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Parkland presents midyear goals, safety upgrades and Vision 2030 plans; students mark 75th anniversary
Summary
Superintendent team gave a midyear progress update on district priority goals (security, MTSS, mental‑health supports, literacy, AI literacy, and Vision 2030 facility projects). Students and staff delivered a program celebrating Parkland SD’s 75th anniversary and several student speakers urged changes including a middle‑school recess pilot.
The Parkland School District’s leadership presented a midyear update on the district’s priority goals and progress toward Vision 2030, while students and staff offered a program marking the district’s 75th anniversary.
Dr. Menotti and Mr. Kroones led the goals presentation. Major operational highlights included a districtwide visitor‑management rollout, upgraded door locks and access controls, centralized printing to protect confidential documents, enhanced ID‑badge and key‑fob systems, and tabletop incident‑response exercises with emergency responders. The presenters described ongoing work to refine the capital action plan and flagged Vision 2030 projects — including design work on a high‑school addition, an Orfield Middle School addition and a transportation depot north of Orfield — and said the district is coordinating with South Whitehall Township ordinances and outside design partners.
Academic priorities emphasized expansion of behavioral and mental‑health resources: Parkland added a second autism and behavioral specialist who supports teams across buildings, the district completed a three‑day autism initiative boot camp and monthly on‑site coaching, and staff rolled out the Title 22 Chapter 339 K‑12 guidance counseling plan. The district continues multi‑tiered system of support (MTSS) rollout at elementary and middle levels and is piloting assessment and intervention tools such as FastBridge.
The board also heard about classroom‑level instruction changes: a literacy push tied to the science‑of‑reading research (ECRI and pilot ELA materials), and ongoing planning to reimagine high‑school scheduling and pathways (including dual enrollment, internships and start‑time review). The district said it has approved an internal generative‑AI policy, trained staff, and will pilot Gemini for teens with safeguards to build student AI literacy.
During the special presentations portion of the meeting, dozens of students and staff celebrated Parkland’s 75 years, sharing historical anecdotes, school traditions and student achievements across elementary, middle and high schools. Sixth‑grader Hannah Leiswitz presented a researched proposal calling for a short outdoor recess at Spring House Middle School and submitted about 250 student and staff signatures; the superintendent said the administration will review the middle‑school schedule and consider her recommendation.
What’s next: the district will continue public outreach on Vision 2030 and return to the board with capital‑plan items and scheduling proposals as they reach decision points.
