,” Welding said. “It’s not English, it’s not math, it’s not social studies and it’s not science.  It’s all of those combined.”

Later, each of the school directors worked with small groups of students to discuss the technology they use now and what may be needed in the future. Many of the students in the class are seniors, and some board members said they were impressed the kids spent the night discussing something that probably won’t impact their education.

“I love interacting with the kids,” board member Patti Figorski said. “This is something we need to think very hard about because we want to keep Chartiers Valley ahead of the curve.”

District Superintendent Brian White Jr. said it is important to get the board inside the classroom to understand the challenges teachers face and how the students’ education can be improved.

“The school board sits in that (board) room and how often do they get a chance to interact?” White said. “I wanted to give them a chance to see it for themselves. It’s not show and tell anymore.”

Also during the meeting…

-Administrative Services Director Terri Flynn briefed the school board about the new Freshmen Academy initiative scheduled to begin next school year. The 270 incoming freshmen will be separated into three teams to help with scheduling for the core classes of English, math, science and social studies. Flynn said the initiative will keep the students connected, offer better flexibility with classes and give teachers more oversight.

-White said it is still unclear how the state budget cuts announced this week by Gov. Tom Corbett will affect the district. He said the biggest financial impact might be to the school’s full-day kindergarten program, which began in 1990 and started receiving state funding five years ago. However, White said there will be no changes to the full-day kindergarten program. Overall, the district is in good financial shape, he said, and it is unlikely that the board will have to raise taxes.