Dear Quakertown Community,

I am thrilled to announce that QCSD has been officially recognized as a Common Sense District by the esteemed national nonprofit organization, Common Sense Education for the 2023-24 school year. This recognition is a testament to our unwavering commitment to empowering our students to navigate the digital world safely and responsibly while maximizing its educational potential.

By adopting a whole community approach, QCSD has demonstrated its dedication to preparing our students to harness the vast power of digital media for exploration, creation, connection, and learning. We recognize the importance of equipping our students with the necessary skills to thrive in an increasingly digital society while also mitigating the risks associated with online activities such as plagiarism, privacy breaches, and cyberbullying.

Our partnership with Common Sense Education has been instrumental in achieving this milestone. Utilizing their innovative and research-based digital citizenship resources, developed in collaboration with researchers from Project Zero at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, we continue to work tirelessly to equip our students, educators, and parents with tangible skills essential for navigating our digital landscape safely and responsibly.

From internet safety to media literacy, the comprehensive K-12 curriculum provided by Common Sense Education has empowered our educators to integrate crucial digital citizenship lessons into our classrooms effectively. This curriculum is utilized by over half a million educators across all 50 states, highlighting its effectiveness and relevance in today's digital age.

This recognition not only celebrates our district's commitment to digital citizenship but also underscores our collective effort to foster a culture where our entire community is dedicated to supporting our students as they become responsible digital learners and citizens.

I extend my heartfelt gratitude to our dedicated educators, supportive parents, and engaged community members for their unwavering commitment to our students' holistic development.

Together, let us continue to champion digital citizenship and empower our students to thrive in the digital age!

Sincerely,

Dr. Matthew Friedman

Superintendent of Schools

Click here to watch

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In February’s board meeting Chad Evans, supervisor of educational planning with the Bucks County Intermediate Unit, unveiled the district comprehensive plan, after collaborating with stakeholders for the last few months. Dr. Rachel Holler spoke about the Bucks County Intermediate Unit and discussed their programs and services and the board discussed the administrative regulation on facilities rental agreements, specifically, the cost structure and group classifications.

Click here to see the full agenda

During this meeting, Quakertown Community High School students were recognized from the Teacher Preparation Program, including four seniors who have committed to college for education programs. The high school also honored students who won the SkillsUSA competition in PA. Along with these students, 33 eighth grade students from Strayer Middle School who received perfect scores on the PA Civics Assesment. Click here to watch

Student representatives, Aislin Magalengo and Jaelyn Taylor engaged in conversation with board members about QROCK initiatives and other community driven initiatives. Students discussed highlights from academics, extracurriculars and the upcoming events for QCSD students.

• QRock celebration trivia contest for all grade levels before President’s Day weekend – Prizes for winners. Encouraged students to display Resiliency, Ownership, Community, and Kindness.

• Best Buddies Ball on Feb. 23 – Excited that a lot of people attended

• Miller Keystone Blood Drive – Students donating

• Pathways Lesson – Various topics for students
  

Click here to watch

Todd Hippauf, President, Tenure since 2021, Region 1

Glenn Iosue, Vice President, Tenure since 2021, Region 2

Ron Jackson, Member, Tenure since 2014, Region 1

Jon Kern, Member, Tenure since 2015, Region 2

Joe Lyons, Member, Tenure since 2023, Region 3

David O'Donnell, Member, Tenure since 2023, Region 1

Brian Reimers, Member, Tenure since 2019, Region 3

Charles Shermer, Member, Tenure since 2021, Region 3

Chris Spear, Member, Tenure since 2019, Region 2

The Board recognizes that communication to and from them is important. You may contact all members of the Board, and Superintendent Dr. Matthew Friedman, by emailing board@qcsd.org. Before bringing your matter to the attention of the Board of Directors, however, please be sure you have provided your local team with an opportunity to help: your child’s teacher(s), the building principal and staff. Thank you.

Click the button below to watch each committee meeting.

