Trinity students test bridge-building skills

It took days for students to build bridges for Jane Shamitko’s physics II class but just seconds for them to come crashing down.
The Trinity High School seniors made the bridges out of toothpicks and glue. A few also used small Popsicle sticks. They said it took more than 70 hours to build each one.
“Every day during the blizzard, that’s all I did,” said 18-year-old Josh Ferguson.
The students had to research bridge design and determine what they thought would hold at least 5 kilograms, or 11 pounds.
Some students worked together, and the class built five different bridges. One was 6 feet long, while the rest were 3 feet long.
One at a time Wednesday, weights were added to the bridges to see how much they would hold.
Ferguson went first.
He placed a 1 kilogram weight in a bucket hanging on his bridge.
“I didn’t even hear it creak,” Shamitko said.
He slowly kept putting weights in the bucket. It started to crack at 10 kilograms.
When he put the 11th kilogram in, the bridge came crashing down, sending toothpicks flying.
Ferguson was happy with the results.
“Better than I expected,” he said.
The purpose of the project was to learn about bridge truss design, proper gluing and how to build a bridge, said 18-year-old Mike Smith.
He was the only student who chose not to put more than 5 kilograms on his bridge. As long as the bridges met that requirement, the students didn’t have to keep weighing them down until they snapped.
All of the bridges held at least 5 kilograms.
“I thought they would meet the requirements,” Shamitko said. “They had their doubts.”

Some area districts to ask for waiver for making up snow days

Some area school districts plan to apply to the state Department of Education for a waiver that would allow them to forgo making up days lost because of the recent snowstorm, while others say they will not.
Schools were closed for several days because of the snowstorm this month. As school boards meet in the weeks following the snowstorm, they are discussing what to do about the missed days. State law requires schools to be in session for 180 days by June 30 or lose state money.
District officials say they’ve been notified by the state that they can apply for a waiver if their schools were used as a warming shelter or if they were without power and would have been in session if electricity were available. However, they must also prove that they have made every effort to make up the missed days.
Canon-McMillan Superintendent Helen McCracken said she is applying for the waiver because several of the district’s elementary schools were without power and one was used as a warming station. She said district officials are collecting information and pictures to send to the state as part of the application.
She said students will go to school over spring break to show efforts to make up the days.
Burgettstown is not applying for the waiver, said Superintendent Deborah Jackson. The district didn’t lose power or use its schools as warming stations, she said. Changes to the calendar will be made at the March board meeting and then posted on the district Web site.
Washington has worked five of its seven missed days back into its schedule – Feb. 15, March 5, March 31, April 1 and May 28. However, the district hasn’t decided whether it will apply for a waiver, said school board President David Stotka. It’s waiting to see if the state will allow some days to automatically be waived, he said.
One issue that keeps coming up is whether graduation dates will change.
Trinity Acting Superintendent James Dick said he is working hard not to change the graduation date since many parents have already ordered announcements and made plans for graduation.
Trinity students will give up spring break on April 1 and April 5 and half of Good Friday on April 2, he said.
Good Friday will be an excused absence for those who want it off for religious reasons, he said.
“That’s how we can get our days in,” he said. “I don’t know how else to do that. If we get more snow days, we can petition the Department of Education to let us go for hours.”
Trinity’s graduation will still be June 4, and remaining students would attend school until June 7 or 8, Dick said.
Seniors can be tracked by hours attended instead of days, he said.
Avella decided to push its graduation date back from June 9 to June 16.
“I don’t want to move graduation one day six different times,” said Superintendent Wayde Killmeyer.
He had recommended adding days to the end of the school year and leaving days off for spring break. However, after discussion at a recent board meeting about the spring break days taking place right before Pennsylvania System of School Assessment testing, the board decided it wanted students in school on those days.
“I would prefer to move the days around so we have instructional time prior to the PSSA,” said board member Cyril Walther.
The board is waiting until March to approve an updated calendar in case there are more snow days over the next few weeks.

