BUZZ FROM THE HIVE A newsletter of the Ferndale Area School District F ALL “Big Enough to Challenge, Small Enough to Care” 2011 We would like to welcome twelve new staff members to the Ferndale Area School District family. Elementary Secondary Dr. William Brotz, Elementary Principal Dr. Brian McDermott, Jr.-Sr. High School Principal Amanda Fettro-Woodruff, Special Education Aide Latrace Dixon, Special Education Teacher Lori Himes, Personal Care Assistant Jonathan Freidhoff, Music Teacher/Band Director Lori McGough, Cafeteria Dishwasher Crystal Keim, Mathematics Teacher Susan Pellow, Kitchen Utility Thomas Menna, Special Education Aide Jessica Taranto, Elementary Teacher Tonia Mitchell, High School Cook Left to Right: Front Row: Lori Himes, Lori McGough, Jessica Taranto Left to Right: Front Row: Tonia Mitchell, Latrace Dixon, Crystal Keim Back Row: Dr. William Brotz, Susan Pellow, Amanda Fettro-Woodruff Back Row: Jonathan Freidhoff, Dr. Brian McDermott, Thomas Menna ...at Greater Johnstown CTC Mrs. Carole Kakabar, our FASD attends the Joint Operating Superintendent, is the new Chief Committee meetings, sits on the School Administrator for the HealthTrust committee, and assists Greater Johnstown Career and with other administrative duties, as Technology Center. In this needed. position, Mrs. Kakabar works with Note: Ferndale Area High School the Vocational Director, Mr. John has 55 students attending the Augustine, in the educational GJCTC this school year. This is management and leadership of the 24% of our high school student vocational programs for high body. Ferndale Area supports school students from an academic vocational education! point of view. Mrs. Kakabar also P AGE 2 F ALL 2011 Ferndale Area School District What’s Inside Board of Education FASD Board Directors Honored ....................................... 3 President Cyber Charter Schools Costs Taxpayers Money .............. 3 Mr. Ridley Banks—Dale PSSA and AYP ................................................................. 4 Vice-President Public Notices ................................................................. 5 Mrs. Barbara Penna—Ferndale Public Notice of Special Education Services .................... 6 Secretary State & Federal Grant Programs .................................... 11 Mr. Edward Jones—Middle Taylor The Challenge Program ................................................. 11 Treasurer Mrs. Sandra Chobany —Dale Board Members Mrs. Susan Bailey—Dale Mr. Greg Blue—Middle Taylor Mrs. Melissa Garman—Ferndale School Board Meetings Mr. Wayne Meekins—Lorain Mr. Stephen Thompson—Ferndale The Ferndale Area School District Board of Directors meets on the third Wednesday of each month in the Elementary School Board Room at 6:00 p.m. except Administration for the months of May and December, unless Ferndale Area School District otherwise advertised. Meetings are not scheduled 100 Dartmouth Avenue for the month of July. Johnstown, PA 15905 814-535-1507 Superintendent of Schools Mrs. Carole M. Kakabar MORNING DELAYS, SCHOOL CANCELLATIONS, Business Manager AND EARLY DISMISSALS Mr. John Kowal The Ferndale Area School District will announce any changes in the schedule on the following stations: Ferndale Area High School 600 Harlan Avenue WJHT (92.1 FM) WJAC CH. 6 Johnstown, PA 15905 WFGI (95.5 FM) WWCP CH. 8 WKYE (96.5 FM) WTAJ CH. 10 814-288-5757 WRKW (99.1 FM) High School Principal WCCL (101.7 FM) WNTJ (850 AM) Dr. Brian McDermott WNTW (990 AM) *Follow WJAC TV and WTAJ TV primarily. Also the district has Ferndale Area Elementary School adopted an automated phone call system as well that will notify 100 Dartmouth Avenue parents by phone, if parents have signed up for this service. For Johnstown, PA 15905 more information, contact the Elementary or Junior/Senior High School Office. 814-535-6724 Elementary Principal We will notify the stations as early as possible when a change in the schedule is necessary. Be sure to note the length of the delay . Dr. William Brotz Check us out — www.fasdk12.org — Check us out — www.fasdk12.org F ALL 2011 P AGE 3 Long-term school directors are being honored across “Fifty-four percent of them devote 16 hours or more a the state by the Pennsylvania School Boards Association month to school board business. That shows a real at local school board meetings. School directors are commitment on their part.” recognized for years of service ranging from 8 to 48 years. According to Neel, these individuals Ridley Banks and Barbara Penna put in, on the average, about two-and- are recognized for 12 years of service a-half working days per month of and Greg Blue is recognized for 8 nonpaid, volunteer service as school years of service. All were presented a directors. certificate adding them to the PSBA “They exemplify leadership and “Honor