SVRCS reports steady enrollment, mixed assessment results and several targeted interventions

Sugar Valley Regional Charter School (SVRCS) administrators reviewed enrollment, finances, facility plans and student assessment results during the Keystone Central School District board meeting on March 13, 2025.

The presentation opened with enrollment figures for kindergarten through 12th grade: the school reported a total enrollment of 474 students. Administrators said kindergarten through sixth grades generally range in the mid‑30s (kindergarten 34, first 36, fourth through sixth roughly 39 each) and high school grades run from about 30 to high 30s in individual cohorts.

On finance, presenters said the SVRCS general fund balance as of June 2024 was $4,240,464. Auditors Boyer & Ritter reported no findings for the 2023–24 year, and board materials list SVRCS funds in general, student activities, food service (proprietary) and a scholarship trust (fiduciary) fund. Officials said deposits exceed FDIC limits but are secured by pledged securities under Pennsylvania law. The board packet also noted PCCD school mental‑health and safety/security grants; school officials said a portion of those grants funds a psychologist on campus and $70,000 is being used for electronic door systems and a school security coordinator.

Administrators reported preliminary budget work in May with a final budget in June and said capital projects include planning for a new maintenance building for 2025–26. Materials say SVRCS holds CDs at First National Bank and that the board committed portions of fund balance on June 18, 2024 for capital projects, summer payroll and operating expenses; the board later uncommitted the summer payroll and operating amounts in November.

The largest portion of the presentation covered assessment results and instructional programs. Brock Phillips, supervisor of curriculum and instruction, summarized state PSSA and Keystone outcomes for spring 2024 and more recent MAP interim (fall→winter) results. He said PSSA/Keystone proficiency percentages were low in several grade bands (for example, single‑digit and low‑20s proficiency percentages in multiple middle‑school grades and core Keystone subjects) while interim MAP testing showed meaningful fall→winter gains in many grades and subjects. Administrators told the board they see a discrepancy between MAP projections and PSSA/Keystone outcomes and attributed part of that gap to testing conditions and students’ comfort with computerized test platforms; they said the district will use DRC tools training and other readiness supports for students ahead of state tests.

To address gaps, SVRCS described several interventions and curricular choices in place or expanding: IXL and NWEA/MAP as universal screeners, Wilson Learning and SuccessMaker for tiered reading/math interventions, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt materials in some grades, and a Sunday System (tier‑3 supports). Presenters highlighted a fifth‑grade implementation of HMH Math 180 with measurable usage metrics (sessions, minutes, lessons completed) and said that some students have been exited from interventions after demonstrating growth.

SVRCS also described career readiness work and partnerships: SmartFutures is used for post‑secondary planning (presenter named David Mosey as CEO), and the school reported 19 students engaged in Advanced Placement classes who will take 28 AP exams across subjects.

Board members asked for clarification about the low proficiency rates on PSSAs and Keystones despite MAP growth; presenters said the plan is a multi‑pronged approach that includes improving computer‑based test familiarity, targeted instructional minutes in middle‑school math, added intervention periods, and more in‑classroom coaching and monitoring.

The presentation closed with routine monitoring items (attendance/ADA, facilities monitoring including ESSA monitoring) and a request to continue the district’s focus on targeted interventions and test‑readiness work. The board packet included the full set of slides and the school’s fiscal reports.