As we open our doors
for our students for
the new school year,
Dr. Ken Lockette
the South Fayette
Superintendent of Schools
Township School
District is coming off
a busy summer on our campus. As it has for the last several
years, South Fayette again hosted over 150 teachers for the
STEAM Summer Institute in June, graciously supported by
the Grable Foundation. Many of the participants came from
eight partnering schools with the District’s PA Smart Grant
that will support developing a PA statewide online education
platform for teaching introductory Computer Science (CS)/STEM
education across grades K-8 and the creation of introductory
CS/STEM curricula, assessments, and professional development,
among other components.
Just a week after the STEAM Summer Institute, the District
hosted the National Student Council Conference. For three days,
over 750 students and 150 advisors from 37 states participated
in leadership workshops and team building activities and
learned from keynote speakers around the theme of
“Forging Tomorrow’s Leaders.” Allegheny County Chief Executive
Rich Fitzgerald kicked off the proceedings, and students and
advisors expanded their support networks.
Additionally, the District hosted the Advanced Placement (AP)
Institute. We also had the Extended School Year Program, STEAM
Camp, and various athletic and other extracurricular activities
for our students that occurred throughout the summer.
As we kick off the new school year,
the District will begin the first year
of it’s 2019-2022 Strategic Plan with
the overarching theme of “Small
World, Big Future.” The new strategic
plan will build on our past successes
to meet future demands. As we
consider the social, economic, and
technological changes shaping the
future, it is incumbent upon the District to consider the impact
of these changes on the future of learning and the future of
work.
This strategic plan will be our guide, and it lays out how the
District, together with the community and partners, will
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SOUTH FAYETTE
evolve to serve the whole child in preparing to thrive as part
of a technology-driven workforce in a globally-connected
community.
At the core of plan are strategic and curriculum overarching
goals and action plans:
The strategic goals include:
• Increase cultural and global competencies to provide
diverse perspectives
• Identify and address social and emotional needs to
educate the whole child
• Address future growth in enrollment to anticipate needs
and plans for possible expansion
• Create a comprehensive communications plan to keep
our community engaged
• Enhance safety and security to prevent and ensure
readiness for emergencies
The curriculum goals include:
• Align teaching practices to vision to support teachers in
continuous improvement
• Redesign district assessment practices to measure what
is most meaningful
• Integrate the arts throughout the curriculum to provide
a well-rounded education
• Refine the curriculum process to ensure education is
consistently high-quality
• Develop flexible career pathways to prepare students for
the future of work
We will report on the implementation and successes of these
goals throughout the year, all of which will support the District’s
vision below:
South Fayette Township School District will be a model of
excellence where students will gain knowledge, skills, dispositions,
and experiences to thrive in the technology-driven, ever-changing
landscape of the global workforce.
Here is to a great start to the new school year!