News for Superintendents and Board Members: October 9, 2006
We have all of our programs up and running for the new school year. We are starting the year operating 107 school-aged special education programs housed in our school districts. At the Colonial Campus in Brownsville, we are operating a multi-classroom Alternative Education program, seven Therapeutic Emotional Support programs and three Multidisability Support programs. At the East Franklin Campus in Waynesburg, we are operating four Partial Hospitalization programs in partnership with Centerville Clinics, four Therapeutic Emotional Support programs, a Life Skills Support program, an Autistic Support program, and an Early Intervention program. At the Clark Campus in Washington, we are operating a multi-classroom Alternative Education program and two Emotional Support programs. At our campus in Laboratory, we are operating three Multidisability Support programs, an Autistic Support program and a community based Life Skills Support program. In addition, we are operating 94 early intervention program in various locations throughout the tri-county area. We are providing itinerant English as a Second Language (ESL) programs for 75 students throughout the region. We have ten counselors and teachers supporting the non-public schools. The adult education program is hoping to exceed last year's enrollment of 900 students at its 17 locations.
For this month's presentation to the Board of Directors, Ms. Joanna Mangiapane and Kristin Van Strein demonstrated the capabilities of the KITS (Kids + Integrated Technology = Success) regional wide area network with a live video conference with the education staff at the Great Barrier Reef Park located in Queensland, Australia. Board members were able to talk with three representatives of the park including an underwater link with one of the marine biologists who showed us coral life forms and tropical fish that populate the underwater park. In real time, the board ventured through the park with amazing visual and auditory clarity through our broadband connection. This activity is just one example of the multitude of virtual experiences that can be offered to students in the KITS school districts.
At the close of business on Friday September 29th, the IU, six of our year-one school districts and two CTCs were connected to the regional wide area network. The other four year-one school districts will be brought on line over the next couple of weeks. The data center servers are installed along with the air conditioning unit and back up UPS battery system. The concrete slab on which the back up generator will sit has been poured and is curing. The generator is scheduled to go on line the week of October 9, 2006.
There are a number of resignations and retirements this month. The quantity is not out of the ordinary for this time of the year. Unfortunately, we are not given much advance notice in many cases. As a result we have to hold employees who are resigning to take positions with school districts until we can find replacements. Also, it means we have to advertise and hire a large number of staff after our August Board meeting.
The Board approved a set of policies dealing with student attendance, confidentiality of student records, possession and use of controlled substances. Other policies deal with amending the vacation leave policy to reflect changes in the non-bargaining unit work force and to establish a sick bank program for non-bargaining unit employees who are experiencing serious health issues. The Board had an opportunity to read through the proposed policies for a second time. What is of underlying importance is that we have operationalized a standard operating procedure for adopting or amending policies. This is a part of one of our strategic initiatives to strengthen internal support systems.
The Board approved a contract with the Hornfeck Engineering group to plan the expansion of the training facilities at PaTTAN-Pittsburgh. An additional training room is needed to meet the needs of the Department of Education. The associated expenses and revenues are in the PaTTAN budget for 2006-07.
A tentative contract agreement with the Intermediate Unit 1 Educational Support Professionals has been reached. The union ratified the contract at their August 16, 2006 meeting. Currently, the union's executive committee is reviewing the specific language changes. Once the language changes are agreed upon, the administration and negotiating committee will make a recommendation to the Board. We anticipate the recommendation will be made at the October Board meeting.
We dedicated a tree in the front of the central office in memory of Mr. Craighead, former Executive Director. We selected a young tree to symbolize Sam's lifetime dedication to young people, his love for the outdoors, and the deep roots he left within this organization. We were honored to have Sam's wife Pat and her children and their spouses join us in the dedication.
