WMASDSTATE OFEDUCATION 2022
Areviewofdevelopmentsinthe educationallandscapeoverthepast yearatWestMifflinAreaSchoolDistrict
Theviewsandopinionsexpressedin thisreportaresolelythoseofKevinSquiresanddonot necessarilyrepresentthoseoftheWestMifflinAreaSchoolDistrictortheBoardofDirectors.
SquiresK@wmasd.org
Kevin Squires, M.Ed. is a 2011 graduate of the West Mifflin Area School District and was elected to the West Mifflin Area School Board of Directors in November2021.
He serves as a member of the education, policy, and long term strategic planning committees and chairs the technology committee. He also serves as the district's representative on the South Hills Area SchoolDistrictsAssociation(SHASDA).
Kevin has taught at top public and private schools throughout Western Pennsylvania after graduating with his masters from Point Park University and currently works as a laboratory specialistattheUniversityofPittsburgh where he researches infectious diseases
Description
Thefollowingreportisafocusedreviewof thenewdevelopmentsintheeducational landscapeoverthepastyearatWest MifflinAreaSchoolDistrict.
Thisincludescybereducation,social emotionallearning,atrauma informed approachtoeducation,careerand technicaleducation,specialeducation, recenttestscores,andcurriculum updates.
OutlineofReport
Examiningthestateofeducationis somethingIfeeliscriticaltoensuring successofthestudentsourdistrict serves.WhilethisissomethingIam constantlydoingasaboardmember,I believeinformingthepublictobe extremelyimportanttohighlightnew initiatives,identifyweaknesses,and promote thenewthingshappening withinthedistrict'swalls.
For2021 2022,Ibelievethestateof educationforourdistrictisimproving.
Theviewsandopinionsexpressedin
AbouttheAuthor GoalsofthisReport Page1:CoverPage Page2:Index;AboutTheAuthor Page3:TitanCyberAcademy; SocialEmotionalLearning Page4:Trauma informed approach;SteelCenter Page5:SpecialEducation Page6-7:TestScores Page8: Curriculum
StateofEducation
thisreportaresolelythoseofKevinSquiresanddonot
necessarilyrepresentthoseoftheWestMifflinAreaSchoolDistrictortheBoardofDirectors.
TitanCyberAcademy(TCA)
Cyberschoolingbecameamuchbiggerpriority andfocalpointfollowingCOVID.TheTitanCyber Academycontinuestogrowandofferstudentsa convenientandqualitycyberoptionfortheir education.
Herearesomeofthenewupdatesfor2022:
TCAdoubleditsfull-timefacultytobetterserve students'academicandsocialneeds.
NewCourses,AcademicSupport,andSocial DevelopmentCourseswereadded
Withincreasedstaff,TCAcanmeetthe uniquelearningneedsofallstudentsinthe cybersetting,whilepayingspecialclose attentiontoeachstudent. Attheelementarylevel(K 3),specialscourse offeringswereenrichedtoincludehands on projectsandlivedemonstrationswithactive participationinlessons.
K 3cyberstudentsalsoparticipatedinaKids Connectprogram,whereeachchildcan learnandinteractwithpeerswithin person andlivesocialinteraction Atthemiddleschoollevel,grades(4 8), specialscourseofferingswereenrichedto ensureamoreconsistentprogramthat parallelsin personofferings. Atthehighschoollevel(9 12),advancedand honorslevelcoursesforEnglish,Science,and Mathwereaddedtoofferingsaswellas manyelectiveoptionsthatusedtoonlybe availabletoin personstudents. Careerexplorationelementswereaddedat alllevels
ALLK 12TCAstudentsarenowabletoattend liveonlinetutoringorin-persontutoring
StateofEducation
convenientandconsistentschedule
thisreportaresolelythoseofKevinSquiresanddonot
Thisyear,thedistrictstartedusingthePupil AttitudestoSelfandSchool(PASS)survey toassesshowstudentsfeelaboutschool andthemselvesasalearner,including connectedness,self efficacy,and motivation.Theboardapproveda36 month subscriptionatatotalcostof$28,800. DevereuxAdvancedBehavioralHealthGroup hasalsobeenbroughtonasanewaddition toprovidestudentswithsocialemotional supportatacostof$4,000 Socialandemotionalbarriershavealwaysbeen ahinderancetolearningandaresonowmore thanever.Identifyingandhelpingaddressthese barriersareofever-growingimportance Social-Emotional Learning Applyforthe2022 2023SchoolYear at https://www.wmasd.org/20222023TitanCyberAcademyEnrollment .aspx
ona
tailoredto individualneeds. Theviewsandopinionsexpressedin
necessarilyrepresentthoseoftheWestMifflinAreaSchoolDistrictortheBoardofDirectors.
