The Exeter Township School District Board of School Directors was presented with progress reports from Exeter School facility during their Tuesday, Jan. 20 meeting.
The technology report was delivered by Joseph Way, supervisor of technology, and the senior high school report was introduced by Principal William Cain.
The district’s one-to-one student to Chromebook initiative has been fully implemented to the ninth grade. It was discovered that the plastic or glass covering the screen is not a serviceable part. The screen is $60 to repair, but to replace the plastic covering the screen is $170. Concern over the part was relayed to Dell with discussion of using a different vendor for the second phase of Chromebooks.
“Students in 9th grade have done a great job adjusting to the Chromebooks, but it did take some of the regular class time to adjust to the new system,” Way said.
The district currently has 600 Apple devices which include iPads, iPods and iPhones. These devices are used for various station programs.
STEM labs at the Junior and Senior high schools have been upgraded to allow teachers to use the Autodesk Inventor software to perform STEM curriculum.
This year a new communication platform, Parentlink, was introduced and is available for download through Apple and Android app stores.
“There’s news, notifications, and the district calendars is located there. When (superintendent) Dr. (Beverly) Martin would do an early dismissal or Parentlink message to the community it will also push notification to the phones… folks that may not be a part of our Parentlink system could have a Parentlink app,” Way said.
Google Apps for Education will continue to be used by the district; 172,000 private files have been created by students, staff, and administrators so far.
E-Reader capabilities are expected to expand into the Junior High School.
“E-books have been something that have challenged us since the first time we said e-book,” Way said. The devices will be implemented with a new software package called Overdrive that is used in the Berks County Public Library.
Exeter’s Senior High School has wrapped up the first semester of their Project Lead the Way STEM program with Introduction to Engineering Design. It is currently in the planning phase for the second level course, Principles of Engineering.
Cain took over the presentation with his Senior High School Report. He addressed the board members on the ongoing review and revisions of the curriculum to make sure it is current. “It’s not all about just conforming to the common core. It’s about preparing our kids and making sure they are getting what they need to be successful in college, to be successful in a career field, and to be successful when they go off to the military and pick a special area,” Cain said.
Cain discussed Chromebook usage among the district’s 9th grade students. When discussing the congregation of students in the main lobby waiting for parent pick-up Cain chuckled “I think we may have to install more electrical outlets.” Cain was amazed at his observation of the 9th grade students whom used to idly play or text on their cell phones are now engaging with the Chromebook and completing their homework while they wait for their ride home.
The Preliminary Scholastic Aptitude Test originally offered to sophomores and juniors on a Saturday was switched to a Wednesday. Student participation increased due to the switch. A total of 305 students participated from last year’s numbers of 235.
“I’ve worked very hard with the guidance counselors to try to increase the number of students taking the PSATs so they don’t walk into the SATs completely unprepared,” Cain said.
Winter Keystone testing has been complete. Students who were not proficient in Algebra or Literature along with students taking English 10 and Biology were tested.
Students parking on the street should soon expect to see changes to parking along 37th Street in the block leading toward the high school. The changes, which arose from a student forum, were approved by the Township Supervisors and will be in effect once signs are in place.