Thursday, August 30, 2012
Tuesday, August 28, 2012
Morrisville Schools Still Working on Teachers' Contract
MORRISVILLE SCHOOLSMorrisville Schools still working on teachers' contract
Posted: Tuesday, August 28, 2012 3:12 pm | Updated: 6:54 pm, Tue Aug 28, 2012.
Posted on August 28, 2012
The contract for Morrisville teachers expires Friday, but negotiations with the school district will go on beyond that.
Talks are scheduled for early September, district Superintendent Bill Ferrara said Tuesday.
“We have a good working relationship,” he said, adding that he’s confident both sides will agree on a bargaining agreement that will benefit union members and the district.
The contract with the Morrisville Education Association covers 69 teachers, two guidance counselors and a school psychologist.
Neither side is discussing the main issues on the table.
Under the current six-year contract, union members' health care coverage calls for a $10 doctor visit co-pay, $15 for specialist co-pay and $35 co-pay for an emergency room visit. If admitted, members pay a $500 co-pay but the district reimburses $400 of that.
In the first year of the contract, the 2006-07 school year, union members paid 7 percent of their health care premium. By the last year, that payment increased to 10 percent.
For eye care, union members pay a $15 eye exam co-pay with a $125 lens reimbursement.
Prescription drugs have three levels of costs, ranging from $15 to $35.
As for pay, all new hires in the district will begin on step OA of the scale, unless the superintendent and the new hire agree on a different step because of the professional employee’s prior teaching experience, according to the contract. The OA means nothing specific, Ferrara said.
During the 2006-07, a newly hired employee with a bachelor’s degree earned $40,784, and an employee with a master’s degree and 30 credits was paid $51,401 a year. Teachers with 12 or more years of experience and a bachelor’s degree earned $67,871 and those with a master’s degree and 30 credits earned $86,731.
As the contract ends, a first-year teacher with a bachelor’s degree earns $45,896. Teachers with a master’s degree and 30 credits earn $57,843. Teachers with 12 or more years of experience with a bachelor’s degree earn $76,378, while union members with a master’s degree and 30 credits receive a salary of $97,602.
Sunday, August 26, 2012
Poor School Libraries Put Student Achievement in Jeopardy
BCCT editorial.
Poor school libraries put student achievement in jeopardy
Posted: Sunday, August 26, 2012 12:15 am | Updated: 8:24 am, Sun Aug 26, 2012.
Poor school libraries put student achievement in jeopardy
Posted: Sunday, August 26, 2012 12:15 am | Updated: 8:24 am, Sun Aug 26, 2012.
The State Board of Education has released the findings of its Pennsylvania School Library Study, and the overall condition of public school libraries might be described in one word: pitiful.Although some school districts no doubt have top-notch, or at least adequate, libraries in which their students can experience the wealth of benefits contained in these resource centers, far too many young people are being deprived of this vital learning asset. Allison Burrell, a school librarian in the Southern Columbia School District, told the House Education Committee last week that “student achievement in all subject areas is in jeopardy” because of fewer librarians and a shortage of updated materials.
The library study showed that 128 Pennsylvania schools — 103 of them in Philadelphia — have no library at all. While 1,972 schools have librarians, fewer than 40 percent of them work full time. Some librarians are forced to shuttle among several buildings.
As for keeping books and other resources up to date, one superintendent in a self-described “high-poverty school district” said the average age of books in his elementary schools is 17 years; high school-level materials are even older. We would hope such a situation is atypical and that most school libraries aren’t using reference looks from the 1990s. That’s one of the big problems every library experiences: staying current with new books, periodicals and computer hardware and software. All of those things cost money — money school districts don’t have.
Remarks by Upper Bucks state Rep. Paul Clymer, R-145, the chairman of the Education Committee, seem to indicate he was at least a little surprised by the rundown condition of so many school libraries. He said the hearing “has given me a new perspective. ... We certainly will make strong recommendations that will benefit those who teach in the libraries of our public schools.”
That is, in fact, what librarians are. They’re teachers whose knowledge must span every subject area. Unfortunately, too many people have an image of librarians as little old ladies who shuffle books and tell little kids to keep quiet. Seldom are they acknowledged for the important work they do.
But they can only do so much when their numbers are spread so thin and they are given poor tools to work with. The state has guidelines for how much per pupil should be spent on school libraries. The guidelines are largely ignored. Skimping on libraries is a false economy, however. Students are being deprived, especially those from lower-income households whose only source of books and other educational and entertainment resources is the schools. The library study showed that students in schools where libraries receive higher funding score higher on PSSA reading and writing tests.
Whether lawmakers have the means or the will to properly fund school libraries remains to be seen. They’re cheating the students if they don’t.
Remarks by Upper Bucks state Rep. Paul Clymer, R-145, the chairman of the Education Committee, seem to indicate he was at least a little surprised by the rundown condition of so many school libraries. He said the hearing “has given me a new perspective. ... We certainly will make strong recommendations that will benefit those who teach in the libraries of our public schools.”
That is, in fact, what librarians are. They’re teachers whose knowledge must span every subject area. Unfortunately, too many people have an image of librarians as little old ladies who shuffle books and tell little kids to keep quiet. Seldom are they acknowledged for the important work they do.
