Southern Tioga Salutes our School Directors
Local school directors embody the American spirit and tradition of volunteerism and public service. They volunteer to serve in an unpaid, sometimes unheralded, position that requires them to spend from 16 to 20 hours per month reading, planning and meeting in an effort to ensure our students receive a quality education.
School Directors provide for the education of our children by reviewing and approving educational programs, overseeing the budget, dealing with taxation and funding issues, negotiating employee contracts, hiring employees and selecting the superintendent.
January is “School Director Recognition Month” in Pennsylvania, a time to recognize the valuable contributions of our school directors. They ensure that decisions about our schools are made in accordance with the needs of our communities and our children.
The students, staff, and administration of the Southern Tioga School District thank our school directors for their achievements and dedicated service:
- Dan Berguson
- Kathleen Halstead (President)
- Susan Jaquish
- Roxanne Landis
- William Miller (Vice President)
- Terry Osborne
- Jeffrey Rush
- Barbara Shull (Treasurer)
- Francine Wunderlich
Public education is the only unit of local government spelled out in the Pennsylvania Constitution that empowers school directors to set policy within the framework of the statutes enacted by the General Assembly. Our school directors clearly demonstrate a desire to serve our communities in this unique public service role.
Southern Tioga School District Receives Grant
The Pennsylvania Department of Education has awarded a $31,714 Read to Succeed (RTS) grant to the Southern Tioga School District. This award, the final in a four-year program, brings the district’s total Read to Succeed award to $211,430. The funding was approved to provide intensive after-school reading programs in the Blossburg and Liberty Elementary Schools.
Blossburg Elementary School’s after-school “Computer Club”, which provides second and third grade children with access to language arts curriculum based software, has been enthusiastically received by students, parents, and staff. Small groups of students work with trained staff on computer programs designed to improve reading, writing, speaking, and listening skills. The software utilized in the “Club” is aligned with the school’s language arts program as well as Pennsylvania state standards.
Liberty Elementary School’s program, “The All-Star Club”, provides children with an opportunity to read and discuss books with a community volunteer and work with building teachers on guided reading strategies. Each session highlights a high-interest theme to promote reading, writing, and learning activities.
Read to Succeed funding has also provided for professional development activities, parent training sessions, and incentive awards for students.
Positive student input highlights the effectiveness of these programs. Students eagerly sign up for sessions, families take pride in student accomplishments and student participation rates are high. All assessment tools indicate Southern Tioga School District’s Read to Succeed programs have been a huge success. Stanford achievement test scores indicate an increase of 20 percentile points for participating children, parent and staff surveys indicate a high degree of satisfaction, and participating students enthusiastically attend after-school sessions.
Improved student reading and community and parent involvement have resulted from Southern Tioga School District’s participation in Read to Succeed.