Tag Archives: Harrisburg schools

New chapter for Nativity School, as ribbon is cut on Uptown Harrisburg facility

October 22, 2020 | by M. Diane McCormick

Lavelle Muhammad, Nativity School’s executive director, gets ready to cut the ribbon today flanked by, from left, state Rep. Patty Kim, Harrisburg Mayor Eric Papenfuse, board member Sheri Phillips and state Sen. John DiSanto.

In sixth grade, Anthony Lester struggled with reading, but his English teacher at Nativity School helped him improve. Now that he’s in eighth grade, what’s his favorite subject?

It’s English.

“I like that the school pushes you harder to work better,” he said. “It’s like a family group. If you need help, you can talk to your teachers. If you have problems going on at home, you can talk to Mr. Muhammad or Coach DJ about it.”

He means Executive Director Lavelle Muhammad and Dean of Students Demond Bates at Nativity School of Harrisburg, the all-boys, faith-based, nondenominational middle school embarking on a new chapter. On a misty Thursday morning, school and government officials cut the ribbon on a new space – the first that the school can call its own.

The facility at 2101 N. 5^th Street, purchased from Zion Assembly Church, allows expansion of enrollment in sixth, seventh and eighth grades, plus the addition of fifth grade starting in 2021-22.

Nativity School educates and mentors inner-city and at-risk middle-school boys from low-income families. Academic help and life guidance continue while alumni attend high school and college. Attendance is free, and tuition is paid to local private high schools.

“We’ve got to make sure they graduate,” said Muhammad. “Most of them don’t come back to talk about academics. They come back to talk about life. At that age, there’s really not a lot of fathers. We have to kind of stand in place as the fathers.”

Nativity students at today’s ceremony included Jaden Garnes, Omar Ibrahim, Anthony Lester, Ty’Myr Wilkerson and Jhameer Tucker.

The new facility is a dream made real since the school’s founding in 2001, said Sheri Phillips, board member and, in Muhammad’s words, “the backbone of Nativity.” Students first attended school in space shared with the St. Francis of Assisi Church soup kitchen – sometimes stepping over homeless people sleeping on the floor.

Moving to the Camp Curtin YMCA provided access to classrooms, gym and cafeteria, but space limitations restricted expansion, Phillips said. Around 2018, Zion members expressed their support for the school by agreeing to sell their classroom space. After settlement in March 2020 and renovations begun in April by Weidner Construction Services, the school opened on time.

“This is just the beginning for us,” Phillips said.

The project was a community effort, said state Rep. Patty Kim, who admitted to “falling in love” with Nativity when her chief of staff’s son attended. Students “deserve the best” in a school space, and so do faculty, “who worked so hard day in and day out, loving the kids, caring for the kids, praying for the kids,” she said. “This can be a model for the rest of the school district. It can.”

Harrisburg needs Nativity School’s emphasis on conflict resolution “through intellect and education rather than through violence” and on community service, said Mayor Eric Papenfuse.

“The mission of Nativity School is one that benefits all of us,” Papenfuse said. “It’s one we can be incredibly proud of, and it’s one that is now secure by finally finding a long-term home.”

Before the ceremony, eighth-grader Omar Ibrahim cited community service – picking up trash around the YMCA on N. 6th Street, helping Homeland Center residents play bingo or decorate gingerbread houses – as one of his favorite things about Nativity School.

“I like how we’re not distracted,” he said. “I like how we get a better education. I like how we get to do a lot of stuff in the community to help people.”

Nativity School offers a lifeline to young men and provides a model for lawmakers trying to “change the bureaucratic problems” of state-level education, said state Sen. John DiSanto. “We need to reimagine education, we need to reengage, we need to reach the youth, and we need to continue to demonstrate the positiveness within the city and in the communities of poverty that are really challenged.”

Inside the school (currently on a hybrid weekly schedule of classroom and remote learning) are five classrooms, cafeteria, and a former sanctuary converted to gym and auditorium. For the first time, alumni returning for guidance or a place to do homework have a lounge, complete with foosball.

Current students have already embraced the school as their own.

“It makes me feel more of a great person,” said eighth-grader Jaden Garnes. “I know I’ll learn more stuff and get a better education.”

The school offers students “a place that we can call home,” said Bates, the dean of students and basketball coach. Nativity School staff balance education with life guidance, letting students know “that you can make a mistake and recover,” he added. Expanding to fifth grade presents the chance to touch students even earlier, when they can build stronger defenses against peer pressure.

In a moment of serendipity, a passing motorist stopped to ask about the hubbub and the blazer-clad students. Awed by what he learned, he told Muhammad that Nativity School was exactly what he wanted for his kids and would enroll them next year.

Muhammad admits to not realizing how much work was needed to convert the space to classrooms, but now, like that passerby, he’s in awe.

“This is incredible,” he said. “I’m looking at my office like, ‘This is amazing. I can’t believe this.’”

Nativity School of Harrisburg is located at 2101 N. 5^th St., Harrisburg. For more information and to support the school, visit their website.

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April News Digest

April 30, 2020 | by Lawrance Binda

“Gradual” Reopening Set for Early May

Gov. Tom Wolf has set a date of May 8 to begin a “gradual” reopening of the state’s economy, though he urged residents to continue practicing social distancing and other safety measures.

Wolf set that target date to begin the process of business re-openings, though he emphasized that ending the shutdown would be regional, likely beginning with the northwest and north-central regions that have shown relatively few confirmed cases of COVID-19.

“We’ve done the mitigation stage in a measured, commonsense way, and the plan is to move out of this stage in a measured, commonsense way,” he said.

The areas hardest hit by the COVID-19 pandemic would likely to be the last ones to have the business shutdown end.

“We’re going to do this on a regional basis,” he said. “If we open in a rural area, it doesn’t mean we’ll end the shutdown or stay-at-home order in a place like Philadelphia.”

Wolf also stressed that Pennsylvanians should continue measures such as staying at home and social distancing, even after shutdown orders end.

