Superintendent Reflects On First 100 Days
Student representative Supraja Sudarsan opened Monday night’s meeting of the Wallingford-Swarthmore School Board with an enthusiastic rundown of events for Homecoming Week, which started with Strath Haven High School students who dressed up as middle-schoolers, and is culminating with the Panthers’ football game against Penncrest on Friday night, October 15.
The week started with students at Strath Haven High School dressing up as middle-schoolers.
Strath Haven Middle School is having fun with the 36 different clubs offered at the school addressing such things as minds and body, diversity acceptance, sports, reading and writing, music, science, games, and the arts. The students are engaged in Panther Pride lessons twice a month which focus on social, emotional learning.
Supraja also thanked Superintendent Dr. Wagner Marseille for hosting conversation sessions with the communities of all the schools in the district. She says that students are excited to be able to speak with someone in the administration who is accessible to them through the sessions.
During one of the sessions, the topic of transportation came up. Students are carpooling or walking back and forth to school. There are a large number of students on buses, especially the combined 3 o’clock activity buses. Supraja said that because of the COVID cases, students would rather take the half-hour walk home. She would like to see more steps taken for safety on buses, like what has been done in the schools.
Foundation Gift
Michelle Lowry presented a donation from the Foundation for Wallingford-Swarthmore Schools in the amount of $11,600. Each elementary school will receive $1,800; SHMS will receive $2,700; and SHHS, $3,500. The Foundation supports funding classroom initiatives to encourage teachers to request and receive funding for innovative and excellent programs and materials for their classrooms. Next on the Foundation’s agenda is raising money for the mental health issues of positive behavior intervention and support, and trauma coaching. To learn more about the Foundation’s initiatives, please visit www.supportwssd.org.
Superintendent Reports
After thanking Ms. Lowry and the Foundation for their support, Dr. Marseille addressed his first 100 days with the district. He centered on the meetings he has had so far with the community and students, stating the following central theme:
Extremely talented and dedicated staff
Finding balance in the pursuit of excellence and supporting the holistic needs of students
Social Emotional Supports - Counselors
Building stronger communities - sense of belonging
Equity, Access and Opportunity
Data focused - data informed - data driven
Upcoming sessions with Dr. Marseille will be held at Strath Haven High School on Monday, October 18, and at Nether Providence Elementary School on Tuesday, October 19, Both sessions will run from 5:30 p.m. to 6:45 p.m. SHMS, Wallingford Elementary, and Swarthmore-Rutledge schools met during this week.
Dr. Marseille also addressed the health and safety of students taking fi eld trips—local, out-of-state, and international. A total of 88 trips have been requested. Though some of the trips have been approved, many are for after the new year, and the superintendent is concerned how the landscape will look due to COVID. Since nurses are a necessity during the trips, a Pandemic Team has been established to gather the criteria needed to assess and approve any fi eld trips. Also, he would like to remind parents that trips are subject to be rescheduled or cancelled.
Springfield Pharmacy has agreed—pending approval of the vaccine for ages 5 and up—to schedule appointments for students whose parents consent to the vaccination. Dr. Marseille thanked lead COVID nurse Deb Sweeney, who set up the agreement which also includes fl u and shingle shots for the staff. The District plans to send out a survey to gauge interest in the student vaccination clinic.
‘Test-To-Stay’
Dr. Marseille told the board that he would like to address a “Testto- Stay” program that would allow students and staff who are identifi ed as in-school close contacts during COVID-19 contact tracing and are in school for work or learning. Staff or students would not be required to quarantine from school by taking routine COVID-19 rapid antigen tests [BinaxNOW] over the course of 10 days. Dr. Marseille says that with flu season starting, and with the rates the high school has now, the district will possibly see higher numbers. “That is, unfortunately, what we saw last year,” he said.
Even though the program comes with problematic and financial issues, Dr. Marseille said that the Delaware County Intermediate Unit (DCIU) is extremely supportive, and many superintendents in Delaware and Montgomery counties are moving toward “Test-to-Stay.”
As part of the District’s commitment to mental health and resiliency, Student Services has developed a survey for all grades. The survey is age appropriate, and focuses on students’ awareness, understanding and acceptance of emotions, as well as their ability to adapt when confronted with adversity and stressful situations. The survey is being presented this week to kindergarten through twelfth grade.
Board Updates
The board announced that during the executive session held prior to Monday night’s meeting, board member Amy Caruso was appointed to the Education and Policy Committee. The board also approved the appointment of Ethan Ake-Little as the director of human resources. Mr. Little replaces Ferg Abbott, who is retiring after 30 plus years of serving the children of WSSD.
Board member Jennifer Lentz gave an update on the Educational Affairs Committee’s meeting that was held on October 6. Two items were on the agenda—the Pennsylvania Department of Education’s Comprehensive Plan and School Start Time Investigation and Review. The Comprehensive Plan is a compliance document required by the Department of Education every three years. The process is a review of the District’s mission, vision, and values, as well as the core foundations, such as curriculum, instruction and professional development. Part of the plan is to conduct a needs assessment to identify the district’s accomplishments and concerns. It is due in March of 2022. The process will include a collaboration from the core administrative team, as well as a committee made up of community members, business leaders, teachers, and parents.
The committee will review the school start time investigation that was started in May of 2019, but was interrupted in March, 2020, by the pandemic. Using the previous investigation as a springboard, the committee will address the structural and organizational changes that the District has made in the last 18 months and present their findings to the board in January.
The board approved a contract with Top-A-Court, LLC to resurface the Strath Haven High School tennis courts in the amount of $37,500, to be paid from Capital Reserve Funds. The surface of the courts have exceeded their useful lifespan.
Senior Addresses Transgender Policy
At the audience recognition part of the meeting, a senior from SHHS addressed the board about the District’s policy, 259-AG-1: Gender Expansive and Transgender Students - Ensuring Equity and Nondiscrimination, that was passed in June of 2018. During Health and PE 2 in tenth grade, he mentioned that part of the curriculum was transgenderism and being forced to accept it. The student asked that all references to transgenderism and transgendered people be removed from the required curriculum, and giving parents the authority to decide if they want their child to consume the content presented to the student. He referenced that the policy allows boys into girls locker rooms and vice versa, and that students as young as 11 were being educated about genital mutilation and other surgeries. He questioned the fact that failure to comply with the policy can result in disciplinary action. He assured the board that he wasn’t bringing this up out of hate, but out of love, and his religious beliefs. This student’s personal choice is to respect each individual.
You can review this meeting of the Wallingford-Swarthmore School Board on the district’s YouTube channel.