StateofEducation
InFebruary,theboardadoptedPolicy 146.1-"Trauma-InformedApproach"
Thefullpolicygoesintogreaterdetail, butinpartreads:
"TheBoardrecognizestheimpactthat traumamayhaveontheeducational environmentoftheschools,individual studentachievement,andtheschool communityasawhole."
"TheBoarddesirestoaddressthe effectsoftraumainordertomeetthe academic,behavioraland professionalneedsofstudentsand staff."
"Thepurposeofthispolicyistodirect districtstafftodevelopand implementaplanfortrauma informedapproachestoeducation throughoutthedistrict."
Inthespringof2022,theWestMifflinAreaSchoolDistrict BoardofDirectors,alongwith10otherpartnerdistricts, demonstratedtheirdesiretokeepastrongworkforce andsupporteconomicgrowthbycommittingtoa$29 millionrenovationofSteelCenterforCareerand TechnicalEducation.
SteelCenteroperates18 stateapprovedprogramsof studyalignedtoin demandoccupations,including: AdvertisingandDesign,AutoMechanics,Bakingand PastryChef,BuildingTradesandMaintenance,Culinary Arts,Carpentry,ComputerTechnology,CollisionRepair andRefinishing,Cosmetology,ElectricalConstruction, DieselTechnology,SportsMedicine&Rehabilitation, HealthAssistants,PublicSafety,Welding,HVAC R,and VeterinaryAssistants.
WestMifflinAreaSchoolDistricthasover120students enrolledthisyear,withstudentsineverysingleoneof theseprograms.
SteelCenter’soverallstudentenrollmenthastrendedup anaverageof7%peryearoverthepastfouryears.
repairs/updatestotheHVAC,electrical,andplumbing systemsaswellasADAupdatesandimprovementsto thecenter’scurrentandfutureprogramsofstudy.
Therenovationswillprovidedesperatelyneeded
Theboardhasapprovedacontract withtheNationalDropout PreventionCenter(NDCP)forthe 2022-2023and2023-2024school yearstotrainandprepareallstaff membersinallcomponentsofthe TraumaSkilledSchoolsModelwith afocusonimprovingschoolsafety throughtraumaknowledgeand resiliencydevelopmentatacostof $26,667perschoolforatotalof $106,668. TraumaInformed Approach Theviewsandopinionsexpressedin thisreportaresolelythoseofKevinSquiresanddonot necessarilyrepresentthoseoftheWestMifflinAreaSchoolDistrictortheBoardofDirectors.
StateofEducation
InOctober2022,theboard approvedcreatinganewFull time SpecialEducationAutisticSupport Grades4-5TeacherPosition. 2022markedthestartoftheTitan Troop WestMifflin’sversionofBest Buddies. AllK-3autisticandphysical supportservicesarenowoffered atHomevilleElementary AllK-3lifeskillsandemotional supportservicesarenowoffered atClaraBartonElementary Asensoryroomisbeingcreatedat themiddleschool. Studentswithautismcontinueduse withthenewRoboKindrobotsfor behavioralandemotionalskill development. Highschoolstudentscontinued workingattheTitanShoppe. Withatotalpercentageofspecial educationenrollmentof26%and substantiallyhigherthanthestate average,specialeducationmustbea priorityforthedistrict. Theviewsandopinionsexpressedin thisreportaresolelythoseofKevinSquiresanddonot necessarilyrepresentthoseoftheWestMifflinAreaSchoolDistrictortheBoardofDirectors. https://www.wmasd.org/Download s/Special%20Education%20Plan%2 02022-20255.pdf Viewthe2022-2025 SpecialEducationPlan Posted:June2022bythePennsylvaniaStateDataCenter
SpecialEducation
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PSSAScores
Standardizedtestshavemoreweaknessesthan strengths,especiallyinthecurrentclimateof education.Withsignificantlyfewertesttakers acrossthestatethanusualandthehavocof COVID,itischallengingtomakemeaningful interpretationsofthedata Idonotbelievefixating onoremphasizinghigh-stakestestingisgoodfor childrenorschooldistricts Thatbeingsaid,having someformofstandardizedtestandpayingsome attentiontothedataisoneofthefewwaystoget apictureofhowourdistrictisperformingat meetingtheeducationalneedsofstudents.For thatreason,IexaminingthePSSAresultsfrom2019 and2022atthestateanddistrictlevels. Herearemyinterpretations:
%advancedorproficientdropsin everycategoryforboththestateand thedistrictcomparedto2019 not shocking,theCOVIDslipisrealand lasting. WestMifflinslippedlessthanthe stateaverageinEnglish,morein math,andaboutthesameamount inscience. WestMifflinunderperformsthestate averageforallthreesubjects,butthe districthasgottenclosertoclosing thegapwiththestateaveragein 2022thanitwasin2019forEnglish andMath.