“If we go too quickly, this might be unsafe for people,” he said. “If we move too quickly, people may not want to go to work because they’re afraid, or may not want to go into a store to buy something because they’re afraid.”

Wolf also set six criteria for businesses to reopen, including:

Re-openings will be “data driven,” will be based upon “quantifiable criteria” and will be targeted and regional.
Before allowing businesses to reopen, the state will issue “guidance and recommendations” for employers and workers.
Reopening will necessitate the availability of “adequate personal protective equipment” and “diagnostic testing.”
Reopening will require a monitoring and surveillance program allowing the commonwealth to deploy “swift actions” for containment or mitigation.
Protections for vulnerable populations, especially at congregate care facilities and prisons, will remain in place throughout the reopening process.
Limitations on large gatherings unrelated to work will remain in place for the duration of the reopening process.

Wolf also set May 1 for the resumption of residential and commercial construction projects that have not been given an exemption under the current shutdown order. In Pennsylvania, the construction industry has been especially vocal in protesting the mandated closing of “non-life-sustaining” businesses.

State Street Redesign Funded

Harrisburg took a step towards making State Street safer for pedestrians last month, agreeing to allocate money for a final road design.

City Council unanimously approved hiring civil engineering firm Wallace, Montgomery & Associates to complete the “State Street Rapid Response” design, including an expenditure of $57,500.

“State Street is the most dangerous street in the city,” city Engineer Wayne Martin told council members through the virtual meeting.

Over a year ago, Harrisburg released its “Vision Zero” action plan for the city, with a goal of eliminating pedestrian deaths. The initiative came after numerous pedestrian fatalities on city streets, especially on state-owned State Street on Allison Hill.

Harrisburg made improving State Street its number-one “Vision Zero” priority, but its plan was rejected at the district level by the state Department of Transportation.

Martin explained that the city then appealed directly to PennDOT’s top officials, including the former and interim transportation secretaries.

“We agreed on the configuration for the State Street corridor, a path forward, if you will,” Martin said.

Wallace Montgomery now needs to finalize the engineering design. The total project includes numerous changes to State Street, including a narrower road, bus stop improvements, new ADA ramps, new curbing and lighting.

The $57,500 design expense will come from the city’s engineering budget and includes design revisions, highway occupancy permits and the cost of a public meeting, Martin said.

The public meeting was originally slated for last month. Martin said that he now hopes for a June meeting, but added that the timing is uncertain due to continuing social distancing requirements.

The city, Martin said, still must firm up a final cost for the actual roadwork and identify funding sources. He said that he hoped to fund the project through state and other grant monies.

“PennDOT has not said they would pay for some of these improvements, but they haven’t rejected it either,” he said. “They left that door open. So, we will seek funding from PennDOT and other sources of funds.”

Martin said that he hopes the actual roadwork will begin in the late summer, but the timing depends upon lifting COVID-19 mitigation restrictions.

Schools to Remain Closed

Pennsylvania schools will remain closed for the rest of the academic year, the state ordered last month.

Gov. Tom Wolf said that the step was necessary to help prevent the spread of the COVID-19 virus.

“We must continue our efforts to mitigate the spread of the virus during this national crisis,” Wolf said. “This was not an easy decision, but closing schools until the end of the academic year is in the best interest of our students, school employees and families.”

Wolf first ordered schools closed in March, setting an early April reopening date. He then said that schools would be closed until further notice before the final announcement that they would remain shut through June.

The closure mandate applies to all schools, including public, private and cyber charter schools.

Wolf said that, although schools are closed, they’re “strongly encouraged” to continue to offer education in “the most appropriate and accessible ways possible,” whether through online or paper-based lessons.

Schools will stay closed until Wolf lifts his “stay at home” order and the state explicitly allows them to reopen, according to the PA Department of Education (PDE).

“As schools and communities adapt to the prolonged school closure, PDE will continue to work with our state, educational, and business and nonprofit partners to meet the needs of students,” said education Secretary Pedro Rivera.

Home Sales Stable

Harrisburg area home sales were relatively stable in March, with sales units and prices mostly unchanged from the year prior.

For March 2020, 551 residential units sold in Dauphin, Cumberland and Perry counties, compared to 558 units in March 2019, according to the Greater Harrisburg Association of Realtors (GHAR). The median price increased to $180,000 from $175,000 over the same period.

In Dauphin County, 278 homes sold at a median price of $169,000 compared to 276 homes at a median price of $162,000 in the year-ago period, said GHAR. In Cumberland County, 242 houses sold compared to 255 the previous March, while the median price rose slightly to $205,000 versus $202,000, according to GHAR.

Perry County had 31 homes sales versus 27 a year ago, with a median price of $171,500 compared to $160,000 in March 2019, GHAR said.

So Noted

Artsfest is going virtual this year after the three-day live event in Riverfront Park was cancelled due to restrictions on public gatherings. Harrisburg Mayor Eric Papenfuse asserted that that “virtual” Artsfest is expected only for this year, and the city intends to bring the event back to the park over Memorial Day weekend in 2021. Harrisburg’s other major summer waterfront celebration, Kipona, is still scheduled for Labor Day weekend.

Don McKenna has been named president of Penn State Health Hampden Medical Center, the 300,000-square-foot, acute care hospital in Cumberland County scheduled to open in 2021. In this role, McKenna will oversee an initial workforce of about 650 full- and part-time clinical and support staff, with expectations that the workforce will grow to 1,000 within three years. McKenna previously was the president and chief executive officer of Jupiter Health in Florida.

Gamut Theatre Group last month cancelled all live events through Sept. 1. This includes June’s popular annual “Shakespeare in the Park” performances. Founders Clark and Melissa Nicholson said they made the decision out of an abundance of caution because of the spread of the COVID-19 virus.

Impact Harrisburg and the city of Harrisburg last month launched a “Business Stabilization Program,” a $1 million fund that will provide up to $10,000 to city businesses that have lost revenue due to the COVID-19 emergency. Those interested in applying for a grant should visit www.impactharrisburg.org.

