Read The Bristol Township School Board President’s State Of The District Address

Bristol Township School Board President Angela Nober read her State of the District address at Monday night’s meeting. Below is a copy of her speech.

Good evening and welcome.

I would like to begin by saying thank you…thank you to Bristol Township School District administrators, teachers, support staff, parents, fellow Board members and students for their hard work and dedication to progress. These efforts have contributed to a year marked by many noteworthy developments.

I am grateful for the opportunity to share my thoughts on the state of the District…a district focused on providing students with educational tools and opportunities and learning environments that support success.

I am happy to report that the District can boast significant accomplishments while achieving a structurally balanced budget, which was passed despite economically challenging conditions—one of the most significant being the jump in PSERS (Public School Employees’ Retirement System) contribution from 4 to 21 percent!

Kudos to the Board for agreeing to adopt a budget that does not exceed the Act 1 index by seeking exceptions, a practice routinely employed by many cash-strapped districts.

Consequently, we have provided job security to teachers and staff while maintaining student programs and services. We continue to flourish in many ways.

Although the District is laying the foundations for its new schools with bricks and concrete, it has also been shoring up its academic foundation, creating a world class educational system that will provide students with the skills and technology to excel in the workforce of the future.

2014 marks the fifth year the District has partnered with Project Lead The Way, the nation’s leading provider of science, technology, engineering and math, or STEM, programs. STEM instruction is offered to high school and middle school students and, in the near future, elementary school students.

Within a relatively short period of time, we are seeing impressive results:

Truman High School students can now choose from four engineering courses, with the potential to earn 12 college credits while in high school. These credits can be applied to secondary institutions that partner with Project Lead the Way. The number of courses available under this program increases annually.
Engineering progress has been assisted by the acquisition of a 3D printer, which lends another dimension to students’ understanding of design.
STEM efforts have been aided by a $30,000 award from Dow Chemical Company, in conjunction with its Community Advisory Committee, to further activities in math and the sciences.
And I am proud to report that the Class of 2014 received more than $1 million in scholarships from colleges and universities to purse STEM studies.

In the fall of 2013, Franklin D. Roosevelt Middle School and Neil Armstrong Middle School implemented Project Lead the Way Gateway courses. Seventh- and eighth-graders are engaged in design and modeling and automation and robotics. The courses offer a solid foundation to enroll in high school STEM classes.

District students received a taste of what it is like to work in the world of computer programming when they participated in the Hour of Code initiative. This national program promotes coding. Computer Science is one of the quickest growing fields, with over 1.4 million computing jobs estimated to be available by 2020.

Franklin D. Roosevelt and Neil A. Armstrong middle schools’ teachers and students will soon receive more than 1,000 tablets, donated by the nonprofit Digital Promise through a partnership with the Verizon Foundation. Every student and teacher in the two schools will receive a tablet device and a free, 2-year, 5-gigabyte Verizon Wireless data plan, enabling users to access the Internet and innovative learning opportunities 24-7. Ongoing professional development for teachers and instructional technology coaches is an essential piece of the initiative.

Finally, the District is one of 11 new members accepted into the League of Innovative Schools, a national coalition of school district superintendents committed to STEM innovation.

It is evident that the District is taking the lead in preparing its students for the future. But not all changes have been programmatic.

In May, the District broke ground on two new elementary schools. A third groundbreaking is scheduled for the very near future. The schools will feature infrastructures that support 21st century technology, as well as other amenities that are essential for improving the classroom experience and advancing learning and skill acquisition. The new facilities will comply with Americans with Disabilities Act standards and include environmentally sustainable design, improved building systems and integrated security systems.

Construction for each building has been budgeted at $41 million. Additional costs are not anticipated to be passed along to taxpayers because the District is cycling out of old debt and has secured favorable interest rates.

The new elementary schools will cost less to manage and will operate more efficiently than the current facilities, saving District taxpayers in the long run and providing more advanced and secure facilities.

I am also pleased to report that the School District is working with the Redevelopment Authority of Bucks County to expedite the repurposing of five soon-to-be-vacant District schools, which will no longer be used once construction is completed. The Redevelopment Authority will explore reuse opportunities that will make a positive contribution to the community.

Identifying successful alternative uses for the parcels will involve thoughtful input from those who are committed to ensuring the Township’s growth and viability. Members of Council and the community will convene to share expertise and ideas for repurposing the sites. I am confident that this creative and vital process will be productive.

The community is also invited to participate in the naming of the new schools by serving on the soon-to-be-created school naming committee.

I anticipate that innovative programs and state-of the-art schools will play a role in continuing to advance student test scores. The Pennsylvania Department of Education’s School Performance Profile, now in its second year, is calculated based on indicators of academic achievement, efforts to close the achievement gap, academic growth and indicators such as a school’s graduation rate and attendance.

In the District, Building Level Academic Scores increased in 66% of our schools. We are encouraged by the positive movement of scores and look forward to further advances as the improvement plans, prepared and submitted by each building principal, are implemented.

The District’s drive to excel takes place outside the classroom as well. On the playing field, the high school’s football team turned in its best performance in decades. In the debate arena, Truman’s Debate Team is one of the most competitive in the region. On stage, our Drummers with Attitude captured the spotlight at a state conference. And when it comes to school spirit, hands down, Truman is the best, receiving Univest’s school spirit award for the second consecutive year.

Throughout our schools there are many examples of students taking the lead, turning in stellar performances and making the District proud.

I cannot stress strongly enough that our many accomplishments have not required us to place the onus on taxpayers. The Board has been diligent about finding creative strategies for saving money. We have reduced health care costs through the Bucks Montgomery Health Consortium. A revamped transportation solution has saved $2.5 million over the last few years.

Furthermore, we have renegotiated outside contracts and trimmed supply and equipment budgets. Finally, the retirement of some of our senior teachers has enabled us to reconfigure classes following best practices. This has yielded additional savings.

While we have reason to celebrate success, we understand there is much more to do. We are inspired by our accomplishments, but are committed to motivating our students to apply their skills and talents to become global citizens.

We believe in our students, administrators, teachers, Board members, parents and support staff and their commitment to excellence. I challenge all to work together to create an even stronger District.

Thank you.