South Fayette School District’s enrollment and budget increasing
The South Fayette School Board reviewed budgets from all of the schools in the districts March 1, and the focus fell on maintaining smaller classroom sizes and providing support for new and special needs students.
The middle school has seen an increase in grade size, with the upcoming seventh-grade class comprised of just under 800 students, principal Dave Deramo said during his budget presentation to the board. As the school’s population continues to rise, the number of incoming students requiring special attention also increases, which is why the middle school has budgeted for an additional special education teacher to meet the needs of students with Individualized Education Programs, or IEPs.
The middle school is also planning to expand its eighth-grade teams, adding a third team of two dual-certified teachers. This will allow the district to maintain its goal of having less than 30 students per classroom.
Larger enrollment also requires more text books, online subscriptions and equipment for the technology education department, which has impacted the middle school budget.
The intermediate school is also seeing an increase in enrollment, which will equate to an additional special education teacher and the transition to a full-time media library support position. The school is also seeing a growth in the music department and the need for additional technology supplies, both reflected in the larger budget.
The board also discussed the addition of an advanced placement computer science course as part of an expanded business and computer science department. The new course would be akin to a freshmen-level college computer science course and would fall in line with the district’s STEAM focus.
“We’d like to try to get it off the ground by next fall,” said assistant superintendent Dr. Michael Loughead.
Students may soon be receiving their own school Gmail accounts as well. The board discussed the addition of Gmail accounts in innovation courses to streamline communication and increase the efficacy of Google Classroom use.
In other business, eighth-grader Parv Shrivastava was recognized as the Pennsylvania Junior Academy of Science Region Seven winner. Shrivastava created an adaptive smart app on electrical circuit concepts that he has been testing in grades 2 through 5 with “amazing results.”
“We are so proud of you, Parv,” said Dr. Billie Rondinelli, superintendent.
Shrivastava will be joining a group of South Fayette students for the Conference on Pen and Touch Technology in Education at Brown University in Providence, R.I., at the end of March. The group will attend the conference, as well as meet with the MIT Launch Club and serve as guest bloggers for the MIT Media Center.