“Autumn...the year's last, loveliest smile.”
― William Cullen Bryant
― William Cullen Bryant
As the leaves display for us their annual brilliance, I am
reminded how quickly one season fades into another. The rapid passage of autumn into winter always makes me see
the ephemeral nature of our existence.
Summer is now a distant memory as schools focus (already!)
on the end of the first marking period. Just as each season ushers in change
and new challenges, so too does education continue to evolve and change. Educators accept this and work
diligently to meet the needs of all students.
As in every enterprise, educators realize that time is
finite and moves on despite the amount of work that must be done or the number
of tasks that vie for attention.
They parse their time between teaching the skills needed for academic
and personal success, preparing students for the rigors of state-mandated
assessments, coaching, and mentoring—not to mention myriad
record-keeping/documentation tasks that have become a hallmark of public education.
I always like to “make time” for my weekly walks through
each building, sometimes sitting in for a lesson, talking to staff, greeting
parent volunteers or simply “getting out.” I marvel at the work that is being
done by so many, and so consistently, for the benefit of our children and their
families. The daily work of our teachers and support staff offer regular
reminders of the skill and dedication needed to provide a quality education for
our students. Reflecting on the adage, “It takes a village to raise a child,”
teachers and support staff are the village that raises its children (students)
to ever-higher levels of academic excellence.
As more and more districts struggle to make ends meet, we at
CCSD, with the diligent guidance of our Board, remain fiscally solvent. We are fortunate to have Board members
who have the foresight and vision to make reductions in expenditures without
sacrificing educational programs.
To date, no programs or staff has been affected by these tough economic
times. It’s absolutely true that money is tight in our district but the Board
is committed to keeping our district fiscally prudent. As our district continues to provide a
quality education in a safe environment, my appreciation grows for this Board
of Directors who continue to hold that student needs are the top priority.
As evidence of the tremendous work being done by dedicated
teachers, staff, and board members, please check out the site below. PDE’s
School Performance Profile (SPP) site, at http://paschoolperformance.org,
displays each district’s performance data and is being used in lieu of AYP from
the PSSA. While corrections are still being made to our High School scores, you
can view the building level academic scores for JES, CES, and the MS. There is an explanation of what goes
into the scoring process and a method to compare districts and specific
buildings. In addition to test
results, this new measuring tool takes into account such things as student
attendance, AP courses, SAT/PSAT scores, graduation rate, and number of
students enrolled in dual enrollment courses. I believe that CCSD’s team
approach has been of tremendous benefit to our students’ successes.
Congratulations to Jeremy Eckenrode for winning the AA
District golf title and to the CCSD boys’ golf team for winning the District 6
team championship. Congratulations
are also in order for Kourtney Cavalier on winning the AA District 6 girls’
single tennis title. Kourtney is a
great, multi-talented 9th grade competitor. Good luck at states to all who have
qualified!!
Speaking of sports, after four losses(ugh), the Steelers
have finally won their first
regular season game and Penn State played one of the best college games
of the year, perhaps of the century.
The Buccos had a great run and the Pens begin their winning ways on the
ice. What a great time of
year.
“Time can do all
sorts of things. It’s almost like a magician. It can turn autumn into spring
and babies into children, seeds into flowers and tadpoles into frogs,
caterpillars into cocoons, and cocoons into butterflies…. There’s nothing that
time can’t do. Except run backwards. That’s its trouble, really, it can only go
one way.”
– Alex Shearer
Until my next blog, take time for yourself to enjoy family
and all that you hold dear.
Dr. D