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Tricky path to learning

Washington School Board wants to know when sidewalks in the city are going to be cleared of snow.
Classes are back in session after about 2 feet of snow blanketed Southwestern Pennsylvania earlier this month, but students can’t use most of Washington’s sidewalks to get to school, board members say.
“Most of our kids are walking in the street,” school board member John Campbell Sr. complained at Monday’s meeting.
A city ordinance requires homeowners to clear the sidewalks in front of their residences after a snowstorm within 10 to 12 hours, said Mayor Sonny Spossey. For a while, the snow didn’t stop so it was understandable that it wasn’t cleared as soon as it fell, he said. But that hasn’t been a problem recently.
“People need to be more diligent,” he said Tuesday, adding that they need to clear their sidewalks now.
School director William Braun suggested sending a letter to the city, asking that the ordinance be enforced. However, several board members said they already talked to city officials about the issue.
Business manager Rick Mancini said he sent the city street department a list of district bus stops, asking that they be cleared as soon as all of the streets are cleaned.
“The bigger problem is that individuals who own homes aren’t clearing sidewalks,” he said.
Washington Director of Code Enforcement Michael Behrens is away for training, but when he returns, he will take action against those who haven’t removed snow from their sidewalks, Spossey said.
Behrens will send them a letter giving them a number of hours to rectify the problem. If the walk isn’t cleared, Behrens will issue a citation, which includes a fine up to $300, Spossey said.
Once the sidewalk is cleared, the magistrate will suspend the fine, he said.
“All we’re after is compliance,” Spossey said.
At the meeting, board members also questioned who would be legally responsible if a child was injured while walking in the street because the sidewalks were snow-covered.
Solicitor Ken Baker said the district has no liability for students walking in the street.
“The primary responsibility is on the homeowner,” he said.

PDE names Teacher of the Year semifinalists

Harrisburg – Education Secretary Gerald L. Zahorchak today announced the 30 semifinalists who will vie for the prestigious title of 2011 Teacher of the Year.

“Pennsylvania teachers represent some of the best educators in the nation,” Zahorchak said. “We delight in the opportunity to honor these exemplary educators, who invest their time, hard work and energy to ensure that their students succeed.”

The instructor selected as Pennsylvania’s Teacher of the Year will serve as a spokesperson for teachers across the state and have the unique opportunity to represent the best in the education field.

Teachers were nominated by students, parents, colleagues or community members. A committee of former award recipients and past finalists select 30 semifinalists. From these 30 nominees the committee will chose 12 finalists.

The winner will be announced in October at the annual Teacher of the Year celebration in Harrisburg and will be Pennsylvania’s nominee for the National Teacher of the Year. The national winner will be named in the spring of 2011.

Michelle Switala, a mathematics teacher at Pine-Richland School District in Allegheny County, was named Pennsylvania’s 2010 Teacher of the Year.

Pennsylvania has participated in the Teacher of the Year program since 1965. The program is co-sponsored by the state Department of Education and the Pennsylvania chapter of the National State Teacher of the Year.

Media contact: Leah Harris, 717-783-9802
Editor’s Note: A list of the finalists for the 2011 Pennsylvania Teacher of the Year follows:
Linda Arricale, Pennsbury School District
Robin Bayliff, Schuykill Haven Area School District
Matthew Boice, Quaker Valley School District
Sally Bovell, Great Valley School District
Timothy Chelednik, Brockway Area School District
Jeffrey Chou, Abington School District
Michael Cioffi, Williamsport Area School District
John Dolphin, Pine-Richland School District
Thor R. Edmiston, Midd-West School District
Adrienne Floro, Quaker Valley School District
Michele Pavlov Fowkes, Upper Perkiomen School District
Melissa Fulmer, West Mifflin Area School District
Nathan Grippin, West Perry School District
Carol A. Guogas, New Hope-Solebury School District
Angela D. Homan, Penns Valley School District
Thomas Joyce, Pine-Richland School District
Kathryn Kasten, Bethel Park School District
Carin J. Liberati, Pine-Richland School District
Diane Lupia, Mechanicsburg Area School District
Molly Masser, Northern Lebanon School District
Kimberly D. McCoid, Pine-Richland School District
Kimberly McWherter, Derry Area School District
Cyndi Page, Abington Heights School District
Jennifer Jankowski Pavlin, Pine-Richland School District
Stephanie L. Ripka, Penns Valley School District
Dede Rittman, North Allegheny School District
Karen Shaffran, Cheltenham Township School District
Jaclyn Sheaffer, Midd-West School District
Leann Starner, South Western School District
Stephanie Staub, Upper Adams School District
Gretchen Stoddard, Northern Lebanon School District
Dr. Mark P. Thomas, Upper Perkiomen School District
Mairi Cooper Thompson, Fox Chapel Area School District
Laura S. Tobias, Penns Valley School District
Shawn Walk, Quaker Valley School District
Paul Wright, Radnor Township School District

Trinity names new superintendent

Trinity Area School Board hired a superintendent Thursday, finding a new leader with a background in education and business.

