|
|
|
A Message from The Superintendent
 | | @lmussoline |
Welcome Spring!!!
On Tuesday afternoon, I sent our parents and staff a request to complete a survey that will help chart the future for the Downingtown Area School District. I will also be asking everyone else who cares about our district, whether a community member, alumni or local business leader to take some time and fill out the survey as well.
When I first came to the Downingtown Area School District in 2009, I asked stakeholders to participate in a survey to help us 'purpose' our future. The answers I received expressed concerns about school overcrowding, unequal student distributions, the need for better communication, improved technology to accelerate the pace of work and learning in classrooms, greater fiscal responsibility, more academic rigor throughout our K-12 curriculum, and a stronger more concerted focus on professional development for improved student achievement. Since then, we have responded to those concerns.
Over the past six years, DASD has grown to be the largest school district in Chester County. Our schools were overcrowded. To reduce numbers at the high school level, we envisioned and opened the Downingtown STEM Academy, turning our oldest, unused building into a nationally respected high school. This magnet high school has saved taxpayers about $120 million as compared to the cost to construct and operate a 3rd comprehensive high school. To reduce numbers at the elementary level, the Board approved a redistricting plan that created more equitable attendance boundaries. To reduce middle school overcrowding, we constructed the Marsh Creek 6th Grade Center.
We increased technology opportunities in the classrooms by creating two school-wide, one-on-one device initiatives. We provided over 5000 laptops & IPads to 16 schools for teacher and student use. Wi-Fi and connectivity bandwidth was increased. Smart technology projection was installed in almost every district classroom. The BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) initiative enabled us to deliver high school course content via the web. This year, a new blended learning option gives high school students the opportunity to learn anywhere, anytime under the direction and guidance of their teacher. We responded to parent requests for more timely information about their child's schoolwork by providing them with online grading information and homework information.
We created an innovative teacher leadership plan and enhanced content delivery system. We improved curriculum, instruction, and assessment models in an effort to increase academic rigor. We provided stronger, teacher led and collaborative professional development. We streamlined the administrative team. We conducted a communications audit, designed a new, easier to navigate website, added a mobile website, began publishing an e-newsletter for parents and the community and leveraged social media like Facebook and Twitter to communicate with more agility to all stakeholder groups.
Last, we are most proud of our academic successes over the past 6 years. The Pennsylvania Department of Education School Performance Profile calculations in 2013 ranks our district #8out of 500 districts. Both East and West high schools continue to be nationally ranked by US News and Newsweek and are academically in the top 5% of all PA schools. For the past two years, the STEM Academy magnet school has been ranked the top school (out of over 3000 schools) in the Commonwealth. Our two middle level programs academically place in the top 10% of all schools in the Commonwealth. Elementary programs like Springton Manor, Brandywine Wallace, Uwchlan Hills, Pickering Valley, and Shamona Creek are ranked among the top 10% of elementary schools in Pennsylvania. The bottom line, all of our schools are top flight. Every one!
All this, while providing District residents with a zero tax increase for the past three consecutive years, including the upcoming 2015-2016 school year.
With that backdrop, we need your input as to how we get even better. Through this instrument we are hoping to repurpose the organization for the next few years. I would appreciate it if you would take a few minutes to complete this survey. To continually improve, we need your assistance. Please take a few minutes to have input into the future of our schools and our community by completing this survey. This survey will be open until midnight April 12, 2015.
I invite all of you to take some time and tell me about your hopes and concerns for our school district. To access the survey, please go to www.dasd.org/survey.
Dr. Larry Mussoline
Superintendent
|
|
| Resetting our Vision for the Future: DASD Stakeholder Survey | |
www.dasd.org/survey
|
| Citadel Heart of Learning Award Nominees | |
We would like to thank all the parents and community members who nominated teachers and principals for the 2015 Citadel Heart of Learning Award. As you can see from the long list below, the Downingtown School District had 174 nominees, the most of any school district in Chester County. In this busy world, it is often difficult to find a moment to sit down and write a letter in praise of a teacher, but many of you did and we appreciate it. Thank you!
In our last issue, we congratulated Brenda Gelinas of DHS East. She was selected by Citadel to represent DASD in their "teacher of the year" finals. In this issue, we would like to salute all the DASD nominees that were nominated by our parents and community in Citadel's annual tribute to our great teachers.
