Dr. Ken Lockette
The South Fayette
Township School District
started the school year
with the operational theme “Small World, Big Future,” which grew
out of the District’s exploration of how the changing landscape
of work will affect how we prepare our students for the future.
Researchers, theorists, and think tanks such as Knowledge Works
and the World Economic Forum, predict a workforce that is and will
continue to be altered by advancements in artificial intelligence,
machine learning, and robotics. It is also predicted that through
lower coordination costs afforded by the Internet and through
an expanded global labor market that there will be a decline of
full-time employment, causing a portion of the workforce to be
independent contractors and self-employed.
Superintendent of Schools
These changes are redefining what college and career readiness
looks like in kindergarten through 12th grade education. As
the paradigm of the workforce shifts, so must the paradigm of
education. To address these needs, the South Fayette Township
School District undertook the strategic planning process and
assembled a stakeholder group consisting of parents, students,
teachers, administrators, business partners, community leaders,
university partners, and regional thought leaders. The group
focused on identifying the knowledge, skills, dispositions, and
experiences our students will need as they enter a changing global
workforce.
At the time of printing, the District was in the middle of the
process, but the complete strategic plan, including action plans,
measures, and timelines will be published on the District’s website
and will be communicated to the school community. South Fayette
will continue to work hard on maintaining strong performance with
the PSSA and Keystone exams, but we will also look at measuring
relevant knowledge, skills, and dispositions not assessed on the
state-mandated tests that our students will need to thrive in today’s
changing world.
In addition to the work on our academic program this fall,
school safety and security was also in the forefront. Many physical
enhancements to our facilities were made this summer and fall,
and the District started the school year with two additional security
personnel to give us better coverage throughout the day on our
campus. The District already had a school resource officer in place.
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As a further preventative measure, the South Fayette Township
School District created “threat assessment teams” in all
buildings. To do this, the District brought in Dr. Dewey Cornell
from the University of Virginia, who was the author of the state
of Virginia’s threat assessment team mandate for K-12 schools.
Threat assessment is a violence prevention strategy:
1. For family members, friends, or others to seek help
when concerned about someone in distress or who
is threatening violence.
2. That evaluates the seriousness of a threat.
3. That initiates assistance to address the underlying
problem, conflict or need, and in the most serious
cases, to take protective action.
Threat assessment teams will include administrators,
teachers, school psychologist, pupil personnel director, school
resource officer, and mental health professionals.
Additionally, the District held safety drills at each building
and safety training for faculty and staff, including hosting an
active shooter drill in October with area first responders and
Allegheny County’s Department of Crisis Management.
The District also welcomed Dr. Jeff Evancho as its Assistant
to the Superintendent for Secondary Education. Dr. Evancho
previously was the Project Zero Programming Specialist at
the Quaker Valley School District, which is rooted in Harvard
Graduate School of Education’s Project Zero, an educational
research hub. Dr. Evancho also co-leads a learning community
known as Agency by Design Pittsburgh. This group is a
research practice partnership designed to connect educators
from diverse maker-based learning environments for the
purpose of developing mutual understandings of maker-
centered learning and assessment. Dr. Evancho will work with
our middle and high school administrators and staff with
curriculum development and instruction, among other duties.
As we transition seasons from fall to winter, the South
Fayette Township School District has much to be thankful
for and looks forward to hosting several events, including
our winter concerts. We hope that everyone has a safe and
wonderful holiday season.