The board gave Paul Kasunich, the current Blackhawk School District superintendent, a five-year contract. He will make $135,000 for the first 15 months of his contract, which will run from July 1 to June 30 after the first year.

He will start 60 days from today, according to the contract. Kasunich will replace Thomas Turnbaugh, who left last summer to take a job in a district in eastern Pennsylvania. Trinity has had two acting superintendents since then.

Kasunich was not at Trinity's board meeting and could not be reached for comment Thursday because he was attending a Blackhawk meeting.

Jack Keisling, who led Trinity's superintendent search committee, said he's participated in a superintendent search committee three times during his tenure on the school board.

"I'm most pleased with this hire," he said.

Keisling said he likes that Kasunich has a background in business and education.

Kasunich was an executive for General Electric and AT&T before switching careers in the 1990s to pursue a job in education. He has held several administrative positions within Blackhawk since 2003 and was a teacher in Shaler Area School District for six years.

"He's got a great vision and is strongly interested in each child and their improvement," Keisling said. "He comes from a district that's doing well."

Board President Tom Bodnovich said as the committee went through the process, he hoped members would find someone who fit in with Trinity's culture.

He said Kasunich does just that.

Board member Scott Day said he wasn't searching for a candidate with a business background, but he likes the balance the new superintendent brings to the table.

"He's good with budgets. He's good with finances," Day said. "And the test scores (at Blackhawk) are improving. They are moving in the right direction."

However, in his years as superintendent at Blackhawk, Kasunich also presided over a district in turmoil triggered by a controversial building project that resulted in a majority of the school board being ousted in last year's election.

Trinity's search wasn't without controversy as some members of the public wanted more input into the hiring of the superintendent. The board did have questionnaires available at schools for community members to write what they wanted in a superintendent.

However, the public did not get to meet Kasunich before he was hired. At Thursday's meeting, some residents said that should change in the future. Others said that the community should give the new superintendent a chance.

Police say boy broke girl's wrist at school

GREENSBURG, Pa. (AP) — State police have been investigating a report than an 11-year-old boy broke the wrist of an 10-year-old girl during a note-passing incident at a western Pennsylvania school.

Greensburg Salem School District Superintendent Tom Yarabinetz did not immediately return a call for comment the investigation at Metzgar Elementary School in Salem Township.

Police say the incident happened Feb. 5 during a classroom altercation. Police say the boy grabbed the girl's arm and twisted it because she would not let go of a handwritten note the boy wanted.

Police have not said if juvenile charges have or will be filed in the incident.

Charges expected after "near-riot" at central PA high school

Authorities say disciplinary action and charges are expected after what they call a “near-riot” at a central Pennsylvania high school.
Officials say the 9:30 a.m. Friday melee involved more than 100 ninth- and 10th-grade girls at Central Dauphin East High School in Lower Paxton Township. School officials say no injuries were reported and classes continued as usual.
School spokeswoman Shannon Leib says she does not know what sparked the fracas, but with 1,700 students, “there will be disruptions from time to time.” Police Lt. Gary Seefeldt says it was the first time this school year that additional officers were needed at the school.
Leib says those involved face disciplinary action that could include suspension or expulsion. Police say they are reviewing video surveillance and interviewing staff members and plan to file criminal charges.
© 2010 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Two male teachers claim bias in southwestern Pennsylvania school

Two male teachers say they’re unfairly paid less than females with similar experience in a Pittsburgh-area school district.
A federal lawsuit filed Thursday says Steel Valley School District has a policy of hiring new teachers at the bottom rung of the pay scale.
Teachers Clay Karadus, of Munhall, and Steven Large, of Elizabeth Township, say that’s what happened to them even though Karadus had seven years’ experience and large had five.
But they claim female teachers are hired at a higher wage.
The district’s attorney, Donald Fetzko, denies the allegations. He says the suit is based on one “cherry-picked” example: a female teacher with seniority who left the district and was later retired with her seniority pay intact.
© 2010 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Making up snow days?

Whether schools will have to make up the days missed because of this week's snow is yet to be determined.

