Congratulations to our Robotics Team

I am proud to share good news about our robotics team from the high school.  Mr. Jeff Newson is the advisor for the team.  Robotics is a great way for our students to get  "real world" experience integrating intellectual kinowledge with "hands on" experience.  Obviously these students are doing a fantastic job.  Congratulations to the students and keep up the great work!  Also, Mr. Newsom is an integral part of sustaining this wonderful program and I want to thank him for giving these students the opportunity to shine in this arena.  Mr. Newsom provided the following article for the blog.

On Friday, December 14, two robotics teams and a group of first year robotics students from Penn-Trafford High School, observed and competed in the VEX Sarah Heinz House Robotics Competition.  This competition was devised to get more students involved with STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) based education.  

There were 23 teams competing from Western Pennsylvania and Eastern Ohio. The first year robotics students went to watch their fellow classmates compete, and they volunteered their time to work at the competition.  The competition was hosted by The Sarah Heinz House and was run be the CMU Robotics Academy.

Team 1462 A finished with a 4-4 record in the preliminary rounds and was the 11th seed but was eliminated in the alliance tournament in the semi-finals.  The students from this team included Jordan Lock, Keith Barkefelt, and Josh Zielinski.  These students should be congratulated for their hard work.

Team 1462 B finished the preliminary rounds as the only undefeated team with an 8-0 record and the number one seed for the alliance part of the tournament.  Following the alliance selection, Team 1462 B, consisting of Isaac Shannon, Salvatore Ross, and Sam Godich, teamed up withteams from McKeesport and Plum and won the tournament.

They finished the tournament with an overall record of 13-1 and also claimed the "Excellence Award" for the best overall robot in the competition.  This award qualified them to participate in the VEXWorld Championships which will be held in April at the Anaheim Convention Center, Anaheim, CA.

In order to give this team the opportunity to compete at the world competition, they will need to raise between 8 - 10 thousand dollars over the next couple of months to pay for registration, flights, rooms, etc. If any businesses or individuals would like to sponsor or donate to give the students this opportunity, please contact Mr. Jeff Newsom @ newsomj@penntrafford.org.  If you would like to learn more about the competition, please visit www.robotevents.com and click on the "VEX Sack Attack" link.

Today's Tragedy in Connecticut

Today there was a tragic school shooting in Connecticut.  Words cannot convey the deep sorrow that all parents are feeling as we think about the families of the victims.  I want to make you aware of Penn-Trafford’s actions in our schools as a result of this tragedy. Thanks to Chief Otto from the Penn Township Police Department and Captain Carmen Disso from Trafford Borough Police there was a police officer in or around all of the schools for the last few hours of the day.  I personally visited four schools this afternoon and talked to the principals in every school.  Everything was calm in the schools and dismissal went smoothly.  I want to thank our police force in Penn Township and Trafford Borough for making their presence known in our buildings at the end of the day. 

Finally, tonight is a night where we should take our kids or grand-kids and give them a big ol’ hug.  If your kids are grown up and out of the house find a random elementary student and do the same.  Our children in our society need all of the love they can get.  I hope the narrative surrounding education (and education reform) will shift to reflect the most important resource that we have…our children. While children are in our care, we must help them grow and blossom into wonderful adults.  This can only be accomplished through love, compassion and lots of hard work by all of us in our communities.  Our society cannot forget that children are vulnerable and need adults to be caring and responsible as we guide them on the path to adulthood. Schools cannot do this on our own; parents cannot do this on their own; we must all work together in a spirit of love and compassion toward helping our children.  Today we are reminded how fragile our life and society can be.  Moving forward we must remember that there is nothing more important than the health and welfare of our children.  Let’s all work together to protect and care for our children.

Experiential Learning at the High School

I have discussed the value of giving our students "real life" experiences while they are in school.  As a matter of fact, the last educational "disruption" that we discussed talked specifically about the value of schools creating partnerships with community and business groups to make sure stduents do get authentic experiences.  Last year, a group of teachers met over the course of the year to discuss how to reinvent education in Penn-Trafford.  One of the outcomes of the group was a series of experiential learning experiences that the teachers created for their students.  I want to share with you one of those lessons that has now gone into its second year.  Kim Stefkovich teaches business at the high school and has created an awesome experiential learning experience for her students.  She explains it here:

Beginning the first week of school, my Business Administration and Management students began working on a very lengthy project that has been a part of my curriculum for seven years. The project requires the students to complete many tasks that are performed within a company on a daily basis and once the project is completed, the total profit is donated to the American Cancer Society.  Over several weeks, the students were required to elect CEOs and department heads; develop a company name and logo; design a T-shirt and set its cost; create procedures; maintain inventory levels; create a commercial advertising their shirt; and compete against the opposing class.  From the beginning, both teams wanted to surpass last years’ overall total of $4,200 in donations.  When the sales portion of the project started on November 1^st, I realized that this might be the year that all records would be broken.  Given only the month of November to sell, the students organized strategies that took place outside of the building.  The teams set up selling stations at the local Giant Eagle, R Pub and Center Ice in Delmont.  Because of their efforts, both teams sold 705 shirts and earned $7,220 in profit.  In addition, I would also like to thank all of the students and teachers that are involved with the coffee shop located in the high school library for donating their November proceeds to the American Cancer Society. Words cannot describe the amount of effort that my students put in to this project.  They certainly would not have achieved this level of success without coming together and working as a team.  It was amazing to watch them grow and learn as they made their way down the path of achievement. Since this project was implemented in my classroom, it has allowed Penn-Trafford students to donate over $20,000 to the American Cancer Society. As their teacher, I am honored to have worked with such a motivated group of students, and truly appreciate all of the work they put into this project.

