School Board Approves Equity and Curriculum Audits, Appoints Interim Member

The September 13 meeting of the Wallingford-Swarthmore School District began with an opening report from student representative Supraja Sudarsan that chronicled the return to the start of a fully in person school year. For some students in the district, this marked the first time in 18 months that they had been physically in school with their peers. 

New Superintendent Dr. Wagner Marseille, who has relocated his family to WSSD and has a daughter in the sixth grade, began his presentation with photos from the first day across the district, and quickly pivoted to the more serious topics of masking in schools, and vaccinations. Dr. Marseille told the board, “I’ve had a lot of questions about vaccination mandates,” and noted that while vaccines were not currently being mandated for WSSD staff, the vaccination rate stands at 98% and fewer than a dozen staff members remain unvaccinated. 

However, vaccination rates among students have been lagging and show a sharp disparity between the lower and upper grades. According to the data presented at the meeting, vaccination rates for eligible students by age range from 0% in grade 6 to 64% in grade 12. Only about 40% of 10th and 11th graders are vaccinated, and the percentage drops to single digits for middle school students. About those statistics, Dr. Marseille commented, “I was taken aback thinking that I would probably have more high school students who were vaccinated…It’s a family decision that needs to be made, but I was looking for a lot higher number.” 

Dr. Marseille then described a new approach to committees of the school board which involves an emphasis on transparency within a structure of three board-led committees: Educational Affairs, Facilities & Finance, and Policy. Every committee meeting will have an agenda and be open to the public, with minutes publicly posted to the district’s website.

Which committee is the new superintendent’s favorite? Dr. Marseille drew a chuckle from board members when he quipped, “I have my favorites, though you shouldn’t – or is that only with children?” He then revealed that his personal favorites are Educational Affairs and Policy. He stated his view that one of the top functions of any school board, other than hiring the superintendent and passing an annual budget, should be to “ensure the effective implementation of policy.” 

Dr. Denise Citarelli Jones, WSSD’s Director of Education, then led a focused discussion recapping the September 2021 meeting of the Educational Affairs committee, which resulted in the recommendation for an equity audit slated for fall of 2021, and a curriculum audit planned for the spring of 2022. The two audits will be followed by a communications audit and a demographic study of the district. Data from all four studies will flow through a committee of school administrators and members of the public to establish an updated strategic plan for WSSD.

Dr. Jones said that the objective of the audits is “to provide an unbiased, in depth understanding of where we are strong, and where we need to be better as a district.” “We must first define equity,” she began. As starting points in defining equity, she referenced the work of Pedro Noguera, and WSSD’s current policy on equity, which defines equity as “the fair and just allocation of resources, opportunities and treatment of students based upon each individual student’s needs.” Said Dr. Jones, “addressing inequities presents districts not only with a challenge, but also an opportunity to create a truly diverse environment for teaching and learning.” Dr. Jones expressed concern about the current state of equity within WSSD, leading to the prioritization of the equity audit. She remarked, “in terms of equity, we are not okay, by far...there are disparities that are alarming.”

Dr. Jones reported that at Strath Haven High School, 73% of white students take advanced classes, while only 39% of black students take an advanced class. At the middle school, 46% of white students scored Advanced on PSSA math in 2019, while only 17% of black students did. She then connected the two data points by describing the can-do mindset that early achievement creates in students, “Advanced on PSSA gets down into you, and you feel that you are capable of doing it.” Dr. Jones then observed that available data show a 60 percentage point difference between black and white students in two of WSSD’s elementary schools regarding students who meet math benchmarks. “This is important data, and it tells a story…We don’t want to be too late, and for every student where there is a gap, it’s almost already too late,” she said.

Following the equity audit, a curriculum audit planned for spring of 2022 will look at coverage and quality of the school district’s curriculum, programs and services, and “consistency and equity of programs and services” across the district. The goal, said Dr. Jones, is the pursuit of continuous improvement in the district’s academic curricula.

Dr. Jones pointed out that the combined cost of the audits ($102,000) qualifies to be funded by federal ESSER/ARP funds because their objectives are, in part, to reduce learning loss and support the district’s most challenged students. Referring to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic over the past 18 months, she observed, “there is no doubt that there has been learning loss for our students.”

Panthers 4 Panels presented the WSSD board with a check for $11,500 to install solar panels on the Panther Pit adjacent to George L. King Field.

Several members of the public spoke in support of the equity audit. Jayatri Das, of Swarthmore, commented that Hanover Research, the firm recommended for the equity audit, has experience in Diversity, Equity and Inclusion issues and methods of data collection. “I’m really glad that this audit is the one that comes first,” she emphasized.

Following Dr. Jones’ presentation and the public comment section of the meeting, the board voted unanimously to approve both audits.

In other matters, Panthers 4 Panels presented the board with a check for $11,500, raised over the past several years, to install solar panels on the Panther Pit adjacent to George King Field. Donations came from community members. Swarthmore resident Bill Foster commented that the installation of solar panels, while seemingly a small gesture, was an important step in the evolution of the school district’s thinking about leading by example on the issue of climate change.

Toward the end of the meeting, the board voted unanimously to appoint Republican Amy Caruso on an interim basis to fill the seat vacated by Chapin Cimino in August, 2021. Ms. Caruso was the only candidate who applied to fill the position. Her interim term will end in December 2021; the vacant seat will be filled by special election in November 2021. Ms. Caruso described herself as a seasoned veteran of WSSD school board meetings and familiar with WSSD from a parent’s perspective by virtue of her volunteer work with the Home and School Association.

Interim WSSD Board member Amy Caruso.

When asked by new school board member Kevin Henry for her view on what is the most pressing issue facing the school board, Ms. Caruso replied: “I think a lot of them have been addressed this evening.” Henry followed up with a question about Caruso’s stance on universal masking, to which Caruso answered, “At this point, I support any guidelines that require masking by any agency.” She then noted that she supports full time, in person school for all students.