Brian Hagberg
WARREN, Pa. – There could be some new faces in town for three Sheffield athletic programs.
During its regular monthly meeting Monday, the Warren County School District Board of Directors unanimously approved the creation of a new co-op between Sheffield and Taylor Diversion Lighthouse Island Academy for softball, wrestling and girls basketball for the upcoming seasons. The wrestling co-op is in addition to the current co-op with Abraxas.
The new co-ops are pending PIAA approval. The next PIAA meeting is scheduled for Nov. 18, and the first day of practice for winter sports is Nov. 20.
Taylor Diversion Lighthouse Island Academy is a school that is “designed to assist youth in grades 9-12, who struggle with school attendance, who have been identified as at-risk, and/or those who are in need of assistance to be successful in school and life,” according to its website.
“Youth referred to our Lighthouse Island Academy are provided a learning experience that is customized to meet individual needs,” the site says.
GRADUATION REQUIREMENT
The board approved, on a first reading, a change to policy 9734 – Graduation Requirement which would add a Career and College Readiness credit requirement for the class of 2022 and beyond. The single credit would move the total credits required for graduation from 24 to 25.
WCSD Superintendent explained some of the thought process behind adding the credit in response to a question about whether it was a state mandate.
“It is not (a state mandate),” Stewart said. “We do, however want to make sure that it’s an emphasis. What we’re finding is that the kids are just really not taking it seriously at the high school level and the administration really feels that we need to put some teeth behind it.”
Director of Curriculum Instruction and Assessment, Eric Mineweaser, said the additional credit shouldn’t become a burden on students.
“We’ll be doing a lot of the activities, sixth through 12th grade, in advisory time,” Mineweaser said. “Students can also work at it on their own time or even at home, so it should be no impact there.”
A SUPER, SUPER
The board also approved the 2019-2020 Superintendent Evaluation and Summary, and couldn’t be more pleased with Stewart’s performance.
“It was a great evaluation,” Board Member Paul Mangione said. “I think Mrs. Stewart was probably the hardest on herself versus everybody else. But it’s finally nice to be at a point where we don’t have to worry about those kind of things. We just keep getting better, so kudos to you, Mrs. Stewart and thanks for making our job that much easier.”
