Lebanon School District
Monthly Superintendent Update
As Teacher Appreciation Week begins on May 6, we want to take a moment to extend our deepest gratitude to our teachers and staff for their dedication, passion, and commitment to our students.
Every day, they guide our students, ignite a love for learning, and foster a supportive classroom environment. During this special week, we want to express our sincere appreciation to them as their hard work and dedication are the heart and soul of our district.
Please encourage your children to thank their teachers as they make a difference every single day!
With Pride,
Nicole L. Malinoski, Ed. D.
Superintendent of Schools
Every month, the district honors two high school students as Rotary Students of the Month. Rotary is the world’s oldest service club. Its motto is "Service Above Self” and its mission includes providing service to others, promoting integrity, and advancing world understanding, goodwill, and peace. The Rotary Club of Lebanon supports the service to the youth in our community and local education by recognizing outstanding students from all six county schools and the Lebanon Career and Technology Center. In addition, it awards scholarships at graduation to outstanding senior students.
Congratulations to Nicole Gonzalez Ramirez and Colin Johnsen who were honored as our April Rotary Students of the Month !
On April 16th and 18th, 18 fourth and fifth graders from all five elementary schools participated in the Envirothon field experience and competition.
We are thrilled to report that our teams performed admirably! Two teams, Fisher Four and Southwest Skunkers, secured spots in the Blue ribbon group, ranking among the top 10 out of 33 teams.
Additionally, our other two teams, Southeast Snappers and Houck Hellbenders, achieved success in the red ribbon group, placing in the top 20 out of 33 teams.
Their outstanding performance reflects positively on the Lebanon School District, and we couldn't be more proud of our students!
Our very own Mr. Matthew Lash was selected as the 2023-2024 Elementary STEM Teacher of the Year for Lancaster-Lebanon on behalf of IU13 and Lancaster County STEM Alliance.
This award is truly an outstanding achievement of Mr. Lash's, acknowledging his dedication and commitment to STEM education in the Lebanon School District.
Congratulations to Matt on this well-deserved recognition!
As part of the district's comprehensive plan, a group of stakeholders created our Portrait of a Graduate project, we have titled our Portrait of a Cedar. The Portrait of a Cedar project involved crafting a comprehensive vision of the skills, knowledge, and attributes that students should possess upon graduation. It included input from various stakeholders, such as educators, parents, students, and community members, and we identified essential competencies beyond academic content.
Our competencies include: Leader, Creative, Adaptable, Empathetic, Communicator, Critical Thinker and Personally Responsible.
The last part of our design phrase is to identify a logo. Please vote for your top choice below!
If you are in the neighborhood of Harding Elementary, we invite you to witness the stunning progress of our latest mural, a collaborative masterpiece crafted by the incredible artistic talents of two Art teachers, alongside the creative energy of our fifth grade students:
- Jordan Polanco
- Daniela Quinones
- Keira Bowman
- Aubrey Gonzalez
- Shannyelis Otero Rosa
- Abigail Rodriguez De Leon
- Nyla Armstrong
- Channing Miller-price
- Elijah Starry
- Gisselle Correa Vargas
- Jordan Crawford-Barlow
Anticipated completion is just a few weeks away! Additionally, keep an eye out for the flourishing greenery in our planter boxes, through the help of Mr. Lash. Our students can hardly wait to share the final results with our community!
Last month we shared that a group of Cedar educators met with state representatives discussing reform to the PSSA & Keystone tests. Recently, Governor Shapiro announced reform for testing beginning in 2026 including alternative ways to lessen the burden of standardized testing while still complying with federal mandates.
A brief summary includes:
PDE will begin implementing a two-year phased plan to migrate all PSSA and Keystone testing online for the 2026 administration. (Paper and pencil assessments will still be available where circumstances require.)
Once test administration has moved fully online, PDE will adopt Technology-Enhanced Item (TEI) question types that better match how students learn in the classroom. TEIs allow students to answer questions using methods they are already familiar with (e.g., drag-and-drop, sorting, graphic manipulation) and use in the classroom on a daily basis rather than answer time-consuming multiple-choice and essay questions that don’t match how students learn.
Also, PDE will develop a free, optional benchmark assessment tool for schools, which is tailored to Pennsylvania standardized tests. This Pennsylvania-specific tool will be made available to all schools to use if they choose at no cost. Benchmarking helps educators better understand whether students are on track to succeed on the end-of-year exams.
The Governor states these changes will save Pennsylvania millions of dollars, reduce the burden on students, families, and teachers, shorten the amount of time students spend taking tests and teachers spend administering them, and ensure schools get results faster so they can address learning gaps and give students the tailored support they need to succeed.
Our Board of School Directors approved the 2024-25 school calendar at their March business meeting. Information for next year's calendar includes:
- Dec 2, 2024
School is in session (Monday after Thanksgiving)
January 2 and 3, 2025
Extended Winter Break for our families
Act 80 Days for Staff
January 20, 2025
- Martin Luther King Day
- No School, Not a Snow Make-Up Day
- Half Days for Professional Development
- January 17, 2025 (PM)
- May 22, 2025 (PM)
If you need to register a new student in the Lebanon School District, please refer to the information linked here.
During the month of April we welcomed the following staff members to our family:
- Marvin Gray, LTS Itinerant Learning Support Teacher, Lebanon Middle School
- Jennifer Montero, Registration/Child Accounting Secretary, District Office
- Tyler Pritchett, LTS Health/Physical Education Teacher, Lebanon High School
- Brett Sylve, Building Substitute, Lebanon Middle School
- Rodney Weber, AEDY Support Paraprofessional, Lebanon High School