“There is no substitute for actually being together,” says Andrew Hauze, conductor and music director of the Delaware County Youth Orchestra (DCYO) and a senior lecturer at Swarthmore College. The COVID-19 pandemic has cancelled rehearsals, so he is finding creative ways to help his musicians continue to make music.
Last summer, I found out that my congresswoman, Mary Gay Scanlon (PA-5), was starting a Congressional Youth Cabinet. These non-partisan groups allow members of congress to connect with young people in their districts to discuss policy and work together to solve pressing issues in their communities. I was beyond excited by the opportunity and decided to apply.
At the Wallingford-Swarthmore School Board meeting on January 27, Denise Citarelli Jones presented several proposed new courses for the board’s approval. Citarelli Jones, director of secondary education, said the district hopes to better prepare students for careers in STEM, including computer science. Many future jobs in Pennsylvania will require STEM, computer science, and design thinking skills, according to statistics she presented. The district’s STEM Advisory Council, made up of teachers, administrators, and counselors, is helping determine what new courses are developed and how to incorporate STEM into more of the curriculum.
The first Wallingford-Swarthmore School Board meeting of 2020 began with a report from the board’s student representative, who reported that the high school’s Diversity Trainers went to Strath Haven Middle School to educate students about diversity and inclusion. Afterwards, the focus topic was the presentation of the proposed preliminary 2020-21 budget.
Dr. Kristopher Brown will be leaving his position as principal of Strath Haven High School (SHHS) in January 2020. In her report at the Wallingford-Swarthmore School Board meeting on Monday night, Superintendent Lisa A. Palmer announced that she hopes to fill the position on an interim basis with someone from within the district. She anticipates naming an interim principal in the next few weeks.
A check for $13,000 was presented to the Wallingford-Swarthmore School District at the School Board’s meeting on November 25 by Frannie Reilly and Elizabeth Ross, president and vice president of the Foundation for the Wallingford-Swarthmore Schools. The money, which will be equally distributed among grades K-12, will support R.E.A.D: Reading for Education, Acceptance, and Diversity. Also at the meeting, Superintendent Dr. Lisa Palmer informed the district that, since the beginning of the school year, eight cases of pertussis (whooping cough) have been diagnosed among district students.
The focus topic of Monday night’s Wallingford-Swarthmore School District meeting was the district’s continuing exploration of later start times. In her second sleep study presentation, Dr. Denise Citarelli Jones, WSSD director of secondary education, informed the audience of the progress that the sleep study task force has made now that half of the investigation is complete.
Wallingford-Swarthmore School Board Report
Students and families in the Wallingford-Swarthmore School District are heartbroken with the recent passing of Strath Haven High School junior Hallie Jackson. On Monday, during SHHS’s fourth block, around 1 p.m., all teachers received an email to read to their classes. The email stated that a student, Hallie Jackson, had passed away and that guidance counselors would be available to anyone who needed to talk.
In a message to the community which she read at Monday’s WSSD school board meeting, Superintendent Dr. Lisa Palmer said, “Our thoughts and sympathies are with [Hallie’s] family and her friends.” She said that the school district has established support centers in the middle and high school. These centers have been staffed with guidance counselors, school psychologists, and members of the crisis intervention team and will be made available to all students. Dr. Palmer encourages those whose students need additional support to contact the school office, principal, or guidance counselors. A resource guide for those that need help will be made available to the community through the district website. Dr. Palmer encouraged the community to keep Hallie and her family in their prayers.
Early in Monday night’s Wallingford-Swarthmore School Board meeting, Superintendent Dr. Lisa Palmer lauded the members of Strath Haven High School’s golf team for its remarkable season. The undefeated team was champion of the Central League and also of PIAA District 1, a double feat which had never before been accomplished.
At its Monday night meeting this week, the Wallingford-Swarthmore School Board authorized the hiring of Mary Figura as WSSD’s its first-ever assistant to the superintendent for management services. Superintendent Dr. Lisa Palmer said that compared to similar school districts, Wallingford-Swarthmore has had a “lean administrative team.” Figura is currently director of curriculum, instruction and technology in the Pine Grove (Schuylkill County) School District.