Open Stage went virtual last month, staging the first act of its production of “Angels in America” via a Zoom live-streaming event. The second act, titled “Perestroika,” continues this month on Zoom. For more information, visit www.openstagehbg.com.

Shannon Gority has been named the new executive director of the Pennsylvania office of the Chesapeake Bay Foundation. Most recently, Gority worked as a consultant for both government and private industry and, before that, was the first CEO of Capital Region Water. She holds degrees from Juniata College and Penn State in civil and environmental engineering

In Memoriam

Gerald Welch, a director for the Harrisburg school board, died last month due to complications from COVID-19. Welch, 56, won his board seat last year, one of five challengers to emerge victorious as part of a reformist slate. Welch often stated his belief in the power of education, citing his own experience as a high school dropout who later would go on to earn a master’s degree in social work.

Changing Hands

Adrian St., 2454: M. Makinde to C. Grant & M. Rinaldi, $70,500

Barkley Lane, 2506: Seneca Leandro View LLC to B. Mehaffie, $88,900

Barkley Lane, 2518: B. & C. Smith to L. & B. Grotjan, $88,000

Berryhill St., 2106: E. Irby to P. Bates, $53,000

Boas St., 426½: M. Richards to N. Patterson, $142,000

Briggs St., 235: JLS Rentals LLC to U. Maillet, $190,000

Briggs St., 1919: G. Neff to C. Pizarro & L. Mendieta, $38,500

Chestnut St., 1911: S. Jawhar to C. & N. Ovalles, $45,000

Cumberland St., 1723: T. Hardison to K. Robinson, $85,000

Derry St., 2100: JOG Investments LLC to OC Highway LLC, $45,000

Derry St., 2606: S. Carper to DLK Properties LLC, $48,000

Emerald Ct., 2456: Secretary of Veterans Affairs to PA Deals LLC, $67,000

Emerald St., 221: M. Horgan to J. Gilchrist & N. Matrese, $144,900

Emerald St., 652: E. Vielle to D. Fernandez, $30,000

Fulton St., 1704: R. Ziegler to W. Ferguson, $143,500

Grand St., 915: H. Senior to A. & A. Zlogar, $104,000

Green St., 2015: J. Blouch to B. Koreny, $217,500

Greenwood St., 2116: Crist Holdings LLC to J. Valverde, $40,000

Holly St., 1947: Federal Home Loan Mortgage Co. & Green River Capital LLC to R. Grullon, $54,000

Hudson St., 1105: E. Nowlin to B. Barkdoll, $129,000

Hudson St., 1241: T. Poole to P. Oliverio, $130,000

Jefferson St., 2239: Dobson Family Limited Partnership to HBK Properties 1 LLC, $44,000

Lewis St., 421: K. Wakefield to J. Barber, $125,000

Linden St., 128: Secretary of Housing & Urban Development to D. Vanlee, $30,500

Logan St., 2208: CR Property Group LLC to J. Lessley, $100,000

Logan St., 2415: T. Drazien to Z. & S. Shatto, $64,000

Luce St., 2304: L. & A. Scotto to CR Property Group LLC, $44,000

Market St., 1223: Crist Holdings LLC to SNB Real Estate Solutions LLC, $30,000

Market St., 1615 and Argyle St., 10 & 12: R. & N. Ressler to N&R Group LLC, $90,000

Muench St., 202: L. & K. Martin to PD Estate Properties LLC, $85,900

Muench St., 211: J. Laubach to M. & H. Hess, $197,500

Muench St., 271: WCI Partners LP to C. Halpert, $107,500

N. 2nd St., 1701: C. Troutman & B. Jackson to SPG Capital LLC, $125,000

N. 2nd St., 2700: J. Norris to M. Norford & S. Bernard, $264,900

N. 3rd St., 1642: Saratoga Properties LLC to Heinly Homes LLC, $55,000

N. 5th St., 1730: E. Bish to M. Davis, $82,500

N. 5th St., 2206: J. Caputo Jr. to D. de la Cruze, $49,000

N. 16th St., 1008: Truemac Homes LLC to L. Storm, $82,000

N. 16th St., 1214: Susquehanna Valley Investment Properties LLC to F. Guzman, $42,000

N. Front St., 321: Clark Resources Inc. to 321 N. Front St. LLC, $450,000

N. Front St., 2515: 324 Mishika LLC to Penn Medical Real Estate LLC, $350,000

Peffer St., 221: C. Chapman to N. Laume, $123,500

Penn St., 2211, 2213 & 2219: WK Rentals LLC to PA Deals LLC, $210,500

Penn St., 2220: Limitless Possibilities Inc. to Inder Group Real Estate LLC, $40,000

Race St., 544: L. Fisher to Impact Access Inc., $87,500

Radnor St., 528: E. Chattah to G. Romero, $80,000

Royal Terr., 123: A. Eckert to NHP Real Estate Development LLC, $39,000

Royal Terr., 125: J. Holmes to El Pejano Trucking LLC, $32,000

Rudy Rd., 2237: F. Prunty to J. Flower & J. Shamitko, $192,000

Showers St., 624: K. Kearn to Z. Einhorn & C. Brinton, $94,900

S. 13th St., 1229: D. Leon to D&F Realty Holdings LP, $100,000

S. 18th St., 321: Golden Lover Realty LLC to Theodore Canton LLC, $37,500

S. Front St., 809: E. Revene to B. Lilly, $150,000

State St., 124: TKP Investments LLC to 122-124 State St. LLC, $195,000

State St., 231, Unit 402: LUX Rentals LLC to M. & M. Vaccaro, $121,000

Susquehanna St., 1210: E. & C. Seaman to SPG Capital LLC, $80,400

Swatara St., 2048: CR Property Group LLC to J. Niemuth, $100,000

Sycamore St., 1617: A. Quarles to CR Property Group LLC, $60,000

Vernon St., 1345: P. Aurelio & G. Ramos to Urban Lighthouse Ministries, $50,000

Wayne St., 1700: R. & D. Shepler to Tall Kid Re Holdings LLC, $128,500

Whitehall St., 2035: B. Burns to C. & N. Ovalles, $53,000

Wiconisco St., 611 & 2641 Agate St.: Stop & Shop Store to Thanos Ventures Ltd., $190,000

Woodbine St., 228: HCH Investments LP to Montalvo Investments LLC, $45,000

Zarker St., 1938: Saratoga Properties LLC to NHP Real Estate Developments LLC, $30,500

The Week that Was: News and features around Harrisburg

April 17, 2020 | by Lawrance Binda

Groceries await at the Salvation Army Harrisburg pickup area.

