Spring-Ford has Productive Ireland Trip

For a full gallery of photos from the Spring-Ford Area School District's trip to Ireland, click here.

The Spring-Ford Area School District Board of Education held a regular meeting on April 23 and gave a special presentation to recap the district's trip to Ireland for the Limerick to Limerick Exchange program. Students from the program, teachers/advisors Nick Tier and Margaret Castellano, Superintendent David Goodin, and board members Tom DiBello, Joe Ciresi and Bernard Pettit went on the trip.

It was also noted that some family members of Goodin, DiBello, Ciresi and Pettit went. DiBello opened the presentation with a statement.

"It wouldn’t be Spring-Ford if there wasn’t some rumors within the district and I'll address one now," he said. "Three board members did go to Ireland with Dr. Goodin and the students this year. We went to promote the program and will get into detail as we go through and show what was accomplished while we were there.

"The three board members that did go paid for, and I want to repeat that, paid for the trip themselves. There was no funding received. No educational foundation money was provided. No taxpayer dollars were used."

Goodin opened the official presentation explaining the history between Limerick, Pa. and Limerick, Ireland, which goes back to the early-1700s and the Evans family, who were amongst the first settlers in the area. Goodin went on to explain how five years ago Ciresi and some of the staff members got together and reached out to the school Coláiste Chiaráin to try to get an exchange program going.

"To date, we've had 66 students and 10 teachers participate in the program," Goodin said. "I, as well as three board members, have learned first hand the value of the program and what it means to our students."

Castellano explained to the public that the application process is long and grueling.

"These [students] are the cream of the crop that Spring-Ford has to offer," she said. "Everywhere we went, we were told over and over again how responsible and respectful they were. Everywhere we went in a foreign country, I was told this."

Castellano said the students practiced language skills and had meetings every day, and even missed some school days in preparation for the program. They worked hard, Castellano said, all on top of the school work they already had, which was mandatory to still complete, along with their regular extracurricular activities and jobs.

"These students not only represent Spring-Ford but really represent basically the drive and determination that the Evans came to this nation to concur," she concluded.

Tier reminded the public that along with Ciresi, former Superintendent Marsha Hurda, and current high school Principal Pat Nugent helped to pave the way for the program five years ago. This year, things were done a bit differently.

"We met the President, United States Ambassador, the Mayor of Limerick and did some things like going to the Aran Islands which wasn’t done in past," said Tier. "Our kids traveled pretty much the length and breadth of the nation doing lots of things. Lots of time was spent on buses and the kids saw lots of Centras, which is the Irish equivalent of Wawa."

Four students from the program where in attendance to present their thoughts on the trip, including Taylor O'Connor, Kinjal Patel, Clay Hofmockel and Hannah Power.

The speeches included stories about traveling to cities like Limerick, Cork and Dublin, the differences in culture, staying with host families, the kindness of the people, the economy, the trip to the Aran Islands and the scenery of the countryside, and the unique sports and arts.

Patel also remarked on visiting the primary school, which is the equivalent of an American elementary school.

"We presented the kids with books that we loved as kids," she said. "They really enjoyed it. We got to talk to them. They are really disciplined. They wear a uniform and have structure in school. They are really mature for their age, which was surprising."

Administrators and board members also presented. DiBello explained the board members went on the trip to further reach the goals of the program, which is, as he said, to move toward more student involvement.

"We were out seeking donations," he said. "We spent a lot of time meeting with dignitaries, discussing on a national level what we can do. They were very accepting to what this Limerick to Limerick program is doing on their end. They’re very anxious to see where we take this."

Goodin said they visited the United States Embassy and met with Ambassador Dan Rooney. DiBello added that students, administrators and board members also met with Prime Minister Taoiseach Enda Kenny. Ciresi continued, saying they then met with President Michael D. Higgins.

Ciresi said Higgins may someday attend a Spring-Ford High School commencement ceremony or speak to the community. Overall, the district spent almost an hour with him at his home.

"He felt it was one of the most unique [programs] he ever heard," Ciresi said. "He was more than gracious and open to answer questions. He's newly elected and will serve seven years. We're planning to donate a tree on [his] property at the arboretum and a tree at the new school over there."

The program also paid a visit to Jim Long, the mayor of Limerick, for about an hour. Long invited the Spring-Ford Golden Ram Marching Band to the 2014 Festival of the Bands in Ireland, as well as the Saint Patrick's Parade in Dublin. Ciresi said a conversation on the details is scheduled via Skype.

Goodin and the board then visited the Dell and Pfizer headquarters and set up a few meetings.

"Dell has a global/international office there," DiBello said. "They're responsible for providing global support and we went in and met with them. The goal that day was to talk about the program and technological advancements we’d like to see happen and how to set up global classrooms interconnecting Limerick and to the next level with other countries and schools around the world."

DiBello said they were amazed to be shown a mock classroom. Within it, there was enough seating for 25 students. On the desks, DiBello said, there were several different devices that allowed complete interactivity between teachers and students, with teachers being able to control the monitors on students' desks.

"They want to work with us to try to set up one or multiple of these so they can showcase to bring additional districts in," DiBello said. "If it all works out as planned, we’re talking about tens of thousands of dollars worth of equipment that they want to bring into district at no cost to us."

Overall, the students, administrators and board members felt a huge benefit from the trip.

"It was a life changing experience at airport as we were leaving," Ciresi said. "There wasn’t a dry eye in the airport.  I think we all watched and took part in it."

There was concerns raised in earlier months about where the funding would come from to send Goodin over to Ireland with the students. Eventually, Goodin and the board were able to solicit donations through the Spring-Ford Educational Foundation.

Goodin confirmed his total costs were about $2,000 for the trip. Donations were made from Exelon (check not in hand yet), Communications Solutions, Custers Garage, and the educational foundation. Goodin also said Fox Rothchild donated a $1,000, but he sent it back.

"I was the one calling vendors we do business with and seeing if they were willing to donate toward the program," he explained. "We’ve had a 30-year history with Fox, but this year, we went out for [Request For Proposal] for a new solicitor. That’s really just to see what’s out there, see what’s going on, what’s the competition.

"Because we did that, I didn’t want any hint of impropriety in the final decision. I talked to Marc [Davis] and they made it very clear, saying ‘We contribute to educational foundations all the time. We give to charity all the time. If you feel like you need to send the check back, that’s up to you, but we make these types of contributions on a regular basis.’ I said, well, ‘The last thing I want is in July, if we stay with Fox, someone jumping up and saying ‘That’s because they made a $1,000 contribution.’ So, I didn’t want that hanging over. This just wasn’t the best time."

The remaining donations, which total between five and six thousand dollars go right back into the Limerick to Limerick Exchange Program for the students.

Ciresi remarked in a later conversation that he hopes to be able to take the Ireland students back to the White House to meet the President of the United States.

DiBello closed with the students in mind and thanked Tier and Castellano for their hard work and guidance this year in their travels.

"[The students] are excited about being able to participate and the educational value they were able to experience," he said. "They look forward to going back and coming here like it was mentioned and keeping the relations going for many many years."