The Final Educational Disruption

The final disruption in the series of five educational disruptions is something called “shareable cities”.  This disruption is aimed more at urban areas, but the underlying assumptions supporting this disruption also speak to all educational and geographical settings.  Basically this assumption states that networks for learning resources and experiences will become more important (and easier to access) for students, parents and educational institutions in the future.  In major urban areas these networks become more dense and easier to access for citizens.  I think this is an important disruption because the “denseness” of the networks also translates to suburban and rural areas.  I would like to think that education will become closer aligned to the beliefs of John Dewey by understanding that experiences in real life situations are an essential (if not the most essential) aspect of education.  By accessing experiences and learning resources embedded in our communities, education will become more “real” for students.  “Sharing” resources and experiences that are not traditionally within the scope of education will help our students prepare to thrive in the 21^st century.

Happy Thanksgiving

As we enter the Thanksgiving break, I want to wish all of you a relaxing time with your friends and family.  There is so much to be thankful for in our country and school district.  I recently spent some time watching YouTube videos of military members surprising their children and coming home from Iraq or Afghanistan without the kids knowing.  The videos of the kids running to their parents with such a great look of love and happiness is heartwarming.  Just search YouTube for "military homecoming" and you will find them.  After I watched the videos I just walked over t my three kids and just hugged them.  I bet you will do the same.

Response to Blog Comments

There have been a few comments in the blog concerning the building project, the PSERS increase and the financial health of the school district.  I thought it would be best to answer those concerns in a blog post instead of responding within the comment section.  This way, it will be easy for people to find my response...if you are interested!

The School Board is adamant that any building project should be done within the current tax structure.  In other words, the current millage dedicated to our current debt gives the school district the ability to borrow up to 55 million dollars.  Again, that 55 million is within the current millage structure.  The high school renovation will be about 30 million dollars.  The school district's current debt "comes off the books" in 2015.   At that time, the bond sale the Board will approve for the high school project will come on the books.  Again, this is all done within the current millage structure.  Here is a link to the presentation by the school district's Bond underwriter.

There are a few "moving parts" in this equation and it is the reason the school board is moving cautiously.  First is the status of PlanCon.   PlanCon is where the State reimburses school districts for some of the cost of a  building project (typically somewhere between 20% and 30%).  If the State does not fund PlanCon that will obviously have an effect on the amount of money that is available for a project.  The 55 million dollars would  turn into between 40 and 45 million dollars that is actually available for a project.  The second moving part is the configuration of the rest of the school district.  The Board will decide in the next two years what configuration the school district will take to provide a great education and be the most cost effective.  Education priorities and fiscal reality will dictate what any new configuration will look like.

Finally, there is the PSERS issue.  I am not as concerned about this issue as some people because this school district has positioned itself very well for the increases coming in the future.  There is a dedicated account that the board has placed money in over the course of the last few years that will help mitigate the increases in PSERS.  The School Board is also researching cost savings measures that can have further impact on the budget.  Penn-Trafford has a long history of fiscal responsibility and being very cost efficient.  Thanks to previous Boards and administration, the school district is positioned as well as any district in the State as the PSERS contributions increase.  We also must remember that in the past, school district's PSERS contributions were in the 20% range.  Although our rates will settle in at about 25%, in the 1980's the rate was in the low 20's and school districts adjusted accordingly.

The Fourth Disruption

The fourth disruption in education according to the report Recombinant Education is “Customizable Value Webs”.  The definition for this disruption is, “Innovative, open business models will leverage complex networks of assets and relationships to create ultra-customer –centric experiences across industries.” Harkening back to an earlier disruption as a starting place, this disruption will leverage the “edupreneurs” and the companies they create to help parents, teachers and schools create a customizable learning experience for students.  Schools (and parents) will be able to match their student’s interests, ability level and learning style and create a learning experience customized to the student.  This disruption will allow schools (and school districts) to form partnerships with outside organizations that will lead to a more individualized educational experience for students.  

I believe that the biggest challenge for public education will be to recognize this disruption and respond accordingly.  Schools will be able to cost effectively coordinate learning experiences for students.  If a school wants to create a “focus” or form their own identity  (for example a school that focuses on play, or the environment, or politics, or social justice) they will be able to spend their scarce resources on providing those experiences centered on their focus while accessing quality learning experiences for their students.  Maybe school districts will allow their schools to form their own identity (or focus) so parents and students in the school district have more “choice” in their educational options.  Either way, schools must recognize that learning experiences can be enhanced and managed differently.