The Shanksville-Stonycreek School District has changed its approach to education.
Tim Kretchman, elementary and high school principal, said school administrators wanted to unify the district.
By changing the curriculum and tracking students from kindergarten through 12th grade, administrators will know more about each student’s educational needs, he said.
“The board thought that would unify the educational approach for the students,” Kretchman said.
Teachers, administrators and the guidance counselor will then get to know each child as he or she enters pre-kindergarten or kindergarten and will track his or her educational experience.
Kretchman said it will take more than six or seven years before administrators can observe their success.
With less than 500 students in the district, Kretchman said, the new curriculum approach will encourage teachers to discuss their courses, creating a seamless transition for students.
“Now we see a lot more teachers working across the curriculum,” he said.
Michele Mattis, the district’s guidance counselor, said the unified approach will also be beneficial for the Student Assistance Program.
The program, which had been divided between an elementary team and a high school team, includes teachers, administrators, the school nurse and guidance counselor.
The group meets and identifies the needs of students.
“It identifies students that have issues that may be affecting academic achievement,” Mattis said. “(It will add) continuity between teams.”
After losing superintendent Rosemarie Tipton to cancer in September, staff and faculty members had taken on additional responsibilities, Kretchman said.
The loss of Tipton and the retirement of high school principal Constance Hummel spurred a number of administrative changes.
Kretchman was promoted from elementary principal to district principal earlier in the year.
The board also hired Reno Barkman as dean of schools – which is similar to an assistant principal – and Tom McInroy as schools superintendent.
McInroy, currently an elementary principal in the Tussey Mountain School District, Saxton, will begin April 3.
“I think the school is second to none with the abilities of the kids,” Kretchman said. “We do a phenomenal job of educating kids, and our goal is to improve or maintain that.”
Kretchman said a goal he set for the district is to have community members encourage school administrators and teachers to constantly strive to improve.
Colleen Freyvogel can be reached at 532-5055 or cfreyvogel@tribdem.com.
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