CHAMBERSBURG, Pa. — At Tuesday’s committee-of-the-whole school board meeting, board members prepared to welcome students, families, teachers and staff back for the upcoming school year starting Aug. 19.
New student orientation begins next Tuesday for Chambersburg Area Middle School North and next Wednesday for Chambersburg Area Middle School South. Annual updates, homeroom postings and announcements begin Aug. 14. Both campuses will have self-guided tours on Aug. 17.
Open houses and self-guided tours for grades 9-12 also begin next week. Trojan U is scheduled for Tuesday, the Career Magnet School for Wednesday and Chambersburg Area Senior High School for Thursday, with freshman orientation on Aug.18.
Superintendent Christopher Bigger encouraged parents to help children ease back into school routines by adjusting breakfast and bedtime schedules, limiting technology use and reading more books.
Reminders about the bell-to-bell phone policy across the school district for the upcoming year were given. Students may not have phones with them once the bell rings. The policy has already been in place for K-8 students, and grades 9-12 will begin following it this year.
Families have already received notice of the policy and will receive additional information through ClassDojo. Students will also discuss the policy during class meetings. Staff have been coordinating behind the scenes to support a smooth transition and ensure alignment in expectations across the district.
Commuters traveling before and after school hours were also urged to prepare for returning school buses and to use extra caution around student pedestrians near school buildings.
Pre K-12 updates
Director of grades pre-K-3, Andrew Nelson, thanked teachers and cleaners for preparing classrooms for the new school year. Over the summer, elementary principals completed AIM’s science of reading training and staff is scheduled to complete it during professional development days.
Parents were also reminded to register their kids as soon as possible. Calls are being made for oversubscribed students to help balance out the class levels at the elementary schools.
Director of grades 4-8, Melissa Cashdollar, said several departments and teachers reviewed the grades 6-8 curriculum map and standards alignment to clarify how students demonstrate understanding in the classroom over the summer.
A new schedule will be launched to align Chambersburg Area Middle School North and South. Beginning this fall, teachers will collaborate in teams across grades 4-6 at the intermediate level and grades 7-8 at the middle level in preparation for the district’s “Schools of Distinction by 2030” initiative.
Director of grades 9-12, Deborah Luffy, said summer administrative meetings and trainings helped staff prepare for more productive, meaningful conversations between teachers and students.
The administrative team also trained on informal functional behavior assessments and positive behavioral support plans to identify classroom interventions before seeking outside support.
Chambersburg Area Senior High School and the Career Magnet School have revised curriculum maps as both move to block scheduling. The high school will also add flex time for remediation, club activities and other special programs into the schedule.
And more
PA CareerLink will pay up to five student interns for the upcoming school year, with two students in tech support and three in custodial support per semester. The paid work agreement states that each student will work for up to 12 weeks at $15 an hour.
Bigger presented a learning opportunity to explore capital campaigns, which seek funding, grants, or donations from organizations beyond advertising and naming rights.
One example was expanding student internship opportunities by reaching out to philanthropic foundations. Bigger said, “People want to donate to something that reoccurs every year, and they can see that it benefits a child directly”.
The goal is to move beyond one-time donations and build long-term commitments through proposals centered on lifelong learning. Additional research will be conducted.
The next regular school board meeting will occur on Aug. 18, a day before the start of the new school year, in the CASD Administration building boardroom at 7 p.m.