| Bonnie Ahle | Lauren Albero | Melissa Alexander | | Neville Austin | Angela Baer | Lauren Balakoff | | Celia Baney | Mary Bardwell | Suzanne Bargmann | | Christi Barton | Ephie Bectel | Elizabeth Bell | | Julie Benner | Ann Bosch | Amanda Boyer | | Kara Brooke | Sara Broscious | Melissa Bunting | | Scott Burns | Peg Cassidy | Kathryn Cerasa | | Matt Cibelli | Peter Corozza | Ashley Corsi | | Beverly Cranston | Catherine Crisi | Kathleen Czap | | Emily Decristofano | Meghan Dennis | Maria DiCecco | | Marsha DiCecco | Billie Jo DiMarcella | Barbara DiMartini | | Julie Dimino | Dina Disantis | Andrea Dortone | | Susan Draus | Michael Drill | Kellie Dunn | | Megan Dunn | Danielle Egan | Carol Egen | | Susan Ericson | Krissy Evans | Katherine Figorski | | Keturah Fisher | Nancy Fraim | Ilyssa Friedman | | Michelle Fulginiti | John Gahan | Jennifer Gandert | | Sara Gantert | Robert Geiring | Brenda Gelinas | | Emily Genter | Jennifer Gentile-Guy | Precious George-Noble | | Shaon Girard | Alicia Graci | Dotti Graham | | Elaine Greaney | Linda Grigsby | Scott Guiley | | Jackie Hanrahan | Caitlin Harris | Steve Houdeshel | | Melissa Ingemie | Sharon Jackson | Teresa Jackson | | Jacquelyn Johnson | Kirk Johnson | Christopher Kearney | | Joseph Kamor | Maureen Kauffman | Kelly Kinderman | | Michael Kirk | Kaylyn Kirschner | Amy Kleaver | | Erika Koelsch | Matthew Krause | Sharon Kuhn | | Karen Lammey | Christi Largent | Tony Leon | | Anne Lewis | Scott Lingle | Chantel Logan | | Lucinda Long | Jackie Longan | Amanda Lozada | | Chelsea Lucas | Teresa Madiro | Heaher Mailliard | | Christine Maloney | Mike Manganello | Elena Margolin | | Noelle Messina | Kathy Meyers | Gail Milano | | Michael Milano | Pat Miller | Kris Mills | | Trevor Minacci | Bonnie Monroe | William Montgomery | | Julia Moore | Anne Moran | Susan Mosley | | Tiffany Mott | Ben Mountz | Susan Mousley | | Karelee Mulhern | Charles Namerow | Susan Nann | | Michelle Nass | Ryan Nevins | Barbara Norris | | Betty North | Theresa O'Malley | Edward Perley | | Shelda Perry | Katelyn Picinich | Troy Podell | | Michael Podlesney | Patricia Reidinger | Stephanie Reimers | | Alicia Reiner | Lauren Reybitz | Wesley Robinson | | Maryann Rodgers | Janette Romano | Mary Rounds | | Amy Rowe | Catherine Sachs | Sheena Sanford | | Janet Savastio | Kristen Schlegel | Renay Schoenfeld | | Jennifer Schray | Melissa Schumann | Hannah Schweikert | | Mary Beth Scott | Meghan Scrafano | Adam Sekellick | | Paul Setlock | Keri Shaw | Denise Shovlin | | Elizabeth Single | Trisha Sizgorich | Debi Sletvold | | Teresa Small | Kristen Snyder | Kaniel Soler | | Gale Soneson | Jillian Speer | Michael Spishock | | Nicole Stabilito | Brian Stackhouse | Jessica Staub | | Justin Staub | Melissa Steffy | Barbara Stevenson | | Elizabeth Stonaker | Nicole Stulak | Melanie Susi | | Joanne Tabor | Mary Beth Tomlinson | Jennifer Tuori | | Brittany Vassalotti | Andrew Verbovsky | Mary Vorndran | | Emily Wales | Kelly Warren | Cathleen Weiser | | Rebecca Wilcox | Jonathan Zelznick |
|
|
| A Visit from the Burundian Ambassador | |
Dr. Jeff Singleton asked his 6th grade students to select a global problem and create a project. Peter Jung (second from left) elected to research child hunger. As he studied, he learned that the small country of Burundi in Africa has one of the highest level of hunger in the world. According to UNICEF, early two thirds of all children under 5 years old are chronically malnourished.
He decided to write to Ernest Ndabashinze, the Burundi ambassador to the United States and ask how he could help. Peter was quite surprised to receive a response and a request from the ambassador to visit the Marsh Creek Sixth Grade Center.
On March 16th, Ambassador Ndabashinze travelled to Uwchlan for his visit. Following a tour of the building led by Principal Tom Mulvey and Superintendent Lawrence Mussoline, Ambassador Ndabashinze met with Peter Jung's team of students and teachers for a discussion on how Burundian and Marsh Creek students could help each other. He spoke about the difficulty that families experienced trying to pay for needed school supplies for their children. Ndabashinze said that $72 would pay for school supplies for one student for the school year. He said that includes writing utensils, paper, textbooks, schoolbags and more.
