Oct. 23, 2017

Volume 3, Issue 8

York City

School

District

Growth data reveal district progress

The Monday Memo 2017-18

The following column first appeared in the Sunday, Oct. 22, 2017 edition of The York

Daily Record.

By ERIC B.

HOLMES, ED. D.

Superintendent

School District of

the City of York

T hirty-one years ago, I accepted a job as a social studies teacher at the William Penn Senior High School and settled into an apartment on West

Market Street near Continental Square. Dur-ing those first few years in York, I regularly shopped at downtown stores and dined at downtown restaurants. Then I watched all of those places close or relocate to suburban

shopping centers.

The loss of York’s economic center triggered a downward spiral that took years to unfold, and then more years to recognize as the cause-and-effect pattern that’s struck so many cities across the United States. City resi-dents lost access to good-paying jobs. Middle-class families left for the suburbs. Home pric-es declined. Single-family homes turned into multi-family rentals. Neighborhoods deterio-rated and crime accelerated. About 20 years ago, the full impact of that spiral struck the

School District of the City of York.

I have never been interested in making excus-es for the disappointing standardized test scores that have been attributed to York City schools. Those measures of grade-level profi-ciency accurately reflect the academic status of our students. What I’ve found frustrating over the years, however, has been the lack of context in which those scores are reported,

debated and criticized.

When it comes to the children of York City, there are other numbers equally as important as test scores. We must acknowledge the reality of concentrated poverty in this urban setting; otherwise, we cannot adequately serve the needs of the nearly 6,000 children who

currently attend our district schools.

The reality of life for our students should give everyone pause. More than 55 percent of the students who attend the School District of the City of York live in ‘acute poverty,’ according to a recent report on education funding from the Pennsylvania Association of School Busi-ness Officials. That is the highest percentage of students living in acute poverty among all 500 Pennsylvania school districts. When you consider the well-documented correlation between poverty and low academic achieve-ment, our proficiency test scores begin to

make a lot of sense.

Because the percentage of students living in poverty is so high, every student in the district receives free lunch. However, we still measure how many would qualify for free-and-reduced lunch under federal guidelines. That number during the 2016-17 school year was 86 per-cent. There’s another number we track that is even more staggering. Between August 2016 and June 2017, more than 1,300 students registered with the district. During the same time period, more than 1,200 students with-

drew.

The enrollment at William Penn is 1,185 stu-dents. Imagine if the entire student body at the William Penn Senior High School turned over in one year. That’s the depth of our transiency problem. Already, since July 1, we’ve had more than 1,000 new students enroll in the

district.

We’re also seeing significant year-to-year in-creases in our English Learners demographic. English is a second language for 37 percent of our students. With a few exceptions and ac-commodations, these students are expected to take the same PSSA test as any other Penn-

sylvania student.

So what does this mean for classroom in-struction in York City? Our task is to iden-tify each student’s academic status and catch them up to where we want them to be as quickly as possible. We know that the ma-jority of our students have academic deficits before they even arrive on our doorstep. Using a nationally recognized assessment called DIBELS, we measured readiness among our Kindergarten students this year. More than 60 percent measured “below” or “well below” benchmark. Even though the students who participate in our Pre-K pro-gram performed better on the DIBELS than those students who did not participate in our Pre-K program, we know from years of collecting data that more than half of the Pre-K students will leave the district before

taking the PSSA in third grade.

So it is within that context that I want to explain why I am so proud of what our stu-dents and teachers accomplished last year – and why I am genuinely optimistic about the

future of our school district.

The results of the Pennsylvania Value Added Assessment (PVAAS) were released this week. The PVAAS measures student growth from one year to the next, while the Pennsylvania System of School Assessment (PSSA) measures grade-level proficiency. The PVAAS data allow us to determine if students are growing academically and, if so, to what degree. For the first time since the state started using the PVAAS measure, district-wide data reflect that York City students in grades 4-8 met the standard for PA Academic Growth in English Language Arts and exceeded the standard for PA Aca-

demic Growth in Math.

From an individual building perspective, data show that six out of seven district K-8 schools met the PA Academic Growth standards in both English Language Arts and

CONTINUED ON PAGE 3

Page 2

Jackson girls find confidence as leaders

For the 12th year, our district’s 7th grade

students from Jackson K-8 attended the

Young Men and Young Women Leadership

Conferences. The girl’s conference was

sponsored by WellSpan, and took place at

York College.

