South Fayette School Board honors enrichment coordinator
Academic excellence took center stage at the Aug. 23 South Fayette Township School Board meeting, as board members discussed standardized test results from the 2015-16 school year and honored Mary Quirk, high school enrichment coordinator.
Quirk was recognized for having been presented with the 2016 George C. Oehmler Award by the World Affairs Council of Pittsburgh. The award recognizes exemplary performance on the part of a teacher, which Amiena Mahsoob, director of educational programs for the council, said Quirk has displayed over the past 10 years in the district.
“We’re truly delighted to be able to honor Ms. Quirk,” Mahsoob said, “for her many outstanding achievements.”
Quirk received a plaque to be displayed at the school.
“I’m really fortunate to work in a district that gives me the flexibility and values the position of enrichment coordinator at the high school level,” she said, “so that I can connect the students to so many wonderful opportunities beyond the classroom.”
David Deramo, assistant superintendent presented the school board with data regarding 2015-16 standardized test scores. South Fayette students in third through eighth grades scored well above the state average on the Pennsylvania System of School Assessment test in language arts.
Deramo said that language arts scores were relatively consistent with the previous school year, with scores above 90 percent. The Pennsylvania state averages for third through eighth grades are in the 60 percent range.
South Fayette students still well above the state average in mathematics, but Deramo said he was not completely satisfied with the scores for eighth-graders.
Two standardized tests are presented students at that level, one focusing on algebra and the other, geometry. Eighth-graders are placed in Algebra I, which Kristin Deichler, middle school principal, said could account for less-than-ideal test scores on the geometry-heavy tests. The district is creating a task force of educators to better align the curriculum and present students with the best opportunity to succeed.
Scores on the science portion of the PSSAs also were well above state average and have seen consistent improvement over past several years. Superintendent Billie Rondinelli said this that type of steady advancement has been a long-standing goal of the district.
“We’re not satisfied with the status quo,” Rondinelli said, “but we have made continuous progress every single year, now going into my eighth year. I think that we’ve made great gains. We want to continue to make those gains.”
After a lengthy executive session, the board approved increasing Rondinelli’s salary to $180,000.
“With all of the achievements of the district, including out test score results and the No. 1 rankings,” Bill Newcomer, school board president, said in an email, “the board felt that it was appropriate to adjust her salary to be more closely aligned with the superintendents in other higher-achieving school districts in the region.”
The board also approved using the services of Steeltown Security, a company that5 is owned and operated by a South Fayette resident, for selected campus events this school year. Township police officers still will be present at football games.