Pottstown Teachers Spur Growth, District-wide 'Seussical' Musical Will Accommodate Special Needs

Photos by Evan Brandt

SINGING THEIR PRAISES: The Pottstown High School Chorus performed two pieces Thursday for the school board in recognition of School Board Appreciation Month.

As veterans of school board meetings know too well, January is "School Board Appreciation Month," and true to form, each of the Pottstown School Board members got a little gift from the staff, a bag of candy in this case.

But the students provided an even sweeter gift, an a cappella vocal performance.

Normally, this is where I would write "Here is the video of one of the performances:" but Periscope didn't save it to my iPhone because I had to download a new operating system, because "technology, blah, blah, blah. So no video for you, which is too bad because they sounded lovely.

On with the blog.

Teachers Growing Test Scores

Pottstown teachers who have overseen classes with three years of consistent growth in standardized test scores are recognized Thursday by the Pottstown School Board.

But since the ultimate purpose of the school board is to educate students, perhaps it was appropriate that School Board Appreciation Month was the month the school board got to show its appreciation for those doing that job well.

Seventeen Pottstown teachers were recognized Thursday night for teaching students who have demonstrated persistent growth in test scores.

"Growth," Superintendent Stephen Rodriguez explained, is different and in many ways better than "achievement."

For years, standardized tests in Pennsylvania only recognized achievement, a student's final score. If you think of those tests as a race, the achievement is your final time. Growth is your ability to run faster. You may not win the race, but if you have doubled your speed, that is growth.

Further, said Rodriguez, many educational experts now agree that achievement on standardized tests is more a measure of a community's wealth, than its skill at teaching.

Without naming them, Rodriguez said a comparison with some neighboring school districts showed that while their test scores may be higher, the growth in Pottstown's scores far outstrips them.

By way of example, he noted that Pottstown High School has seen 100 percent growth, the highest level the state measures, in its math, reading and biology scores.

Superintendent Stephen Rodriguez, left, and School Board

President Amy Francis, right, congratulate Jesse Tupper

for her "Great Growth" Award Thursday.

Those Rodriguez was willing to name were some of the teachers who have made that growth possible. 17 of them to be exact.

Four of those had students whose scores had shown growth over the course of a year.

They are:

• Carol Livington, middle school language arts;
• Jesse Tupper, middle school math;
• Paul Castanzo, high school biology and
• Nicholas Fox, high school algebra.

Perhaps more impressive are those who have overseen three solid years of growth in test scores, and the fact that there are 13 of those. They are:

• Nicola Alutious, Barth Elementary School;
• Bradley Mayberry, Barth Elementary School;
• Ann Marie McDonnell, Barth Elementary School;
• Denise Schleicher, Lincoln Elementary School;
• Joshua Wagner, Lincoln Elementary School;
• Mandy Wampole, Lincoln Elementary School; 
• Ginger Angelo, middle school;
• Jennifer Heller, middle school;
• Aaron Torrence, middle school;
• Eileen Basham, high school;
• Helen Bowers, high school;
• Justine Donnelly, high school;
• Megan Heffelfinger, high school.

"The growth really is amazing," said school board member Steve Kline.

Congratulations to all and thanks for the great work.

A More Sensitive 'Seussical' to be Staged March 5

There are few who would argue that the beloved Dr. Seuss books help sensitize children to the feelings of others, and the a world beyond their own experience. (My personal favorite is 'The Sneeches.')

So why shouldn't the musical, 'Seussical," which is based on those books, practice what it preaches? It should, Robert Decker told the school board Thursday.

Superintendent Stephen

Rodriguez had the right spirit.

That's why, for the first time in the region as far as he could find out, Decker told the board that this year's district-wide musical will have a special added performance on March 5 specially designed for a special needs audience, including the hearing impaired and those on the autism scale.

Too often, said Decker, who is the show's producer and teaches advanced math classes in the high school, he has heard parents of children on the autism scale say they cannot take their children out to eat, or to shows because "they can't sit still," or "they have to get up and walk around," of "they want to talk back to the actors."

The March 5 show will allow all that and more.

The show will be relaxed with keyboards instead of a full orchestra, cutting down on loud noises. The lighting will be left low and audience members will be encouraged "to get up and dance, to sing, all of the things they are not allowed to do in a traditional performance setting," Decker said.

"We want them to be able to partake in things some of us take for granted," Decker said.

And with that, click here to read the Tweets from the meeting.