The month of January

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 11^th 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.