Our locked-down life hit a month this past week, with few signs that the quarantine would end anytime soon. The state reported fewer new COVID-19 cases for much of the week before another spike on Friday. Meanwhile, the Harrisburg area said good-bye to two prominent local figures felled by the disease. If you missed any of our coverage, we have it all listed and linked below.

COVID-19 pandemic took two prominent Harrisburg-area residents last week: Gerald Welch and Joe O’Connor. We featured an online news story about Welch, a city school board director, and a blog post about O’Connor, written by our arts writer, who was also his fan and friend.

Federal stimulus checks began arriving in bank accounts this week. Many Harrisburg-area residents need the funds to pay for basic necessities. But, in a blog post, our editor asked the lucky ones who don’t need the money to spread it around generously.

Food banks and providers are under stress as demand has skyrocketed over the past month. Our online feature story examines how several local organizations are handling the demand, especially during a time of social distancing.

Gov. Tom Wolf gave a speech offering general guidelines on reopening the economy in Pennsylvania. He didn’t provide a timeframe, but said that more information would be coming next week. We covered the speech in an online story.

Grub for Scrubs is a new initiative with a twofold benefit. By making a donation, you can support local restaurants and buy a meal for frontline healthcare workers. Our online feature gives all the details of this win-win.

Harrisburg City Council conducted its first virtual meeting last week, holding a short legislative session. Among other matters, it approved funding to complete a road design for a slimmed-down State Street on Allison Hill. We had the story.

Harrisburg’s “Community Conversations” continued, with the city’s mayor interviewing school and nonprofit leaders. In our online story, you can learn more about support for businesses and for school students.

Home sales and prices in the Harrisburg area were relatively stable in March. We wrote up our monthly online update as we anxiously await next month’s report, which may be much more challenging.

Open Stage is going virtual, live-streaming its production of “Angels in America.” Sign up and log on for the most unique theater experience of your life. Our reviewer offers her thoughts on this virtual play.

PA Department of Health continued issuing daily updates on the COVID-19 pandemic’s spread in the commonwealth. We wrote up the data each day, and you can see the latest facts and figures by clicking here.

PennDOT deserves praise for reversing its stance on State Street, allowing a pedestrian safety project to proceed, according to our editorial. Over the years, our editor has been serially critical of PennDOT, but he compliments this change of heart and hopes it’s the start of more changes to Harrisburg’s many state-owned streets.

Sara Bozich is, yes, still at home. But, just like she has for a month now, she has suggestions for some great virtual events that you can attend, as well as links to places where you can buy something fun or yummy to help keep local businesses operating.

Do you receive TheBurg Daily, our digest of news and events delivered right to your email inbox each weekday? If not, subscribe here!

The Week that Was: News and features around Harrisburg

April 10, 2020 | by Lawrance Binda

Gamut’s theater in downtown Harrisburg

Life has become all-COVID, all the time, which is reflected in our news coverage, as well. This past week, we addressed the issue in several different ways, including breaking news, features and even in our monthly podcast. If you missed any of our stories, we have them all listed and linked below.

COVID-19 pandemic dominated the news once again, with the state’s grim press briefings a daily event. Click here to read the latest update from the Department of Health.

David Black, CEO of the Harrisburg Regional Chamber & CREDC, describes his organization’s role during this unprecedented economic crisis and offers tips for small businesses. Read what he has to say, in a story that complements the monthly Burg Podcast.

Gamut Theatre scrubbed the remainder of its 2019-20 season, which includes the popular annual “Shakespeare in the Park.” As our online news story states, the theater will remain closed for public performances through at least Sept. 1.

Harrisburg businesses and schools were among the topics discussed during another of Mayor Papenfuse’s “Community Conversations” on Facebook Live. The pandemic has affected both greatly, and our online story focuses on what is being done to address these enormous challenges.

Harrisburg housing is a tough issue that seems almost impossible to resolve. But why is that? In his monthly column, our editor explores why the city can’t seem to address its housing shortage, whether affordable or market-priced.

PA schools will remain closed for the remainder of the academic year, the state announced this past week. This applies to schools of every stripe, which now need to find ways to educate students outside of the physical classroom. Our online news story has the announcement.

Religious communities have been forced to quickly adapt to societal isolation, made especially difficult during April’s numerous sacred celebrations. Our online feature describes how several local congregations are trying to adjust.

Sara Bozich spent another week at home, like most everyone else. Nonetheless, she’s plugging away at her weekly blog, which has suggestions for virtual activities and ways to support local businesses.

TheBurg Podcast, April edition, dropped this past week, featuring segments on how the pandemic is affecting local businesses and the arts community. Host Karen Hendricks also features a story on hiking locally and our editor’s “Most Harrisburg Thing.” Give it a listen!

UPMC Pinnacle offered advice on how to stay safe during that inevitable trip to the grocery store or while getting takeout. Read their recommendations in an online column.

Do you receive TheBurg Daily, our daily digest of news and events delivered right to your email inbox? If not, subscribe here!

As teacher drain continues, Harrisburg school board members ask: why no exit interviews?

October 31, 2018 | by Lizzy Hardison

The names and job titles of the 136 teachers who resigned from the Harrisburg City School District last year are all public record, but the reasons why they quit their jobs may never be known.

