Chromebooks pilot approved; Elementary trimester schedule approved; high school student-led study to delay start time ok’d
By Karen Cresta, Correspondent, The Times
EAST MARLBOROUGH – Despite the tornado watch Monday night, many attended the Unionville-Chadds Ford School District’s (UCFSD) Board of Education meeting held at Hillendale Elementary. Some were there as honored participants of the Run for our Sons, the Hillendale Storm Water project, the Delaware Valley Science Competition, and district retirees – but many were there wearing their UCF Education Association tee shirts anticipating a teacher contract update that was included on the board agenda – an update that didn’t happen since the board explained it was a misprint.
The board continued with business as usual and approved a pilot using Google Chromebooks, a new trimester schedule for all elementary schools and a student-led project was approved by the intermediate unit to look at the feasibility of delaying the start time for high school.
Although there was not an update on the status of the teacher contract negotiations by President Vic Dupuis as printed on the agenda, some stepped forward during the public comments portion and voiced their opinions.
A resident of Birmingham Township, who moved to the area for her two children to attend the reputable school district, voiced her support for the very talented staff of teachers.
“I just wanted to voice my support for the very talented staff of teachers that you have here and as a parent and a resident, I don’t think that anyone relishes higher taxes, but they truly are an investment in our future and my family has personally benefited highly from your staff here at Unionville.”
Jason Palo, a Tech Ed teacher at Patton Middle School, stated that the negotiations come down to money. Money that he felt the board could use to increase teacher salaries as part of the million dollar savings from the recent refinancing of bonds that was rolled into building renovations or cutting back on technology improvements in the budget. He stated that it is all about priorities and a happy balance between technology, building updates, and having fantastic teachers.
One of the technology advancements that Palo was speaking about includes the purchase of 270 new Chromebooks (web-browser based with a keyboard) at approximately $320 each for the next school year that will be piloted by one team of sixth graders, some high school students, and teachers. Board member Kathleen Do mentioned that is was important to note for budget purposes that the district wasn’t moving in the direction of supplying every student in the district for all to have a Chromebook but in the long run it could be a “bring your own device” scenario.
In other business, the new trimester schedule (from a four quarter schedule) for the elementary schools was approved for 2015-2016. The elimination of one semester would allow the teachers time for more instruction and less assessments. This would allow the 45 days per semester to be increased to 60 days that district officials believe will enable more focus on student achievement. The trimester trend has been successful in many neighboring school districts such as Kennett and Avon Grove.
Board member Jeff Hellrung reviewed an initiative that would potentially delay the start of the school day for high school students that a psychology class at Unionville High School began. The results of the student-led research found that students are going to bed late and are being deprived of sleep and it would be a real benefit to student wellness to delay the opening of the school day at the high school level.
Two seniors and two sophomores from UHS presented their findings at the Chester County Intermediate Unit (CCIU) board meeting. After the persuasive case was presented on why the school day should be delayed for high schoolers, approval was given to go ahead for student representatives in all of Chester County to pursue how it can be done keeping in mind after school activities, busing, and child care issues.
The chosen students for this county-wide project will be trained at the IU in team skills such as working on a team, roles on a team, research, surveys and presentations.
“I think we have a really good chance of totally reshaping the look of the school day in our whole county and if we do it, it’s going to be led by our own local students – high school students,” Hellrung said.
Board member Kathleen Do said, “This is a very big deal what they are doing. It is coming from studies throughout the country and then it ended up right here at Unionville High School where we did a study.”
If this comes to pass it’s going to change a lot of lives not only for the students but for the parents and I think it is a really positive change,” Do added.
The board approved the field trip for the seventh and eighth grade French students to go to Quebec, Canada, in January 2016. This is the fifth year for the trip as part of language enrichment.
All board documents and meeting minutes can be viewed on www.ucfsd.org.
