Murgas Presents Test Scores to School Board

During her superintendent’s report last Tuesday evening, March 21, Lisa Murgas pulled up the PVAS website to discuss test scores. The website offers scores and charts from both the Keystone Exams and PSSA scores over a typical five-year span.

“This gives us an idea of where our students are,” Murgas said.

The school district is meeting targets in math testing, and the charts showed exemplary growth in sixth grade. With English and language arts, most targets were met but there is work to be done.

“We need to continuously target what we need to be teaching students,” Murgas said.

Murgas and High School Principal Jennifer Frederick will continue to work on changing curriculum.

With the Keystone Exams, the test scores were above target for Algebra 1, but less than target for the Biology part of the exam, and well below target for the Literature part of the exam.

“There is so much data,” Murgas explained going further into the website showing data clear back from 2018 and 2019.

Elementary Principal Jennifer Metzler said that the school has been busy with a lot of activities. Read Across America was March 2. Ag teacher Robyn Bechtel, brought ag students to the elementary school for Ag Literacy. Jump Rope for Heart raised more than $3,500. The end of the third marking period was March 21.

Metzler said as of now, 26 students have signed up for kindergarten as registration was held on March 1.

Pending solicitor review, the school district will sign a contract with Standing Stone to provide a school police officer at a cost of $32.50 an hour, which will mostly be covered by a school safety grant.

The following resignations were accepted: Brock Anders as the Varsity basketball head coach and Lisa Dey as the head cook.

The following appointments were made: Lyndsay Comaroto as the junior high softball assistant coach, Jeff Colbert as a junior high softball volunteer, and Emilee White as the head cook.