Data obtained through a Right to Know request shows that the rate of teacher resignations from the district has increased in the past 10 years and reached an all-time high during the 2017-18 school year. But even as the district continues to bleed staff, it has not implemented a policy for conducting exit interviews.

The district’s current practice, an “open invitation” to departing employees to complete online exit interviews, has come under fire in recent months from some school board members, who say the low return rate doesn’t generate enough data.

Board President Judd Pittman, in particular, has asked the district for years to tighten its exit interview procedure. He says that honest feedback about working conditions could help stem the flow of teachers leaving the district.

Personnel documents show that the board has been asked to approve 42 resignations since the new school year began on Aug. 1.

Each employee has a reason for leaving, Pittman said, which won’t be known to the district without an exit interview.

“We have 18 opportunities to collect data on exit interviews and learn how folks feel about their time here in Harrisburg,” Pittman said at an Oct. 15 board meeting, just after voting to approve 18 teacher resignations. “I’m hopeful that we have an opportunity to do that.”

Pittman and board director Ellis Roy raised the question again last night, when the board approved eight resignations at a special meeting.

Interim Human Resources (HR) Director Barbara Richard told the board that the district has added an in-person interview option for departing staff, which is outlined in the letter that every staff member receives after tendering a resignation. Employees are also invited, but not required, to complete the online survey.

“We can’t force them to complete the form, but we can encourage them,” Richard said. “We do try to get them to complete that and meet with us.”

However, other districts across the commonwealth have codified exit interviews in policy. At Peters Township School District in Washington County, any employee who resigns or is terminated must complete an exit interview, just as they must hand in their keys and finalize their payroll paperwork.

The exit interview consists of a two-page form, which asks the employee to list the reasons for their departure and the working conditions they think could be improved. The completed survey is added to the employee’s personnel file.

The Kutztown Area School District also requires exit interviews for departing staff, according to its employee handbook. Under its policy, any employee who tenders a resignation letter must return building keys, review payroll paperwork, and schedule an exit interview the Human Resources Department.

Harrisburg’s board has dozens of employee policies, governing everything from dress codes to the receipt of personal gifts. But none detail the procedures for an employee resigning from the district.

Stuart Knade, director of legal services at the Pennsylvania School Board Association (PSBA), said there’s nothing stopping Harrisburg’s school board from adopting a policy requiring exit interviews.

“For most employers, exit interviews are just sound HR practice,” Knade said. “You can get some very honest feedback about the work environment and duties and job satisfaction that they might not tell you other times.”

While the district could theoretically compel an employee to complete an exit interview while they’re still on district payroll, Knade said any policy the board adopts would more likely be an accountability measure for administrators.

“If the board puts it in policy, it’s more of a directive to the HR system to make sure it happens, not necessarily a directive to employees to cooperate,” Knade said. “If you want to get honest feedback from employees, you have to incentivize it.”

According to Knade, a district could do that by making a positive job reference contingent on the completion of an exit interview. Any employee who didn’t complete one would get a neutral reference.

The district also has to make deep reassurances that there won’t be any repercussions for the information that departing employees reveal, he said.

At this point last year, 49 teachers had resigned from Harrisburg School District since Aug. 1, according to district data. The current tally of 42 resignations for the 2018-19 school year is slightly lower, but the district is still struggling to keep pace with attrition.

The district is planning a winter job fair to fill some of its vacancies, Richard said, as well as a recruiting campaign at college campuses.

A list of employee resignations since 2010, which the district provided to TheBurg under the Right to Know Law, shows that resignations increased to 137 employees last year from 102 employees during the 2016-17 school year. The district reported just 67 resignations in 2014-15.

For the Kids: Artcan holds back-to-school book bag, supply drive

August 7, 2018 | by Yaasmeen Piper

When it comes to seeking change or shaping society, the answer is almost always, “Start with the kids.”

Artcan, a local nonprofit organization for artists, embodied this message and created its first Book Bag and Supply Drive.

With the help of Harrisburg’s Parks and Recreation Department, Artcan plans to distribute book bags and supplies at the Hall Manor pool on Wednesday. The book bags, which benefit students K-12 within the Harrisburg School District, will be filled with pencils, paper, folders, crayons and other supplies needed for student to survive those first months of school.

“We wanted to create a charity that can directly impact children and really tap into the young people of the community and to just be connected to them,” said Artcan co-founder Shane Gallup. “And start to build something with them with an offering.”

Gallup and his long-time friend, Lawrence Williams, came up with the idea of Artcan last year. The purpose for the organization is to discuss social injustice through art, whether it’s paintings, dance, music, photography or any other forms of art.

Williams, a photographer whose work has been shown in local galleries, and Gallup, who painted a mural for the 2017 Harrisburg Mural Festival, started officially putting out work under Artcan last March.

They participated in gallery showings at the District Bar & Lounge and the Art Association of Harrisburg. Still, they felt they needed a deeper connection with the community.

“We want charity to be an integral part of [Artcan’s] involvement,” Gallup said. “We wanted this organization to serve the community.”

According to Williams, Artcan chose the supply drive because it hits close to home. As the youngest of five, Williams often saw his parents struggle to prepare them for going back to school.

“We see that visual all the time—kids going to school without books,” Williams said. “They [struggle to] accomplish anything or get ahead.”

Though born in California, Gallup was raised in Harrisburg and witnessed firsthand the politicizing that goes on inside the district, which harms student performance, he said.

“I think with what’s happening in the school district—or what’s not happening—it’s super important that the people organize themselves and reach out and show these kids what they’re worth because it’s not always going to come from the school or the establishment,” Gallup said.

All items are donated from the drive through Artcan by the community and Artcan members. Through a raffle, 20 students will receive book bags customized by one of the Artcan artists.

The supply drive will be Artcan’s first charity event, but, if the drive is a success, they hope to host it again around December.

“Come out and support the book bag drive,” Williams said. “As we reach a bigger audience, we also give back bigger and bigger.”

