Superintendent's Report

There are a few items on the agenda that I would like to highlight:

• Affirming Our Graduates - Our graduation ceremony was excellent - albeit windy - this year. The Board will affirm the list of graduates of the Class of 2023. Once again we wish the Class of 2023 all the best in the future!

• UDEA Contract - After several months of negotiations, the Board and the Upper Dublin Education Association agreed on the terms of a new contract. We are grateful for the work put into bargaining this new three-year contract. We thank our teachers and other professional staff members for their dedicated service to UDSD. The UDEA represents approximately 335 teachers and other professional staff. The contract will allow us to attract and retain high quality teacherrs.

• Safety Coordinator - We recommend that a Safety Coordinator position be created. The successful candidate for this position will oversee all facets of safety and security across the District. The Safety Coordinator will continually assess and make recommendations for improved safety and security in all of our schools. The interview processes for this position are currently in progress; we hope to be able to share the name of our Safety Coordinator soon!
  
  
• Behavioral Health Grant - The District has been awarded a $218,515 School-Based Behavioral Health American Recovery Plan Act Grant which is being awarded through the Montgomery County Department of Health & Human Services. This grant will fund a multi-year social worker to assist students and families in various ways including, but not necessarily limited to, navigating mental health services, securing free or reduced meals, and accessing services for students outside of school.
  
  
• Girls Wrestling - A motion appears on the agenda tonight to approve the creation of a girls' wrestling team. Beginning July 1, 2023, PIAA is officially sanctioning Girls Wrestling and the Athletic Director recommends that we begin a Girls Wrestling program for the 2023-2024 school year.

• Contracts for our Chief Financial Officer and Director of Human Resources - Over the years we have built a strong leadership team in the District. To ensure that we have the right people in the right places at the right time, we recommend approving new contracts for both Ashley Kitten and Andy Lechman. We thank Ashley and Andy for their dedicated services to UDSD.
  
  
• Policy 815 - Policy 815 is our Acceptable Use of District Information and Telecommunications Resources policy, and it appears on the agenda for approval. The Policy Committee - and the Board - will see this policy again in the new school year. Mr. Patel is working on a document that is helpful for our students to have in terms of what the appropriate uses of technology resources are. The policy will also be reviewed from a safety and security perspective, as there was a great deal of conversation about when remotely activated cameras or audio can be used. Per the policy, that can only be used upon written authorization of law enforcement.
  
  

• New Hires - We have a number of new hires on the agenda this evening. We would like to thank members of our Leadership Team for their focused efforts in hiring staff for the upcoming school year. We know that our new hires will be outstanding additions to the District! We will finalize staffing and hiring in the coming weeks.
  
  

We continue to register kindergarten students and students in grades 1-12 for next school year. Registration information is available on our website. Our District's registrar, Ms. Mora Ruiz, is eager to help anyone who may need assistance in the registration process.

Please keep in mind that students must be at least five (5) years of age before September 15, 2023, in order to be registered for kindergarten. Next year's kindergarten students will be the Class of 2036!

The May edition News from Nest will be released tomorrow, June 27, 2023. The newsletter will contain information on District events, processes, and celebrations.

Tonight is my last Legislative meeting. I would like to take this time to thank the Board, our Leadership Team, our staff, students, families, and community for tremendous support over the last five years. Although I will transition to the Lower Merion School District in the coming months, UDSD will always be a part of me. Together we have experienced and learned many things, celebrated many successes, and worked through challenging situations.

In the coming weeks, you will hear more from me as I officially say goodbye to our community, so for now, I will just say THANK YOU!

1580 Fort Washington Avenue

Maple Glen, PA 19002

Email: syanni@udsd.org
Website: www.udsd.org
Phone: (215) 643-8800
Facebook: facebook.com/UpperDublinSchoolDistrict
Twitter: @UpperDubSuper