IN West Jefferson Hills Fall 2018 | Page 42

ADMINISTRATION BUILDING 835 OLD CLAIRTON ROAD JEFFERSON HILLS, PA 15025 PHONE 412.655.8450 FAX 412.655.9544 www.wjhsd.net Dr. Michael Ghilani West Jefferson Hills School District Superintendent A s the summer months come to a close and another school year is suddenly upon us, I can hardly contain my excitement for all of the great things we have going on throughout the district. After reflecting on my first full year as superintendent of schools, I realized that while we have accomplished many things as a district, we still have several items left to complete in our three-year plan. The summer months were extremely busy facilitating a number of projects that will prove to be major upgrades and enhancements in the district; however, we must first roll them out, and, as with anything new there will be a learning curve. We are doing everything we can to improve and update outdated systems and processes, while making changes to our K-12 educational programs that we believe will catapult the district into being one of the best districts in the state of Pennsylvania. Now that we have a structure in place for K-12 that meets our vision, we can now begin to invest and build capacity in our teachers, which I believe are the greatest and most important asset impacting our students. With so many things going on concurrently, some of these transitions may not follow the typical timelines that we’ve had in the past and may take some time to fully implement, so please keep that in mind as we progress throughout the school year. Here are a few notable and exciting changes that are taking place this school year: • PowerSchool has been replaced with Skyward as our Student Information System (SIS) and parent portal. Skyward is both user-friendly and feature rich while seamlessly integrating with other district products. • The 1:1 technology initiative has expanded to all students in grades 1-12. Kindergarten will be 1:2. Every student will be assigned a device, and students in grades 5-12 will be bringing their devices home. All of our teachers will be utilizing G Suite and Google Classroom as tools to help personalize the learning process for each and every child. By the beginning of the 2019-2020 school year, every administrator, teacher, and paraprofessional will be Google Level 1 Certified. We will also continue vetting apps and programs which support our goal of personalized learning and student growth. Students in grades K-2 will be using iPads, and students in grades 3-12 will be using Chromebooks as their device. Students and parents will be expected to sign an Acceptable Use Policy, and all devices will be filtered. Every student will also be taught the Common Sense Media Curriculum K-12 to promote responsible and safe use of digital tools. These devices will be a major tool in our learning 40 WEST JEFFERSON HILLS environment moving forward. Students will be responsible for their devices just as they are their books. Parents will have the option of purchasing insurance for twenty-five dollars ($25) which covers one accidental breakage or replacement. • The addition of a Life Skills program for K-12 to better serve and prepare our students for success. In addition, we are exploring business partnerships to provide real-world experience and possibly lead to full time employment after graduation. • A completely revised code of conduct at the high school level that includes restorative practices in addition to punitive consequences. The code of conduct will be published and transparent to ensure equity and consistency in how it is enforced with all students. • The implementation of e-hallpass, a digital hall pass utilized by student devices, at the high school. e-hallpass increases accountability, provides analytics on pass usage, and also adds an increased layer of safety and security. • A Full-day Kindergarten program that provides the additional time to personalize the learning experience to meet every child’s individual needs. We have also added a mindfulness component to the Kindergarten program to begin to teach our students the power of mindfulness strategies. • The introduction of INCubatoredu, the new Entrepreneurship class at Thomas Jefferson High School. This program offers students an authentic entrepreneurship experience. In the year long course, students have the opportunity to create and fully develop their own product or service. Real entrepreneurs and business experts serve as volunteer coaches and mentors guiding student teams through the processes of developing hypotheses about a business concept, testing those hypotheses, adapting, and continually learning and improving. • The Integration of a flexible block schedule with small-group instruction for students in K-5 with departmentalized teaching. • The addition of Eureka Math, a new K-5 Math curriculum. • The implementation of Second Step, a social and emotional learning curriculum and growth benchmark for students in K-8. Every student will receive one lesson a week on topics such as empathy, positive