Roll of School Board Service.” dedication, giving unselfishly to their PSBA President Marianne L. Neel, communities, students and the public West Jefferson Hills SD school schools,” she said. “Their efforts, along director, spoke about the recipients and their years of dedicated volunteer with those of their fellow board service to children, the community and Left to Right: Ridley Banks, Barb Penna, Greg Blue members, reflect their dedication to public education. giving our children the opportunity to “School directors continually are spending more of gain knowledge through the best educational system their personal time on school-related activities,” she said. possible.” In Pennsylvania, there are twelve approved cyber Association studies as well as other studies also support no charter schools. Last year, approximately 27,000 students academic benefit of cyber charter schools. Students who were enrolled in these schools, costing an estimated $230 return to public school after “trying out” cyber school for million dollars, which is charged to local school districts up to a year are typically behind their classmates and need as tuition for cyber charter students. Last year, at Ferndale to catch up. Some students, who come to public school Area School District, there were 22 students attending after being in cyber school for two or more years, are cyber charter schools, which cost the district significantly behind their peers. We are finding this to be approximately $138,000 of taxpayer money. true here at FASD. Yes, taxpayers are footing the bill. Advertisements and Post-secondary education is recognizing this as well, recruiters for cyber schools prominently use the word and some colleges will not accept students who have a “free”. They spend a great deal of money promoting cyber cyber school diploma. The United States Department of education through the media. Again, this money comes Defense reviews academic credentials for recruitment from public school district coffers. Imagine what we purposes, and has ranked cyber school diplomas lower could have done last year for our students at Ferndale Area than traditional diplomas. The Board shall require the Elementary School and Ferndale Area Junior-Senior High cyber charter school to pay the cost of the expenses for its School with $138,000. students’ participation in the district’s extracurricular Cyber charter schools taking taxpayer dollars to fund activities or interscholastic athletic programs. their programs is a concern of all schools, and we are Cyber charter schools cost taxpayers money. They are working together to address it. What we are finding is that not free, as advertisements would have you believe. most community members don’t know that their taxpayer Ferndale Area School District students enrolled in cyber dollars are going to fund these cyber charter schools, charter schools in 2011-2012 are going to cost our through an act of Pennsylvania state legislation. taxpayers approximately $190,000. Wouldn’t you rather Additionally, cyber charter school education is not have that money in your wallet? equivalent to public school education, neither If you have additional questions about cyber charter academically nor socially. A 2011 Credo Study found that schools or want to know what you can do to help get our Pennsylvania cyber schools performed significantly worse money out of their hands, please call the district offices at than their traditional public school counterparts in reading 535-1507. and math. Numerous Pennsylvania School Board P AGE 4 F ALL 2011 The PSSA (Pennsylvania System of School building who belong to that subgroup. Here at Ferndale Assessment) is a series of tests taken by all Pennsylvania Area School District, we are required to make AYP in public school students in grades 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 11. subgroups for gender, ethnicity, special education The tests are based on the PA Standards of material students, and economically disadvantaged students. content which all students are expected to know at a Additionally, schools are required to make adequate specific grade level in Reading, Writing, Math, and yearly progress with respect to student participation in Science. Students take a Reading and a Math PSSA in taking the PSSA, graduation rate, and attendance rate. each of the tested years. The Writing PSSA is taken only Federal Law, No Child Left Behind (NCLB) requires in grades 5, 8, and 11. The Science PSSA is taken only in that school districts provide a report card annually that grades 4, 8, and 11. Students are expected to pass these reflects Graduation Rate, Attendance at the Elementary tests which would indicate that they have made adequate School, and participation and results on the PA System of yearly progress