Thursday, May 16, 2013
Highland Elementary School’s Michael Johnson will leave to be an administrator.
According to a Wednesday, May 15 post on the Centennial School District website, the Centennial School Board appointed Highland’s Michael Johnson as principal of the district’s Klinger Middle School. The vote, on May 14, was unanimous; Johnson will start July 1. According to the post, the school’s interview team — which included Centennial School District faculty and school board members — visited Highland Elementary School, where Johnson is a curriculum specialist. "[The appointment] is the result of an extensive and thorough search process and I cannot imagine a better outcome for Klinger Middle School and Centennial School District," assistant superintendent Joyce Mundy said in the post. Johnson is still listed on the Highland …
Friday, April 5, 2013
An Abington Commissioner seems bothered by the possibility of the township waiving a fee.
The waiver of a fire alarm fee sparked some conversation at this week’s public safety committee meeting. The Abington Public Safety Committee on Wednesday approved a motion waiving a permit fee for the Abington School District. The school district is planning on installing a new fire alarm system at the junior high school. The estimated cost of the fire alarm — which would be an upgrade and would be integrated into the current system — comes in at about $620,000. The bid is scheduled to be awarded later in the month. The township, should it choose to waive the fee, would be out about $15,500. Commissioner and public safety committee member Dennis Zappone voted “no” on the motion. “If a little old lady has to fix her sidewalk, she has to …
Wednesday, March 13, 2013
The Abington elementary school participates in the National African American Read-In.
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Wednesday, March 13
Last month, Roslyn Elementary School participated in the 24thNational African American Read-In — reading was a significant component of the school’s celebration of Black History Month. The librarian and reading specialists selected several books written by black authors; teachers then read the books to their students. After the Read-In, Roslyn submitted the 2013 African American Read-In report card to the National Council of Teachers of English. The report card includes information such as the number of participants and the selection of books and authors read.
40.125224
-75.140591
Roslyn Elementary School
2565 Susquehanna Rd, Roslyn, PA
/articles/roslyn-holds-read-in
1833295
/locations/9006683
Monday, March 4, 2013
The students visited the University of Pennsylvania Museum’s ‘Iraq’s Ancient Past’ exhibition
Second-grade students in Abington’s APEX classes recently visited the University of Pennsylvania Museum’s “Iraq’s Ancient Past” exhibition. The hands-on event allowed students to get a feel for the past by holding and viewing actual ancient artifacts from the museum’s collection. Students then wrote poems based on their experience; they will be published on the museum’s blog next month for National Poetry Month. From the museum’s website: Iraq's Ancient Past: Rediscovering Ur's Royal Cemetery tells the story of the discovery and excavation of the Royal Cemetery at Ur in modern-day Iraq. The collection includes the famous gold and lapis lazuli bullheaded lyre, a "Ram in the Thicket" sculpture, as well as Lady Pu-abi's headdress and jewelry …
Thursday, February 28, 2013
The Abington School District-owned Memorial Field is slated to receive a $5 million upgrade; the rejuvenated field could be opened by August 2014.
Memorial Field — the former home of Abington graduations and current home of walkers and joggers — is slated to get an upgrade … and now there are some dates to work with. Abington School District Assistant Superintendent Leigh Altadonna announced a proposed timeline for the plan approval and construction of the new elements of Memorial Field. The district entered into a 25-year lease agreement with Penn State Abington for the field, which is on Huntingdon Road between Susquehanna Road and Rosemont Lane, in August. Rather than paying rent, the university will make about $5 million in upgrades to the facility. In return, Penn State Abington’s athletic teams will be able to practice and compete on the grounds. Penn State Abington Chancellor …
Wednesday, February 27, 2013
The Abington School District will place signage on the roads within the junior and senior high campuses.
If you’ve ever walked along the road that connects the junior high campus to the senior high campus … and wondered what to call it, the school board has a surprise for you. It’s now “Campus Drive.” Abington School District Facilities Supervisor Stephen Saile said in a presentation Tuesday night that the district will be naming and placing street signs at the intersections of the roads within the senior high school and junior high school campuses. Superintendent Amy Sichel said the idea for having street names on campus was created as part of an emergency response plan between the school district and the police department. The signs will make it easier for emergency responders to find specific roads on campus. The campus will retain the …
40.11157
-75.12936
Abington Senior High School
900 Highland Ave, Abington, PA
/articles/street-names-come-to-campus
862911
/locations/8897159
Wednesday, February 13, 2013
School district business administrator: Preliminary budget is 'tenuous, very conservative.'
The Abington School Board approved the district’s 2013-14 preliminary budget at its meeting Tuesday night. The preliminary budget weighs in at $137.33 million — $3.86 million or 3 percent higher than last year’s budget. The biggest single increase in the preliminary budget is something the board can’t control: mandated benefits, the school district’s contribution to the Public School Employees Retirement System (PSERS). This year, the district must contribute 16.93 percent to PSERS — 16 percent of that is the pension rate and the remainder goes to health insurance premium assistance. According to the website, PSERS is also funded through investment earnings and mandatory member contributions. For a press release on the PSERS rate this year…
Tuesday, February 12, 2013
The Abington School Board will consider a motion to adopt a preliminary budget; it shows an increase of about 3 percent.
According to the draft agenda, the Abington School Board will likely approve the district’s 2013-14 preliminary budget at its meeting tonight. The draft agenda shows that the proposed preliminary budget weighs in at $137.33 million — $3.86 million or 3 percent higher than last year’s installment. See the whole agenda in the pdf section. There was no tax increase last year. See that story here. The meeting will be held tonight at 7:30 p.m. Check back later for an update.
Tuesday, January 15, 2013
The district will likely face ‘broad and comprehensive’ cuts, as well as a 3 percent tax increase.
The words “difficult,” “storm” and “cuts” were scattered all over yesterday’s Upper Dublin School Board meeting. In fact, Upper Dublin Superintendent Michael Pladus sent a letter to parents on Friday informing them of the district’s “own version of the fiscal cliff.” First, the budget. The district’s proposed 2013-14 preliminary budget is up about $1.8 million over last year’s — a 2.1 percent increase — to $87.2 million. Revenue, according to the proposed preliminary budget, is slated to come in at $84.6 million. To cover the gap, the school district is proposing the use of $2.6 million in fund balance (which would leave just over $8,000 in fund balance at the end of the fiscal year) and a 3.04 percent real estate tax increase. The …
Wednesday, January 9, 2013
The school board stayed in-house when it came to finding a replacement for the retiring Leigh Altadonna.
The Abington School Board won’t need a search committee to find a replacement for the district’s retiring assistant superintendent … but it will need one to find a replacement for the high school principal. Last night, the Abington School Board approved a motion appointing Abington Senior High School Principal Jeffrey Fecher the district’s next assistant superintendent. “After much thought, and consultation and two executive sessions … we came to the conclusion that we didn’t need to search for an assistant superintendent,” Sichel said last night. “[Fecher] is dedicated, he is committed, he is confident, compassionate and he is an excellent worker. We feel he is the right person for the job.” One can’t help but think of Dwight Schrute …
40.11219
-75.12874
970 Highland Ave, Abington, PA
Abington School Board Administration Buildling
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/locations/8557916
bigdaddyt
8:26 am on Saturday, May 18, 2013
This stinks for us, but looks like a great opportunity for Mr. J. He was always a class act and will be missed by this parent! Good luck! more ›