The Book Bag and Supply Drive is Aug. 8 at the Hall Manor Pool 100 Hall Manor Pl., Harrisburg, at 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. Donations can be dropped off at the Southside Boys & Girls Club or given to Williams or Gallup. You can contact them at artcanhbg@gmail.com, on Facebook or Instagram @artcanhbg.

Burg View: Harrisburg’s School Daze

April 19, 2018 | by Lawrance Binda

You’ll have to forgive the residents of Harrisburg for a certain case of whiplash.

On Monday night, the city school board voted 5-4 to retain the district’s long-serving superintendent, at least for another year. Minutes later, board members sat through a crushing report on the district’s dire financial condition.

In fact, the district’s finances are so bad, the board was told, that years of deficits are projected, even if the district imposes the maximum allowable annual tax hikes.

How do we make sense of this?

The short answer—it doesn’t make sense.

But the problem isn’t just financial. The poorly performing district has shown scant academic improvement since Superintendent Sybil Knight-Burney was hired in 2011. In fact, it consistently has fallen far short of academic goals imposed by the commonwealth, meaning it probably will stay in the state’s recovery program for troubled school districts past its scheduled exit in June. Nor is the appointment of a state receiver for the district out of the question.

Meanwhile, over just the past year, the district has experienced crisis after crisis, including high teacher turnover, mass student suspensions, a faculty revolt over abusive students, a supervisor who admitted stealing almost $180,000 from the district, and the bizarre, administration-led investigation—at the district’s expense—of two of its own school board members (who just happened to be vocal critics of the superintendent).

Indeed, Knight-Burney has her strong supporters, who believe the system has shown some improvement during her tenure. They often cite a district-wide curriculum management plan, restoration of full-day kindergarten and a few, rather isolated academic bright spots. So, I guess, it’s not all bad news.

But, after seven years, “not all bad news” is weak sauce for students struggling to get by, for teachers who feel besieged in their own classrooms and for city property owners who, evidently, are looking at rising tax bills as far as the eye can see.

Apparently, though, it is good enough for the five board members who voted to retain Knight-Burney, who earns $179,208 annually, for the 2018-19 school year.

We’ll have to see if any board members change their minds come July, when city residents receive their new tax bills. So far, residents have shown remarkable patience as they wait for city schools to improve, but nothing erodes good will faster than a tax shock. Will they sit idly by while being asked to pay more to support an administration that clearly is not succeeding?

Lawrance Binda is editor-in-chief of TheBurg.

Harrisburg Schools Update: Board, Teachers Union Address Disruptive Student Behavior

March 21, 2017 | by Danielle Roth

Harrisburg Education Association President Jody Barksdale addressed the school board at last night’s meeting.

When a student has an outburst during class time, a teacher cannot continue a lesson plan. The teacher drops the plan to address the disruptive student while students who want to learn must wait.

A pilot program in Rowland Academy middle school will address situations like this, school board member Judd Pittman said after the board unanimously approved to implement this “innovative solution” last night.

“This is generating a classroom space for students to de-escalate,” Pittman said. “They can go to that room, get a support team, maybe a mentor or school psychologist, and this allows them to de-escalate.”

The students in this temporary placement classroom would learn basic subjects such as math and language arts in addition to “character education” from one class period to several days, according to the meeting agenda.

“It’s a unique model that meets the needs of the students,” he said.

This $78,000 program, funded by a state Department of Education School Improvement Grant, will run through the end of the school year. If successful, the district will continue and expand the program, Pittman said.

By coincidence, unrelated to this agenda item, more than 15 blue-shirted members of the Harrisburg Education Association attended last night’s board meeting to say that the district needs to bring alternative education in-house.

About 15 members of the teachers union attended last night’s school board meeting.

HEA President Jody Barksdale said an in-house alternative education program, like a program that closed eight years ago, would better meet students’ emotional and academic needs.

Barksdale said the in-house program showed better test scores compared to the current three alternative education programs. She also anecdotally shared the success of her previous students, now adults.

“It was the first time they experienced success,” she told the board. “They have jobs. They’re productive citizens of our community.”

The current alternative education programs, offered by entities outside of the district, place caps on the number of students, Barksdale said.

“If that’s what [students] need, why not give it to them,” she said. “We can do it in-house, with the staff we currently have.”

Pittman, chair of the academic, instruction and student services committee, said access to information teachers collect on disruptive student behavior would help the board members make better decisions.

“With this data, we could look at when and where incidents happen and get at the root cause,” he said.

Teachers brought Pittman student behavior data, which helped his committee create the pilot program at Rowland Academy. Pittman said accessing this aggregated data otherwise is difficult.

“You make the request and hope that it happens,” he said. “I want quarterly reports so we can make data-informed decisions. That’s the panacea.”

Board member Melvin Wilson said more information on disruptive student behaviors would help the board make “informed decisions that empower students.”

“We could look at the larger picture, not just small fires,” he said. “If we have that information, we can address the cause.”

Wilson, chair of the policy and procedure committee, said he did not know the procedure for board members to obtain this district-wide data and doubted that such data existed.

“I’m not so sure the district even has baseline data. Look at what happened with the expulsions,” he said, referencing the board’s recent votes addressing a procedural error in the expulsions of more than 400 students.

The board approved the expulsions of three students last night. Technically deemed an expulsion, the school board votes actually placed students into alternative education programs, said board Solicitor Samuel Cooper.

Richard Soto, a Democrat running for school board, lambasted the board for the recent string of expulsions, misunderstanding the board’s actions.

“This is very sad, very sad,” he told the board. “[Students] should have had another option, like Cougar Academy, the cyber school.” He added that the board put “kids on the streets.”

Students who violate the student code of conduct by actions, such as bringing a weapon to school, warrant expulsion, Cooper said. Rather than getting kicked out of school entirely, as the word “expulsion” implies, the district places students in alternative education programs.

“These kids are not on the street,” Cooper said.

