Amid discussion, education committee moves GSA creation to full board
By Kyle Carrozza, Staff Writer, The Times
Dr. Kimberly Donahue speaks on the importance of kindergarten education. Donahue said that the biggest difference parents can make is reading to their children.
CALN – The Coatesville Area School Board will vote on the implementation of a Coatesville Area Senior High School Gay Straight Alliance Chapter after the education committee unanimously approved to move the item to the full board on Tuesday night.
The decision was not without discussion though, with some board members wanting more information and other board members and parents saying that other afterschool programs have not required similar investigation.
The initial recommendation came from the SPIRIT Team, a club of students focused on efforts to improve the school environment.
“We’re about the only high school in Chester County that doesn’t have this, and I think it’s about time we get on board,” said CASH Principal Robert Fisher.
9/10 Center foreign language teacher Rachel Gibson, who would help advise the club, said that the group would foster a community for students who might not otherwise have a supportive community as well as provide a voice for LGBT students.
Education committee member Deborah Thompson, who initially indicated that she wanted to table the item, said that she would like public input before giving the club final approval later this month.
“I think that the community and the parents should have a right to weigh in,” she said, pointing out the community’s desire for transparency. “I’m not saying no, I just think we should table it.”
She also voiced concerns as to why such a program may be needed.
“What happening that you need to segregate yourself?” she asked. “Being in a club isn’t going to rectify that.
School Board President Dean Snyder and board member Greg Wynn agreed with the creation of a program.
“If someone were to come up here and want to start a club for another ethnic group, we’d immediately say yes,” said Wynn.
Some parents also voiced their opinions. Colleen Beckershoff said that a survey to gauge interest was not conducted when she helped to found the JSMC. Another parent said that a GSA would provide students a supportive environment they might not have at home. Doing a public survey would be gauging interest from the same parents they might not be comfortable going to.
Education committee member James Hills said that he would like more information on how the club is run. Particularly, he mentioned that he does not want the process of joining the club to out LGBT students.
The committee approved the item to go before the full board. As per amendment, the district will gather public feedback in the meantime.
Presenting findings from the Chester County Intermediate Unit facilities audit, Joe Lubitsky recommended that the school district restructure the management structure in the facilities department and outsource multiple services.
Lubitsky said that in the past, the district’s facilities plans maintenance has suffered from poor oversight, poor administration, and lack of employee commitment.
He cited examples of roof leaks in multiple buildings, classrooms so cold that teachers wear jackets and gloves, and “filthy” bathrooms. He also showed pictures of “jury-rigged” wiring and vine overgrowth on school walls, an issue he said that hundreds of facilities people would have had to ignore for years to reach the current state.
He did, however, commend the current administration and board for their efforts in fixing the schools. The CCIU believes that the elimination of unneeded positions, a call for accountability, and the cancellation of the Coatesville Solar Initiative agreement—which the findings said had a “questionable cost : benefit and return on investment”—have all been steps in the right direction.
Lubitsky suggested outsourcing various services to the CCIU and its partners could save the district $1.2 million next year while also improving schools.
East Fallowfield Principal Wayne Wallace defended the quality of work done by his janitorial staff.
“I don’t want you to leave here thinking that these guys don’t care,” he said.
Parents questioned the quality of work done on Reeceville and Caln Elementary roofs, both of which have multiple leaks after being recently replaced. The CCIU said that District Solicitor Michael Levin is currently examining the potential of legal action being taken against the company that worked on Reeceville’s roof.
“We’re not going to let people take advantage of the Coatesville Area School District,” said District Superintendent Dr. Cathy Taschner.
Assistant Superintendent Dr. Kimberly Donahue spoke on the importance of teaching literacy skills in kindergarten. Donahue said that factors like socioeconomic status are blamed when students underperform, but she said that students who perform well in kindergarten usually continue to outperform their peers in higher economic brackets later in life.
She said that a goal should be for parents to read 1,000 books to their children before kindergarten in order to build alphabet knowledge and the amount of sight words in their vocabulary.
“Probably the strongest impact a parent can make before kindergarten is reading books,” said Donahue.
Along with Taschner, Donahue said that the school district will partner with everybody it can to continue reading programs.
reading books, great idea, my grandaughter, who is a kindergarten student at Kings Highway, is an excellent reader, her parents have always spent a lot of time reading to her from day one.