Evesham Township School Board 1/25/2018 - Updated Enrollment stats and Performance Reports - plus public Budget Meeting 2/13/18

It was announced that there will be a public budget meeting on February 13th at 6:30 pm at DeMasi.  This is an opportunity for concerned citizens to learn about the budget process and ask any questions they might have.

The first meeting of the new Evesham Township School Board commenced with new (and former) President Joe Fisacaro calling the meeting to order.   New Vice President Trish Everhart was at his left and new members Janis Knoll and Lea Ryan took the seats of those vacated by Sandy Student and JoAnne Harmon.

The meeting began with a presentation from William Donio, School Solicitor.  Mr Donio described a contest that his firm, Cooper Levenson, holds every year for students to design a holiday card that the firm will send to their clients.  The theme for the card was ‘Home For the Holidays’ and this year’s winner was Jinny Lee, a 6th Grader from Marlton Middle School.  Ms Lee was invited to talk about her card, which she described as a girl who went outside to play in the snow, and then came back inside to drink cocoa, while her dog slept nearby.  Both Ms Lee and her art teacher Ms Gormley received gift certificates from the firm, and Ms Lee received a plaque highlighting her accomplishment.

Following this, Superintendent Scavelli gave a very fast paced summary of the School Performance Report.   The performance reports provide a brief overview of various areas such as: enrollment, participation & performance, student growth, attendance, student discipline, technology readiness, per-pupil expenditures, and school climate.  The following four areas have state targets:  Participation Rate, Academic Achievement, Academic Progress, and Chronic Absenteeism.  The first three include measures based on PARCC testing, as well as NJASK and other state required assessments.

Some highlights of his presentation:
  • 6 of 9 schools met the target rate of 95% participation in PARCC testing
  • 8 of 9 schools met the target for Language Arts academic achievement
  • 9 of 9 schools met the target for Math academic achievement
  • 8 of 9 schools met the target for chronic absenteeism
  • 9 of 9 schools met the target for Language Arts academic progress
  • 9 of 9 schools met the target for Math academic progress
Mr Scavelli also gave a brief update on the QSAC (NJ Quality Single Accountability Continuum) evaluations.  Officials from Burlington County reviewed the programs in place in the district, and during the interview, the officials concluded that the ‘School district has a good system of instruction in place.’  Mr Scavelli stated that he expected the district to be designated a ‘High Performing School District’ again.

After the presentation, Mr Mehigan asked if the summary reports were what was expected?  Mr Scavelli advised that since the state reports are based off testing that the district already knew the results of, there were no surprises.  Mr Bravo asked about what would happen with a school that didn’t make all of the targets.  Mr Scavelli expects that, like in the past, the state would issue a corrective action plan.  The district is currently awaiting their response.

There are very in-depth reports for each individual school available on the district website, should you wish any additional information.

Mr Scavelli also noted that a new demographic study is now available on the district website as well.  The district commissions an updated study every year from Whitehall Associates, to be sure that district resources are in line with the expected student population.  Current student enrollment is 4426, down from a high of 5436 in the 2002-2003 school year.  Enrollment is expected to continue to fall, to 4138 by the 2022-2023 school year.  This projection includes all building projects currently approved in Evesham.

Ms Ryan then asked Mr Scavelli to explain why there were no snow days built into the calendar.  Mr Scavelli explained that 180 student days are required per year.  In the past, there used to be 182 school days scheduled, and if there were no snow days used, the last 2 days of school would be cancelled.  However, 6 years ago during negotiation with union leadership, it was changed to 180 days and days would be added if needed. 

After a few agenda items were approved, public comment was opened.  A member of the public stated that in Pennsylvania (where she worked), if schools were closd due to a State of Emergency, those school days didn’t need to be made up.  She was curious if NJ had the same rule.  She was advised by Mr Scavelli that NJ does not have that in place, days would need to be made up.  The member of the public then pleaded with the board to think carefully about 2 hour delayed openings, as they are a nuisance and a logistical nightmare for parents.

During Board Announcements at the end of the Meeting, Ms Stone asked everyone to consider attending Evesham Education Foundation’s ‘Wine Dine and Win’ on February 2nd. 

Ms Barbagiovanni noted that she visited Demasi for the 8th grade community day and was very impressed with what the children did to give back to the community: they made bracelets for our troops, made toys for animal shelters, and made superhero capes for young cancer patients.  She, along with Ms Ryan, also went to a couple of LEAD graduations and think it is a wonderful program to help our children.

Both Ms Barbagiovanni and Ms Everhart both commended the ‘Rap Room' and the 'Parent to Parent’ programs, which are programs supported by the town that provide strength, support and hope for families and children struggling with addition.