The school board also held a moment of silence for those who passed away in a fire last week in Uptown Harrisburg. This moment of silence recognized student Savannah Dominick and a student’s child, Ashanti Hughes. Those who wish assist with funeral costs for Hughes can contribute to Major H. Winfield Funeral Home in Steelton.

Author: Danielle Roth

School Recovery Update: Report Shows Progress, Substantial Challenges Remain

March 7, 2017 | by Danielle Roth

Benjamin Franklin Elementary School at 6th and Verbeke streets is a part of the Harrisburg School District.

The Harrisburg School District is showing improvement financially and academically, but significant challenges remain, according to a report released last month.

The report, a mid-year update to the amended HSD Recovery Plan, ranked the district’s initiatives on a scale of complete, in progress and not completed. Of the 85 initiatives, 50 have been completed, 31 are in progress and four have not been completed.

“I was encouraged because I know how far we have come,” said School Board President Danielle Robinson. “We still have a lot of work to do, but I was encouraged to see the growth and the movement.”

Chief Recovery Officer Dr. Audrey Utley, with the assistance of PFM, a Philadelphia-based government and nonprofit consulting group, prepared the report using information from the district, financial reports and interviews with district staff.

Major gaps remain for the academic goals. If these goals are not met or have not shown advancement, the district risks having a state receiver appointed.

“If the District fails to meet these targets or show significant progress in each building toward the goal by the end of the Plan period, the CRO and the [State] Secretary of Education can take steps to appoint a Receiver effective for the 2018-19 school year,” according to the report.

The phrase “significant progress” saves the district from entirely having to meet academic targets, Robinson said. This phrase, added in the amended recovery plan in May 2016, means that the district will exit recovery next year “as long as there’s growth toward these numbers,” she said.

“We fought to make sure the language was in [the amended recovery plan],” Robinson said. “It’s always under review how can we can make this better.”

The recovery plan’s academic goals challenge the district to “eliminate the gap” or “close the gap by 50 percent” between the district’s testing, attendance and graduation metrics and state averages by June 2018, according to the report.

These targets mean big academic leaps for students and their teachers by June 2018, the end of the recovery plan period.

Take third grade PSSA exams as an example. Last school year, 19.4 percent of district third graders scored proficient or advanced in English and language arts (ELA) on this state test. That’s an improvement from last year’s score of 18.6 percent, but a far cry from the state average of 62 percent. The academic target goal expects 33 percent of district third graders to achieve proficient or advanced levels. That’s a 14.5 percentage-point jump.

For math PSSA scores, students need to make a similar jump of 12.7 percentage points. In other words, 23.1 percent of third graders need to score proficient or advanced in math.

Other goals require smaller jumps on state tests.

For example, Keystone exam scores for John Harris High School students need to jump 7.7 to 8.3 percentage points this year to meet half of the state average.

In general, the report shows steady academic progress, though the scores continue to be below state guidelines.

Other metrics are more encouraging.

District attendance for grades 9 to 12 has steadily increased from 79 percent in 2012-13 to 83 percent in 2014-15. This is just 3 percentage points away from next year’s academic target attendance rate of 86 percent.

John Harris High School’s graduation rate jumped from 42.7 percent in 2013-14 to 52.8 percent in 2014-15.

The report calls the growth in Keystone test literature scores at John Harris High School “promising.” In 2014-15, 23 percent of students scored proficient or advanced. Last year, the school saw nearly a 6 percentage-point increase. Harrisburg High School SciTech Campus exceeds the state averages for proficient or advanced scores in algebra and literature.

“I don’t think that the academic goals are not able to be reached,” Robinson said. “We just must become more focused.”

Pressing “front-burner” issues, such as union contract negotiations and the financial recovery, took priority over student academic achievement in previous years, Robinson said.

“It’s not just, you get into the district and these things are going to change right away,” she said. “Once we got stable financially, now we can say let’s work on our academics. Let’s change the perception of Harrisburg and the district.”

Financially, the report indicated similar mixed messages. The district has a “significant fund balance” of $29.2 million this year. However, the report notes a “concerning” annual structural shortfall of increased expenditures

“… the expenditures are slated to consistently outpace revenues in the coming years and several costly projects and contingencies could consume a substantial portion of the current fund balance,” the report said.

The report calls for the district to create a plan to maintain an 8 percent reserve fund balance (between $12 and 13 million) to ensure “sufficient working capital and provisions for contingencies” for the future.

“We have to go through and figure out what we can do to make sure we don’t have yearly shortfalls that are going to put us back into debt,” Robinson said. “That’s constantly under review.”

The district is hiring three major positions per the recovery plan: a human resources director, a chief financial officer and a professional grant writer.

Robinson said the district is vetting candidates for the human resources position. The district possibly will promote a candidate internally for the CFO position, she said.

The recovery plan outlines the need to hire a grant-writing professional to seek additional funding from competitive grant programs and non-traditional sources. Hiring this position and securing outside funding are two of the four items marked “not completed.” The grant-writing employee retired last year, Robinson said. So far, there’s “nothing solidified” with filling that position, she said.

In addition, the report outlined a need for a full-time English language learning coordinator position, which is currently filled by the director of the online school, Cougar Academy.

One of the hiring challenges is “making sure that the people who we bring in will actually stay,” Robinson said. “Harrisburg [School District] is still growing. You have to be able to grow with us,” she said.

The other incomplete administrative target is creating incentives for teachers to build careers within the district. This item, added with the May 2016 amended plan, suggests the district give teachers a small loan to help purchase homes in the district. Implementing a program has been pushed to next school year, according to the report.

Robinson said the board continues to focus on moving forward.

“We know that it’s not a sprint,” she said. “It’s a marathon.”

Read the full report here.

Author: Danielle Roth

School Voice: Karen Snider left a tremendous legacy, and big shoes to fill, at the Harrisburg Public Schools Foundation.

March 1, 2017 | by Danielle Roth

Karen Snider

A screen drops down in the cafeteria where 400 students gather before the school day starts at Downey Elementary School. While some children eat breakfast, a five-minute newscast featuring two young broadcasters appears on the screen.