Area schools have canceled classes since Monday, and some have canceled for the remainder of the week, because of the weather, which has caused power outages and dangerous road conditions.

The state school code requires that schools complete 180 days of school by June 30, Department of Education spokeswoman Leah Harris said Wednesday.

If schools cannot meet that requirement, they must file a mandate waiver with the department, she said. A decision about whether to waive the requirement is made on a case-by-case basis, Harris said.

"There is no guarantee that because of a snow emergency that it will be granted," she said.

If a district does not meet the 180-day requirement and does not get the waiver, money will be taken from the district's state subsidy, Harris said.

Many school districts are already having class on Presidents' Day to make up a snow day from earlier this winter.

Ringgold classes were canceled again Thursday and Friday is "50-50," said Superintendent Gary Hamilton.

He said there are many things to consider before deciding whether to change the calendar or apply for a waiver.

He said the district could lose state money and instructional time and could end up paying employees for days they didn't work if students are in school for fewer than 180 days. He doesn't know if Ringgold will apply for the waiver.

"I will have to talk to my board about it," he said.

Ringgold may end up adjusting the calendar because it has days off scheduled for spring break. Graduation is scheduled for early June, so days could also be added at the end of the year, he said.

"More thought has to be put into it," Hamilton said.

Hamilton said the state Department of Education sent an e-mail to districts asking them to wait until the weather improves before deciding what avenue to take.

Gov. Ed Rendell released his education budget

Governor Edward G. Rendell today called for a $354.8 million increase in the state’s basic education funding today. The increase will bring to $5.9 billion the state’s total commitment to basic education and mark the third year of a multi-year commitment by the Governor and the General Assembly to increase the state’s share of education funding, according to a Pennsylvania Department of Education news release.
To find out more, visit here.

Trinity will hire superintendent without public input

The public will not have a chance to meet the superintendent Trinity Area School Board plans to hire before a vote is taken on his employment.
The agenda from Thursday’s meeting included a motion to hire the superintendent, upon the release from his current employer. The motion was up for discussion, but not approval at that meeting, meaning the vote will take place at the Feb. 18 meeting. The superintendent candidate was not identified on the agenda and the board did not name him during Thursday’s meeting.
The new hire will replace Superintendent Thomas Turnbaugh, who left over the summer. The district has had two acting superintendents while it searches for a replacement.
Two fathers asked the board Thursday whether the community would have a chance to question any finalist, as was suggested by board members previously.
“I was told we would be involved in the process,” said South Strabane resident Mike Williamson.
North Franklin resident Ed Brownlee said the board has once again disregarded public opinion by making the decision in the cover of darkness.
“You promised that there would be community input,” he said.
Board members did not comment on the matter during the meeting. However, after the meeting, consultant James Manley said board members discussed whether to have the public meet with the finalists.
However, they determined that they wanted to protect the confidentiality of the finalists, said Manley, who is helping with the search.
Some districts have an open hiring process. Trinity chose not to because it wants a superintendent who already has central office experience, Manley said. That means the most qualified applicants likely are working in other districts as assistant superintendents or superintendents, he said.
They didn’t want to keep educators from applying because their current employer might find out about it, Manley said.
More than 20 people applied for the job, he said.
Trinity is down to one finalist and is negotiating the details of the contract, he said.

Trinity defends student to West Point

Trinity Area School District Superintendent James Dick and solicitor Dennis Makel sent letters and made calls to the U.S. Military Academy at West Point in support of senior Ben Brownlee after an anonymous letter was sent criticizing his character for speaking out to keep district directors and fall coaches.
The issue came up at Thursday’s school board meeting when Brownlee’s parents and godfather questioned who wrote the letter painting the senior in a bad light and what the district was going to do about it.
Ed Brownlee, Ben’s father, accused board member Tamara Salvatori of sending the letter. He said the letter included copies of Facebook pages that his son set up in support of athletic director Ed Dalton and others at the school. He said Salvatori waved those pages in his face when she told him to stop his son from protesting to get Dalton’s job back.
If she didn’t send it, then she led someone to do it, he said.
“I want her resignation,” Ed Brownlee said. “This woman should not be allowed to be around our kids.”
Acting Superintendent James Dick said to the best of his knowledge, the letter did not come from the board. He said the board did not direct anyone to write the anonymous letter.
Because of the long executive session, Salvatori left before the planning meeting started because of a prior engagement. When contacted after the meeting, she said she did not send the letter to any one or any organization and that she was offended by the accusation. She called the allegation absolutely ridiculous because she would never send anonymous letters because she doesn’t think they go anywhere.
“Anonymous letters don’t carry any weight,” she said. “If I sent it, I would have signed it.”