Ambassador Ndabashinze was presented a "Cougars" baseball cap (Peter will attend DHS East) a certificate from the US Congress presented by Representative Ryan Costello and a book about Pennsylvania by Representative Becky Corbin.
|
|
District News and Information
| |
The Downingtown EAST & WEST Counseling Departments recently held a "Road Map to College" event. Close to 800 parents and students from all three high schools attended the evening's program which included a variety of workshops for parents and students. Speakers included Jeremy Branch from Penn State University, Beth Guzzo and Joann Deppert from Lehigh University, Jodi Robinson from the University of Pennsylvania, and Christine Hubley from the Keystone Financial Credit Union. Workshops were presented for parents and students on the college search, an inside look at the college application process, the financial aid process, the college essay, financial tips for students and the Naviance program. Students who attended the event were eligible for a $50 gift card drawing donated by the Exton Region Chamber of Commerce Business & Education Partnership sponsors: Franklin Mint Federal Credit Union, Fulton Bank, Edward Jones and Keystone Federal Credit Union.
|
| Congratulations | |
DHS East junior Wade Cummings took home a 4th place medal in the PIAA wrestling championships!
Three STEM students, Brandon Barker, Vishwa Shanmugam and Karthik Imayavaramban are part of a local Robotics team that just won the PA State Championships
STEM Academy students earned some bragging rights at the DECA State Competition.
- Amanda Boileau & Claire Kennedy - Creative Marketing Project
- Ritika Bajpai - Personal Financial Literacy
- Philp Ruffini - Role Play
- Ryan Hassing and Brian Petersen - Sports and Entertainment Marketing
- Shray Patel and Manas Rajasagi -Business Law and Ethics
The Downingtown Indoor Drumline placed first in the Mid-Atlantic Percussion Society Competition at Old Bridge High School and placed second in the Tournament Competition at Gateway Regional High School.
DHS West swimmer Mark Miller was district champion in the 500 meter freestyle.
Congratulations to the DHS West Girls Basketball team for reaching the State playoffs.
Jimmy Holt from STEM playing for DWest placed 7th in the Boys Long Jump at Indoor State Track and Field.
On March 9th, Uwchlan Hills held an amazing and successful Jump Rope for Heart event. the students, staff, and community raised over $30,000 for the American Heart Association!
Congratulations to nurse Diane M. Travis. Ms. Travis was named Pennsylvania's Nurse of the Year by the Pennsylvania Association of School Nurses and Practitioners.
Springton Manor 5th Grade student Vasishta Tumuluri won the 2015 PSCF State Chess Championships for K - 6 students.
|
|
District Wide Upcoming Events
| |
March 2015
Looking for some fun entertainment?
DHS West
- Multi-Cultural Night
- March 26th from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m.
DHS East
- Monty Python's "Spamalot"
- March 28th - Spring Craft Fair at DHS East from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
|
Around the District | |
BH
It is that time of year again, where the parents, students and staff here at Bradford Heights open their hearts and wallets to support Juvenile Diabetes. This year our school raised $2,750.07 to help fund research to cure diabetes. The students in all grades were very excited to be part of this fund raising effort. Mrs. Wickersham and Mrs. Guardiola spent all day Monday at Bradford Heights giving every class the opportunity to run relays as a culminating activity to their fund raising efforts. I am sure that central office heard the cheers coming from the gym during the relay's. Our office sure did. Part of the fundraising effort was a coin war. The coin war was won by an overwhelming majority for Pajama Day. Pajama Day is set for this Friday, March 20th.
LMS
One of the first things Mr. Wiedlich did after taking over as Assistant Principal was to start a STEM club just for the female students at LMS. Several teachers have helped to support this club and the kids who have joined it. One program that came about as a result is the Stem Design Challenge team. They participated in a competition at the CCIU earlier this month. Two teams of four students were selected to create a K'Nex structure (rube Goldberg) that would move a ping pong ball from one side of the table to the other lengthwise. One of the teams from LMS were comprised of 4 girls from the STEM Girls Club; Sabrina Burkey, Bryn Goldman, Ria Kulkarni and Claire Robson led by Gina Conlen and Jen Moyer. The student participants from the DEEP team, led by Judy Kroboth, were Rushil Ramprasad, Connor Cozad, Alejandra Almonte and Sarah Parks. Congratulations to both teams for representing our school and district in such a fine fashion.
DHS West
For the second year in a row, a Downingtown West student has received an Honorable Mention award in the 2015 White House Student Film Festival! Scott Pincus, Class of 2017, directed, produced, wrote, and edited "An Aspiration to Excel." The short film stars fellow Downingtown West students Ryan Bowman, Gabe Sagerian, and Michael Robinson. Congratulations to Scott and his crew! Here is a link to the film: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ONiWDs4fa3Ya
West's STEM Competition Team (Kristina Griste, Andrew Kim, & Kate Pelcin) presented their invention, the Aqua Tweeter, to the Downingtown Borough Council on Wednesday evening. Their invention tweets out water level updates in flood prone areas and they hope to get their invention installed in key locations throughout Downingtown to help inform community members of when the water levels are rising.
|
|
|
|
|