“They do the pledge, talk about the weather and any important information coming up,” said Principal Travis Peck, explaining the morning routine. “Things like that.”

Peck also pointed out the ways the Harrisburg Public Schools Foundation, under the leadership of late Karen Snider, played a part in this routine.

The cafeteria’s speaker system? The foundation helped the school afford that, he said, plus the screen displaying the student journalists. The equipment used to record the broadcasts? The foundation helped the school purchase that as well.

This is part of the legacy left by Executive Director Karen Snider, who passed away unexpectedly on Jan. 12. Snider, 77, may be best known as secretary of the state Department of Public Welfare under Gov. Robert P. Casey, who appointed her in 1991. Others may know her from her leadership roles with organizations such as the Rotary Club of Harrisburg, United Way of the Capital Region and Girl Scouts in the Heart of PA.

“There are 24 hours in a day, and she would squeeze in 26,” said Dr. Sybil Knight-Burney, superintendent of the Harrisburg School District.

Knight-Burney met with Snider every other Thursday to coordinate programs with the foundation, she said.

“If it was something that would help students, she was always for it,” Knight-Burney said. “Her finger was in everything.”

The foundation provides enrichment programs and financial support to the entire district. Students participate in a writing contest, dual enrollment, science camps and health education programs, to name a few programs.

Snider did much more than required for the position, said foundation Chairman Morton Spector.

“I’d say the part-time job was 20 hours, and she put in 60 hours,” he said. “She was there nights and weekends.”

When the district wanted to bring “The Leader in Me” initiative to the Downey School, Snider and the foundation helped the school obtain a matching grant to start the process.

Now, the school is in its fourth year as a “Leader in Me” school, which applies principles from Franklin Covey’s book “7 Habits of Highly Effective People” in a school-wide and age-appropriate way.

“It’s about students finding their voice, finding their leadership styles and their intrinsic value,” Peck said. “They take leadership roles that inspire them to do better.”

First grade teacher Tracy Lechthaler, who has taught at Downey for 19 years, said the initiative helps her students find their voices. Her 26 students each apply for “leadership jobs” like “shoe sheriff” (in charge of helping peers tie their shoes) or “electrician” (turns on and off the lights).

“Giving them a leadership job, something they’re in charge of, gives them a sense of belonging,” she said. “It gives them a sense of, ‘Oh I can do this,’ and they love that.”

The foundation affected Lechthaler’s classroom in another way.

Her classroom has been sponsored as part of the foundation’s “adopt a classroom” since the program began.

“A lot of times, teachers, we buy our own stuff,” she said, while flipping through one of the hardcover books purchased with foundation funds. In one, a porcupine with a mullet of quills learned how to be responsible for his feelings after bully Biff Beaver said his quills look like toothpicks.

Spector said the board decided to honor Snider by adopting a classroom in her name. Board members individually contributed so at least one room per year will be adopted in her name, he said. Knight-Burney said her portrait will be displayed at the Camp Curtin mental health center already named after her.

“If I were in any other school district, [these programs] would just be a regular item on the budget,” she said. “But because we have some of the types of challenges that we have, it’s something that we know is a necessity.”

Stepped Forward

Much of Snider’s position of executive director dealt with fundraising, and she was known for her power to persuade.

Spector said her talent for fundraising shined in 2012. The district had a multi-million-dollar deficit, and the school board announced the district would have to cut music and sports programs.

Spector and Snider, who started as a foundation board member, attended that school board meeting.

“When the board looked at the financial condition and said they were going to have to cut the sports program as well as the band program, we looked at each other, and she stepped forward to the board,” Spector said.

Snider told the school board something along the lines of, “We’d like to make sure those programs continue and exist. We, the HPSF, would like to be able to help. We would like to attempt to raise the funds so you will have those programs,” said Spector.

“And that’s when we began to work,” he said. “That’s when her talent came forward. She had the connections, the person-to-person connections.”

She stepped up to become the executive director in 2012, amid the district’s financial distress and a transitional period for the foundation.

Foundation members started making calls to raise money. Money started coming in. A couple thousand dollars here, a six-figure corporate donation there. They raised more than $400,000, Spector said.

“She did an awful lot of that personally, one handedly, more or less,” he said. “I was able to make some calls, too, but she just outshined all the rest of us.”

Snider’s personal brand of persuasion left others feeling grateful to have been summoned.

Knight-Burney outlined how meetings with Snider went.

“She would say that she had some things that she wanted me to look over,” she said. Snider would push the most important item to the top of the list and delineate what would need to be done, she said.

“She would say you need to do this, this, this and this to make this happen,” Knight-Burney said, while Kirsten Keys, the district’s public relations coordinator, laughed in the background as if she also experienced this.

“But she would also tell you what she was going to do,” Knight-Burney said. “And most of the time she had already done it.”

Knight-Burney said working with her was like a call and response.

“If Karen called,” Keys said, and Knight-Burney finished the sentence, nodding, “You responded.”

Keys continued, “And, guess what, you were honored to respond. You were compelled to respond,” she said. “She had a way of bringing out your gifts, talents and abilities. Things that you had back in the recesses. You could bring them fourth and dust them off. And not only meet her request, but you could help others in the process.”

The foundation’s programs will continue.

Chris Baldrige, a board member with 30 years’ experience as an educator, stepped up at the January meeting to become the next executive director, Spector said.

“Because of his public-school exposure and because he is a person that most of us knew from the community, we are satisfied that he has the capability to do the job,” Spector said.

Knight-Burney also attended that late January meeting. She explained how the projects Snider was managing before her death would continue moving forward. She said she asked “Isn’t that what Karen would have wanted?”

“And everyone responded, ‘That’s right,’’ she said. “The board members are all on one accord. We have to continue because Karen would have wanted it that way.”

To learn more about the Harrisburg Public Schools Foundation, visit www.harrisburgschoolsfoundation.org

Author: Danielle Roth

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