• Faria Education Group - Professional Development Curriculum Writing Services: Goal that participants will understand the components of curriculum writing and gain hands-on experience in building and improving high-quality units.
• Update on the Comprehensive Plan
• Plus/Gifted Program: This agenda item is to discuss the potential benefits of transitioning from a homogeneous approach to a heterogeneous grouping model for English Language Arts (ELA) and Math classes in grades 3, 4, and 5, emphasizing the advantages of fostering diverse learning environments and promoting collaborative skill development while differentiating for students. This proposed shift aims to enhance overall educational outcomes and adaptability in line with a contemporary approach to teaching and learning (pedagogy).
• We know this is a change for some folks. However, by stepping back from our current practice and re-thinking our approach to build a stronger math basics foundation. The expected outcome is to improve the overall grasp and depth of math knowledge and skills for all of our kids. This will boost the chances that our kids reach higher grades with a significant ability to get further with more advanced math as needed.
  
• PSAT and AP payment of testing reimbursement
• District Enrollment Updates: The Education Committee agreed that enrollment numbers no longer needed to be presented monthly but would be presented throughout the year. Mr. Reimers requested a placeholder at each meeting if questions arise.
• New topics for discussion: Arts & Humanities Pathway scheduling (Mr. Reimers)

Policy Committee: (2.22.24)

• Summary of policies reviewed
• Reviewed 16 policies - new or needed changes
• Reviewed 1 policy to be retired

Finance Committee: (2.08.24)

• Reviewed the preliminary 22-23 year end results. District ended fiscal year with a $7.8 million surplus compared to the budgeted $3.8 million deficit. 2022-2023 Preliminary Audit Presentation
• Revenues came in $5.9 million higher than budgeted with $5.7 million of that from the following:
• Earnings on Investment were higher than budgeted by $2.1M
• Earned Income Taxes were higher than budgeted by $1.7M
• Basic Education Funding was higher than budgeted by $1.2M
• ESSER Funds were higher than budgeted by $.7M
• Expenditures came in $5.7 million under budget with $5.3 million of that from the following:
• Salaries & Benefits were under budget by $1.4M - majority due to vacant Aide positions
• Professional Services were under budget by $0.8M - due to inability to fill contracted services
• Utilities/Supplies/Equipment were under budget by $0.7M – savings in electric, natural gas & vehicle not being purchased
• Capital Projects were under budget by $0.6M - this is a timing issue and not true savings
• Budgetary Reserve was under budget by $2.1M - was not spent
• Transportation was under budget by $0.7M
• Charter Schools came in over budget by $1M due to enrollment the majority of which is cyber charters.

Facilities Committee: (2.08.24)

• Multi-Use Field Update: On January 31st on meeting was held with Skepton, D'Huy Engineering and district administration regarding completion dates.
  • 2/15 pending weather turf will be complete
  • 2/26 scoreboard
  • 2/29 foul ball netting and backstop will be installed
  • 3/1 use of field
  • 3/18 pressbox will be delivered
• Strayer Storage: Administration was asking for approval to construct a 40'X40' pole building to replace the current storage containers.
• Approved
• District Usage Fee Schedule: The District is reviewing the administrative regulation on facilities rental agreements. Specifically, the cost structure and group classifications. The purpose is to simplify the fee schedule and adjust cost prohibitive rates for groups that use district spaces routinely. The multi-sport turf field & baseball diamond have been added to the schedule.
• Approved, the fee schedule has been amended as Group 2 is now equal to Group 1
• 6GC Track Throwing Events: The current throwing events are located in a low lying area in a floodplain and are typically under water during the Spring season. Proposals have been received and construction will start in June to relocate all events to the inside of the current track.
• Approved

Communications Committee: (2.20.24)

• Board Newsletter: Continue to send out this board newsletter monthly to keep the community up to date.
• District Newsletter: The next district newsletter is set to come out at the end of March.
• Press Releases: Continue to share press releases to local and state media. Work to acquire relationships with media and build media list.
• Update on the Student Internship Program: Students are now working directly with our public relations firm and will have two meetings a month as a chance for them to ask questions and learn directly from professionals in the field.