But they can only do so much when their numbers are spread so thin and they are given poor tools to work with. The state has guidelines for how much per pupil should be spent on school libraries. The guidelines are largely ignored. Skimping on libraries is a false economy, however. Students are being deprived, especially those from lower-income households whose only source of books and other educational and entertainment resources is the schools. The library study showed that students in schools where libraries receive higher funding score higher on PSSA reading and writing tests.
Whether lawmakers have the means or the will to properly fund school libraries remains to be seen. They’re cheating the students if they don’t.
Friday, August 24, 2012
ABCs of Bucks County Technical High School
BUCKS COUNTY TECHNICAL HIGH SCHOOLABCs of Bucks County Technical High School
Bucks County Technical High School allied health senior Collin Leaper, 18, practices bed bath skills on SIM Man at his Bristol Township school on Wednesday afternoon. Leaper, a Bristol resident, recently won first place during the Skills USA district 2 competition. Dozens of students throughout Bucks County's tech schools won awards during the regional competition in Limerick, PA. The first place winners, however, are now preparing for state level competition next month in Hershey.
Posted: Friday, August 24, 2012 12:00 am | Updated: 5:52 am, Fri Aug 24, 2012.
Posted on August 24, 2012
This year’s freshman class at Bucks County Technical High School in Bristol Township will be the largest in the last five years.
The 442 members of the Class of 2016 represents a 12 percent increase from last year’s freshman class.
Why the spike?
“Perhaps due to the ongoing realization that a comprehensive technical education is a logical and efficient way of providing the student the opportunity to develop a skill applicable to our workforce while also providing excellent academics,” said Kevin Ody, the school’s coordinator of adult education and workforce training.
Or maybe it’s a reaction to the nation’s sluggish economy, climbing college costs and the school’s marketing campaigns to raise awareness of its offerings.
Founded in 1958, the school has provided education to students drawn from the Bensalem, Bristol, Bristol Township, Morrisville, Neshaminy and Pennsbury school districts. It has grown over the decades to a full-time comprehensive facility offering both academic and vocational instruction.
Statewide, there are 12 full-time vocational high schools, according to the Pennsylvania Education Department.
This year the school on Wistar Road will be offering industrial certification in every technical area offered by the school. Also, adult education evening classes and workforce training programs continue to be available in numerous areas and the school continues to expand its course offerings.
While the school was not making Adequate Yearly Progress as of 2012, math and reading scores “have shown improvements,” Ody said.
“As the only comprehensive technical high school in Bucks County, we provide premiere technical training dovetailed with an excellent, high standard of academics on a level with all other area high schools,” he said.
The school will hold an open house and application night from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. Nov. 1 for prospective students and families.
Website: www.bcths.com
WHO’S WHO IN THE SCHOOL
Administrative Director: Leon Poeske, 215-949-1700, ext. 2914
Supervisor of Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment: Connie Rinker, 215-949-1700, ext. 2813
Supervisor of Pupil Personnel Services: Kevin Gentilcore, 215-949-1700, ext. 2977
Business Administrator: Sharon Rendeiro, 215-949-1700, ext. 2916
Co-Principal: Henry DeGeorge, 215-949-1700, ext. 2357
Co-Principal: Mary Kelly, 215-949-1700, ext. 2349
Coordinator of Adult Education and Workforce Training: Kevin Ody, 215-949-1700, ext. 2348
Joint School Board Committee:
Ralph Douglass, Matthew Grodsky and Wayne Lewis, Bensalem; John Doyle, Bristol; Helen Cini, Stacy Gerlach and Angela Nober, Bristol Township; Wanda Kartal, Morrisville; Kim Koutsouradis, Mike Morris and Bill Oettinger, Neshaminy; Stephan Kosmorsky, John Palmer and Gary Sanderson, Pennsbury.
The board meets Aug. 27, Sept. 24, Oct. 22, Nov. 26, Dec. 18, Jan. 28, Feb. 25, March 25, April 22, May 22 and June 24. Meetings are held at 7:30 p.m. in the boardroom (K110) at Bucks County Technical High School.
2012-13 SCHOOL CALENDAR
Aug. 30 — Freshmen orientation in the morning
Sept. 3 — School closed for Labor Day
Sept. 4 — First day for all students
Sept. 17-18 — School closed for Rosh Hashana
Sept. 26 — School closed for Yom Kippur
Oct. 9 — Staff development; school closed
Oct. 10 — College and career fair
Nov. 6 — School closed for Election Day
Nov. 12 — School closed for Veterans Day
Nov. 21 — Staff development; school closed
Nov. 22-23 — School closed for Thanksgiving
Dec. 21 — Half day for students
Dec. 24-Jan. 1 — School closed for Winter Break
Jan. 2 — Students return
Jan. 21 — School closed for Martin Luther King Jr. Day
Feb. 5 — Staff development; school closed
Feb. 18 — School closed for Presidents Day
March 28-April 1 — School closed for Spring Break
May 17 — Field Day
May 21 — School closed for Election Day
May 23 — Senior Awards Night
May 24 — Field Day (rain date)
June 4 and 5 — Senior finals
June 6 — Senior finals make-up
June 12 and 13 — Grades 9, 10 and 11 finals
June 14 — Last day for students
Source: Bucks County Technical High School
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