Iamoptimisticthatimplementinganew sciencecurriculumandgreateremphasis onscienceinthedistrictthroughnew initiativesalreadytakingplaceorplanned willhelpinclosingthisgapandfor performanceandscientificknowledgeto increaseforstudents.
Theviewsandopinionsexpressedin thisreportaresolelythoseofKevinSquiresanddonot necessarilyrepresentthoseoftheWestMifflinAreaSchoolDistrictortheBoardofDirectors.
StateofEducation KeystoneScores
TheKeystoneexamsareadministeredatthe endofacourse,butscoresarereportedonly whenthetesttakerisin11thgrade.Thatmeans atesttakeninoneyearmightnotbereflected untilsubsequentyears.
Becauseofthisreportingstyle,thewide rangingschedulingofcoursesforparticular gradesorstudentsbasedonabilitywithin districtsusuallyarenotrelevant becausethe statedataisjust11thgradersacrosstheboard. However,COVID,theshutdownofschoolsin 2020,andthecancellationofexamsforthat yearhascreatedamajorprobleminobjectively analyzingKeystonedata.Aproblemthatwill continuetoexisttosomeextentforYEARS.
Inbiology,the2022samplesizeforWestMifflin was14students WestMifflintypicallystudents takebiologyin9thgradewhichwouldhave been2020whentheexamwascancelled.The 14studentsincludedlikelyhadtotakethe coursein10thgradeforsomereason(suchas failingortransferringfromanotherschool).The stateaverageisincludingschoolsthattypically teachbiologyto10thgraders whowouldhave haditthenextyearinasomewhatnormal setting.Toanalyzetheseresultsinanytruly meaningfulwayisnotencouraged.
Algebrawillbeamixedbagofyears,withsome studentstakingthecourseasearlyas7thgrade andothersnottakingituntil11thgrade.Sample sizeforAlgebraIwas76studentsfor2022,but 210for2019.
Literaturewas158studentsfor2022and208for 2019.
Myoverallopinionoftheseresultsisthatthey areuseless.
Theviewsandopinionsexpressedin thisreportaresolelythoseofKevinSquiresanddonot necessarilyrepresentthoseoftheWestMifflinAreaSchoolDistrictortheBoardofDirectors.
EnglishLanguage ArtsCurriculum
Theboardapproved:
McGrawHillgradesK-5six yearELAprint anddigitalsubscriptionofWondersstarting July1,2022atacostof$309,371.09
Savvasgrades6-8six yearELAprintand digitalsubscriptionofMyPerspectives startingJuly1,2022atacostof$142,790.80
ThreeyearsofAcadienceReadingK-6AOL DigitalAdministrationfromVoyagerSopris Learningatatotalcostof$17,850effective August1,2022.
Savvasgrades9-12six yearELAprintand digitalsubscriptionofMyPerspectives startingJuly1,2022atacostof$140,847 McGrawHillgrades9-12six yearELAprint anddigitalsubscriptionstartingJuly1,2022 ofAPLanguageandcompositionatacost of$6,132.50.
SavvasLearningCompanyforsixyearsof technologyintegrationofthe6-12reading seriesthatwillexpireonJuly31,2028ata costof$3,709.
ELA Math
ContactMe SquiresK@wmasd.org
SquiresForSchoolBoard
OtherCurriculumrelated Purchases
Theboardapproved:
Purchaseofanonlinesubscriptionwith MysteryScienceforK-3science curriculumtoexpireonJune30,2023ata costof$3,198.
ALEKSHighSchoolMathIntervention subscriptionforthe2022 2023school yearatacostof$8,280.
ALEKSMiddleSchoolMathIntervention subscriptionforthe2022 2023schoolyear atacostof$3,312.
SourcewellTechnologygradesK-5three yeardigitalsubscriptionstartingJuly1, 2022ofSpringMathatacostof$7,595 year1and$6,800years2and3.
AcadienceMathDigitalLicenseforData ManagementfromVoyagerSopris Learningatacostof$1,500forthe2022 2023schoolyear.
Science
Social Studies
WMASD Curriculum Cycle
Arts/PE
Humanities
Theviewsandopinionsexpressedin thisreportaresolelythoseofKevinSquiresanddonot necessarilyrepresentthoseoftheWestMifflinAreaSchoolDistrictortheBoardofDirectors.
StateofEducation