This year’s theme was “Buried Treasure –

A Girl’s Guide to Finding Inner Strength &

Unshakeable Confidence.” The girls were

challenged by speaker Kathleen Hassan to

stand up to adversity and setbacks and re-

alize how special and unique they really

are. The girls also heard from York College

students who shared their personal stories

from 7th grade to present, and how differ-

ent challenges helped shape who they are

today.

— Chrissy Simonds, School Counselor

Graduates return to serve McKinley

On rare occasions, we have an opportunity to see our alumni, and how

they carry on P.R.I.D.E. in their lives and in the community. Indeed, we

have been blessed with two such individuals, Edmund (Class of 2013) and

William (Class of 2014) Sakyi, who are in their fourth year of serving in

the McKinley After School Program. Both young men have plenty to be

proud of, but they display such an unselfish presence. You’d never know

that they were valedictorians of their respective classes, and have gone

on to attend York College, majoring in Biology and Pre-Med.

They credit their parents and family with their success. You might have

seen or remember Benzies (Class of 2010) and Jennifer (Class of 2006),

who are likewise giving back through the After School Programs at Fer-

guson and Hannah Penn. In fact, Edmund and William say their parents

built a strong foundation through discipline and direction, which is, ac-

cording to the brothers, the key to their success.

They have seen a need in students’ background knowledge and reading

skills, and have been able to help students in lessons, which they teach

during the program. The brothers have seen improvements in both the

education and behavior of the students they work with, and they are

hoping these students will have continued growth as they progress

through each grade. Laurie Freeland, the Site Coordinator at McKinley K-8, was quick to

note how these gentlemen go above and beyond their duty each day.

She said that no matter how late the last parent is in picking up their

child, William and Edmund always “insist on walking me to my car.”

She feels especially grateful to have them working with our kids. Assis-

tant Site Coordinator Richard Manning agreed, saying, “These young men

are exemplary in their leadership skills. They keep their word and display

exceptional integrity.”

So, if you see any of the Sakyis walking through our halls, be sure to

give them a nod of appreciation for not only their continued service, but

for the way they exemplify P.R.I.D.E. as former graduates of our great

district.

By Ann Biggs, McKinley Teacher

Edmund Sakyi (left) and William Sakyi (right)

Page 3

Holmes: Recovery Plan is working

Math. At the William Penn Senior High School, growth measurements indicate that students met or exceeded PA Academic Growth standards on the Keystone Exams in

Algebra 1, Biology and Literature.

We are also pleased to see the School Perfor-mance Profile (SPP) scores increase for six of

eight district schools.

The PSSA results, which were released two weeks ago, show the district has significantly fewer students scoring in the proficient or advanced categories than other districts in our county. However, our results also indi-cate a significant number of students across all grade levels and all subjects moving from the below basic to the basic category. While this is not considered grade-level proficiency, it is student academic growth. We cannot expect a 6th grade student who starts the school year reading on a 2nd grade level to test proficient or advanced on the 6th grade ELA test a few months later. It is because of excellent teach-ers and a commitment to implement our Re-covery Plan process that we are more often seeing that 6th grader end the year on a 4th grade reading level. That is growth. That is

success.

The district’s current Recovery Plan has been in effect roughly two years. The plan is work-ing because it addresses the roots of the problem. For example, this year we launched a teacher looping program that keeps stu-dents and teachers together for two grade levels. Last year, we implemented a new K-6 curriculum, written by our own teachers, that

ensures consistency in instruction across the

district.

In a community where many children lack stability, we aim to create some. We offer a free After School Program to all K-8 students complete with tutoring, enrichment activities and a nutritious dinner every day. We want our students nurtured, healthy and focused on

education.

We’ve hired social workers and behavior specialists for each of our buildings. Together with our Communities in Schools site coordi-nators, these professionals provide desperate-ly needed social services to students and their families – allowing the educators to concen-trate on instruction. This is our second year of offering a Community and School-Based Behavioral Health Program that makes mental and behavioral health services available to our

students and their families at three schools.

We continue to expand our Pre-K program to prepare as many students as possible for Kindergarten. This year, we have 14 class-rooms spread among the city’s neighbor-hoods. We are changing the culture of our schools by rewarding positive behaviors and handling negative behaviors in a more proac-tive manner. We’ve opened character educa-tion rooms in every building, where trained staff help students cope with stress and trau-ma in a healthy way – rather than one that leads to discipline issues. Students cannot learn if they are not in school, and our sus-pension numbers have been unacceptably high for too long. I am happy to report that out-of-school suspension numbers decreased by 33

percent between 2015-16 and 2016-17.

