It’s once again the time of year for weather delays and
school cancellations. For those of
you not familiar with our delay/cancellation weather procedure, you can find it
on the district’s home page under the link Guidelines
for School Delays/Closings. I realize that students are the only ones happy
with the announcement of a delay or cancellation; schedule changes present challenges for families as they plan
for child care and getting to work on time. However, when it comes to our
children, safety is a far greater priority than convenience. As always, my phone, door and email
system remain open and available for any concerns, issues or suggestions.
January is typically the month in which PSSA preparation begins
in earnest. Our 11th
graders have just completed the winter Keystone Exams. Our District, as a whole, did achieve Adequate
Yearly Progress (AYP) on last years’ PSSA exams. Individually, the High School did not make AYP, as one of
our sub-groups fell below the acceptable percentage for proficiency; kudos to
CES, JES, and CCMS for making AYP.
As expected, AYP percentage expectations for this year have been raised:
reading 91% and math 89%. All students and their teachers are working
diligently toward this goal.
January is also the month during which our nation celebrates
Martin Luther King’s birthday and the work he did in the area of Civil Rights.
Additionally, January is School Director’s recognition month, a good time to formally
say thanks to our School Directors. Our district is blessed with very
competent, caring and involved school directors. Their commitment is doubly
impressive when we note that this is not a “paid” position, Board members are
charged with making many important, sometimes unpopular, decisions. Their experience and tutelage help to
guide our district. Each director
has the best interest of students, the district and the community at
heart. They base their decisions
on information, not on emotion. I
am proud to work with each of them and grateful for their insight. At a time
when state monies dwindle and public education is under fire from every side,
the school board continues to preserve a quality education for all of CCSD’s
students.
In January districts begin to formulate their preliminary
budgets. As this goes on, the governor generally details his budget for the
state in mid February, usually causing school districts a lot of anxiety and
reworking of their budgets. Fortunately, Central Cambria does a good job of
anticipating potential shortfalls and taking precautions to lessen or alleviate
the concerns. This is one of the ways in which we have maintained programs and
curriculum; time will tell whether or not we can repeat this success.
Although we are still having a relatively mild winter, as
far as temperatures and snow goes, I want to remind you that we had a snow day
last year on April 24, 2012!! Stay
safe and warm.
(The NHL has finally begun and I can begin wearing my
Penguins garb. Of course I can’t
write a blog without referencing football. As I look forward to next season I’m
sad to note that only three games remain in the current season. FYI: as of this date – January 18 –
there are 67 days until the NFL draft on April 25 (heavy sigh).
Dr. D.
