Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the K12 Guidance Plan topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Derry students highlight school activities; board reviews Chapter 339 K‑12 guidance plan before March approval
Summary
High school students reported recent academic and extracurricular highlights and the board heard an overview of the district’s Chapter 339 K‑12 guidance plan, which the administration expects to place on the March 20 agenda for approval and to upload to PDE’s Future Ready portal.
High school student leaders told the Derry Area School District board about recent student activities and achievements, and district administrators reviewed updates to the Chapter 339 K‑12 guidance plan that the board will consider for approval at a future meeting.
Student presentation: two senior student council members, Gianna Herschter and Anthony Butcher Garcia, spoke during the superintendent’s report about recent events at Derry Area High School, including a Science/Tech day collaboration with the Carnegie Science Center and the University of Pittsburgh prosthetics program, sports achievements (wrestling, swimming and dive qualifiers), the Unified Club’s Coffee Cart and Special Olympics fundraiser ($675 raised), the FFA’s National FFA Week activities and a sold‑out run of the school musical Grease.
“The Coffee Cart promotes inclusion and job skills within the high school,” student presenters said, and they thanked faculty and community partners who supported student opportunities. The superintendent noted the district posts the superintendent’s report and supporting materials on the district website and thanked the students for presenting.
Chapter 339 guidance plan overview: Doctor Long, a district administrator, summarized the Chapter 339 comprehensive guidance plan for K–12, saying it is “designed to provide a comprehensive framework for supporting the academic, career, personal, and social, development of all of our students here k through 12.” He said the plan is data‑driven, parent‑informed and typically updated every five years; COVID‑19 delayed the most recent update.
Key features Long listed include academic guidance (course selection and test preparation), career development (internships, job shadowing, career fairs), personal and social development (mental‑health support, conflict resolution) and inclusion for students with disabilities. He said the plan highlights partnerships with entities such as Hiram G. Andrews and OVR and noted the district’s investment in behavioral and mental‑health supports, including five behavioral‑health therapists provided through Independence Health and services through the Intersight Bridges program.
The administration said the updated plan starts with staffing detail and that the district will post the full 126‑page plan on the district website. Doctor Ferencic said the plan must be uploaded to PDE’s Future Ready comprehensive planning portal by the end of the month and that the board is scheduled to consider approval on March 20.
Ending: The board was urged to review the plan and forward questions to staff; no formal vote on the plan was taken at the meeting, and staff said a presentation and the full document are available on the district website.