Finally, we are offering our students and families an educational choice they’ve never had before. We opened the Edgar Fahs Smith STEAM Academy to 300 students in grades 3-8 this August. The defining concept of this school is project-based learning, an educational approach that emphasizes criti-cal-thinking and problem-solving skills. We will continue to add grades to the STEAM Academy until it serves grades 3-12. Over the next three years, we are preparing to open career-focused academies at the Wil-liam Penn Senior High School. These acade-mies will empower students to explore their interests through elective courses and graduate from high school with confidence

in their post-secondary choices.

We have a long way to go and a lot of work to do, but I know that hard work pays off in

the City of York.

What may seem like an overnight explosion of commerce and vibrancy downtown did not happen that way at all. A community of believers has devoted years of vision, pas-sion and commitment to breathing life back into the streets and storefronts of down-town York. You can feel the momentum building, the tipping point approaching. The

renaissance is happening.

We also have a community of believers in the School District of the City of York who work tirelessly to provide our children with a premier educational experience. This PVAAS data represents the first of many positive steps in the right direction. Join us in making a commitment to the district’s renaissance. The children of our city de-

serve nothing less.

Davis K-8 Principals Mindy Sweitzer and Greg Wolfgang honored the family of Krystle and Joshua Newport at the school board’s Oct. 18 meeting. Three of the family’s children currently attend York City schools. Joshua Newport is a graduate of William Penn. The principals recognized the Newports for their commitment to education and willingness to help at the school. The Newports said they appreciate the communication and interaction they have with Davis teachers.

… CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

Page 4

York High teacher sets ‘growth mindset’

Ms. Sue Miller's second grade ELL class at Devers has been growing seeds to follow the plant cycle and needs. We

have been measuring the growth, watering and waiting for buds and flowers.

During the month of October, Wil-

liam Penn Senior High School students

in all of Ms. Abigail Brumback’s ELA

classes began a year-long project using

a Growth Mindset Data and Reflection

Journal.

Ms. Brumback has spent this year

attempting to utilize more data in her

classroom. Trying to accomplish this

goal, she implemented a journal that

students use daily as they create and

reflect on their long-term goal, short-

term goal, quarter goals, and monthly

goals. Furthermore, students record

their own grades and re-takes of as-

sessments to track their own progress.

Students also evaluate themselves daily

on the skill or standard Ms. Brumback

sets out to teach.

Students’ goals are posted in the

room so that they are reminded daily

of what they ARE going to accomplish

this year. On the first day they created

the goals, they shared them out loud

to the class to put their words into

action. Ms. Brumback went around the

room and asked each student “What

goal are you going to accomplish this

year?”

Students record whether or not

they believe, after a lesson, they are

a novice, apprentice, practitioner or

expert in the standard/skill. Ms.

Brumback compiles that data for

each of her classes and posts it un-

der the charts “Is Ms. Brumback

Teaching?”

Students reflect on their under-

standing of the standard and their

application of the skill while also

determining which depth of

knowledge level they accomplished

that day. Ms. Brumback then uses

this to inform her teaching and re-

teaching while also posting how stu-

dents have responded to her teach-

ing.

Students also respond in Growth

Mindset Reflection Journals where

they respond to the quote in rela-

tionship to their journey toward goal

success this year.

This project is ongoing, and Ms.

Brumback hopes that this provides a

more rigorous classroom for her

students. Student have reacted posi-

tively thus far and she hopes that

this will provide students with more ownership of

their academic success as well as provide them

with necessary skills outside of high school.

Page 5

On Sept. 13, Andy Platt challenged the members of YCEA to take a walk with him. That walk was the YWCA Walk a Mile in Her

Shoes event on Friday, Oct. 6. Walk a Mile is a charity event to raise money to help end domestic abuse. Mr. Platt asked

members of the association to join him in wearing women’s shoes and taking a walk around downtown York. In the short time

of three weeks, the team grew to 10 members and they were able to raise more than $1,000. Everyone who participated said

they enjoyed the event (despite some sore feet) and would definitely do it again next year. The York YWCA Walk a Mile event

is the largest event of its kind in the country. This year the event raised more than $120,000. Next year’s event will be on

Friday, Oct. 5, so save the date!

Pictured from L to R: Chris Guise, Jeff Werner, Jim Sieling, Josh Renner, Nathan Leierer, Christina Almony, Andy Platt, Curtis

Henning, Mace Grafton

Grades 3/4 at

Goode K-8 went

to the Harrisburg

Farm Expo to

learn about Penn-

sylvania's agricul-

tural industry.

