Curriculum committee highlights cyber school costs, structured literacy and STEAM Night
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Summary
Committee members reported on conference takeaways, district literacy alignment ahead of Pennsylvania Act 135, progress on math intervention, plans to bring more special education programming back in district, and noted $6 million annual cost tied to sending students to outside cyber programs.
At the Feb. 25 Bristol Township School Board meeting, the curriculum and special education committee summarized several priorities for instruction and programming.
Committee representatives reported that conference sessions emphasized aligning higher-level interventions, expanding social-emotional and self-regulation curriculum, and using Panorama data to inform future practice. Presenters Jess Vesta and Jillian Cargill highlighted district literacy alignment over five years and steps taken to integrate literacy into the MTSS process. Bernadette Hanna described work on structured literacy, and the report cited Act 135 of Pennsylvania, which requires structured literacy in school districts by 2031; the committee said the district is "ahead of the game" and already providing training and universal screening.
Eric Serapo described an ongoing middle-school math intervention that provides individual skill progress data, while Dr. Schultz discussed plans to expand special education offerings and bring students back into district programs. Rob Finley discussed the cyber school program and the district's intent to return students to an in-district cyber program; presenters noted external placements currently cost the district approximately $6,000,000 per year and cited per-student figures for general and special education placements.
The committee also previewed STEAM Night scheduled for March 19 at Truman High School and announced Title I Family Literacy Nights at three elementary schools this spring.
Board members accepted the committee report; no formal vote on program changes occurred during the meeting.