Court rules that Pennsylvania school can discipline student for Myspace parody

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — A U.S. appeals court says Pennsylvania school students can be disciplined for creating MySpace parodies of school officials at home — but only if they are likely to disrupt school.
The 3rd U.S. Circuit Court reached different conclusions in two cases Thursday that involve suspending students for fake MySpace pages created off-campus.
In a Mercer County case, the court’s 2-1 opinion says a high school cannot reach into a family’s home and police Internet speech.
But another three-judge panel says Schuylkill County school officials can suspend a teen for her sexually explicit parody of her principal. The panel says the school could expect the posting to disrupt school.
Similar free-speech cases have surfaced across the country, with mixed rulings.
© 2010 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Washington School District suspends two for involvement in fight

MONESSEN - Washington School District administrators have suspended two female students for their involvement in a fight that escalated into a brawl among fans at a basketball game Friday.

Monessen School District police also plan to cite those students, as well as a female Monessen graduate, for disorderly conduct over the fight that broke out in a hallway during halftime at a high school boys basketball game between the two schools, Monessen Superintendent Cynthia Chelen said.

"It's unfortunate that such a great game was marred by this event," Washington Superintendent Roberta DiLorenzo said after Washington principals on Monday visited Monessen to view surveillance of the ruckus.

In all, seven people are facing disorderly conduct citations over the fighting.

Several other Observer-Reporter stories about the incident are here, here, here and here. See Mike Kovac's column about it here.

Obama wants to overhaul No Child Left Behind

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama is proposing to overhaul the No Child Left Behind education law, replacing the school accountability system that has slapped a failing label on more than a third of schools, including many that made big gains but just missed their annual targets.
No Child Left Behind prods schools to improve test scores each year, so that every student can read and do math on grade level by the year 2014.
In his budget plan, Obama proposed judging schools differently, looking at student growth and schools’ progress from one year to the next. Schools that do well would get incentives and rewards; schools that do poorly would face intervention and other consequences.
Education Secretary Arne Duncan credited No Child Left Behind with shining a spotlight on children who need the most help. But he told reporters Monday on a conference call the law “does too little to reward progress.”
The president’s budget plan says Obama would recognize and reward schools for helping kids make gains, even if they aren’t yet on grade level.
Administration officials have spent recent weeks discussing their goals in meetings with education groups. Kati Haycock, president of the Education Trust, said “this administration is not going to retreat” from pushing poor-performing schools to do better.
“The reality is, less might be expected of some, but more will be expected of others,” said Haycock, who participated in the meetings.
There are no details yet; officials have spoken only broadly about their plan.
Championed by President George W. Bush and signed into law in 2002, No Child Left Behind is overdue for a rewrite and Obama hopes Congress will pass a new law this year.
Critics argue the law’s annual reading and math tests have forced other subjects like music and art from the classroom and that schools were promised billions of dollars that never showed up.
The new budget blueprint, and the recent meetings with education groups, give a look at Obama’s thinking on other aspects of the law:
—Teachers. The 2002 law said all teachers in core academic subjects must be “highly qualified” but let states define what that meant; as a result, most teachers in the U.S. are now deemed highly qualified. Instead, Obama wants to measure teachers by how much their students improve, and he wants to do a better job of making sure disadvantaged kids, who are more likely to get inexperienced teachers, get experienced ones. The budget would create a $950 million competitive grant program for teacher recruitment and retention.
—Spending. Obama wants to make federal education spending more competitive to drive states and schools to do better, rather than relying on formulas that give states and districts a certain amount of money regardless of how well they educate kids. The president began with the $4.35 billion “Race to the Top” competitive grant program created by the economic stimulus. His budget would make more K-12 spending competitive — but money from the larger programs, those for poor children and children with disabilities, still would be distributed through traditional formulas. And his budget would add another $1.35 billion to the Race to the Top program.
—Standards. The president is pushing states to adopt tougher academic standards; his budget would give states money to align math and science teaching with higher standards. Nearly all the states have signed onto an effort by the National Governors Association and Council of Chief State School Officers to develop a set of high-quality standards. The Race to the Top program also will reward states for working toward those standards.