We learned about

farming, meat and

dairy products.

We learned about

wool and cattle.

We also ran into

Mr. Pedro Rivera,

the PA Secretary

of Education.

Page 6

Gemstones won’t forget trip to farm

On Friday, Oct. 13, Ms. Tralana Mace’s Gemstones class at Hannah

Penn earned a field trip to Cherry Crest Adventure Farm. The Gem-

stone students worked toward this reward by following all of the

PRIDE rules. While at Cherry Crest Adventure Farms, the students

learned about the diversity of agriculture, fed farm animals, took a trac-

tor tour around the farm, and found their way through a corn maze.

They were also enjoyed the fun of the jump pillows, tried their hand at

giant slingshots, worked on their aim in the soccer, basketball, baseball,

and football throw, and slid down giant slides. They also enjoyed feed-

ing goats and donkeys by hand.

The students spent a day filled with age-appropriate lessons, hands-on

activities and multi-sensory experiences. Most importantly, a trip to

Cherry Crest Adventure Farm provided the students with an experi-

ence they will never forget.

At Ferguson K-8,

teachers are enjoying

the donuts provided by

Ms. Aja Gray (Social

Worker) and Ms. Cin-

dy Brooks (Behavior

Specialist).

The donut cart in-

cludes donuts, coffee,

tea and orange juice

and will be around the

Ferguson halls once a

month to show the

teachers and staff how

much they are appreci-

ated!

Page 7

Manufacturing Week leads to Starbucks

At their meeting Oct. 18, the Board of School Directors and members of District Administration wore pink to support Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Board President Margie Orr is a breast cancer survivor and an advocate for women’s health. Pictured from left to right, first row: Board Secretary Mindy Wantz; Margie Orr; Director Diane Glover-Brown; Director Juanita Kirkland. Second row, from left to right: Director Michael Breeland, Assistant Superintendent Dr. Andrea Berry, Board Vice President Michael Miller, Student Board Member Yomaicol Pena-Felix; Director Lois Garnett; Director James Sawor. Third row, from left to right: Director Jose Santiago, Board Solicitor Jeff Gettle, Director David Moser, Superintendent Dr. Eric Holmes and Human Resources Director Rob Bernhard.

On Oct. 4, eight William Penn seniors

participated in York County's Annual

Manufacturing Week.

This year, William Penn was paired with

the Starbucks Roasting Plant located in

York. Students learned the process of

how we get Starbucks coffee, from

when the beans arrive at the plant, to

the many steps before they leave pack-

aged and ready for our enjoyment.

Additionally, each student who attend-

ed was afforded the time to really see

what is involved in manufacturing, as

well as the many job options that are

available right here in York County. As

a bonus for spending the day, smelling

the great Starbucks coffee, each partici-

pant is guaranteed a job interview with

any of the local manufacturers that par-

ticipated in this year's Manufacturing

Week events.

— Lynette Fink, School Counselor

Food Drive to benefit local food bank

Between Oct. 16 and Nov. 13, my four build-

ings (Jackson, Goode, Davis, and Hannah Penn)

will be participating in a food drive to benefit

the York County Food Bank. The Food Bank

will be picking up food on Nov. 14 and will be

weighing in each school's donation.

Many of the schools have created a personal

building competition too, between home-

rooms/grades, and some schools have also

created a "store" where students are able to

use PRIDE tickets to purchase a canned food

item to donate.

This has created the ability for all students to

participate in the donation, even if they are unable

to bring something in from home.

The Food Bank has also offered to allow me to

bring some students from each building, when the

drive is over, to see how the Food Bank operates,

give the students an opportunity to walk through

and have a hands-on experience to see how the

donated food is used.

The buildings are very competitive, and we have

already collected hundreds of items of food!

— Christine Simonds, School Counselor

for Jackson, Goode, Davis and Hannah Penn

STEAM students design class newsletters

The 5th and 6th graders in Ms. Jennifer Swartz’s classes at the

Edgar Fahs Smith STEAM Academy are designing their own class

newsletters. The newsletters are entirely completed by the stu-

dents including the design for the newsletter and the articles.

Using the design thinking process, the students came up with

the problem of communication with parents about the learning

and happenings at school. They have created a schedule, as-

signed tasks, set deadlines, and are using their lunch time to

work!

They are truly amazing and have a fabulously talented teacher

who facilitates their learning and encourages their creativity.

— Angela Ashley, STEAM Principal