Opening Remarks

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Opening Remarks
Blackhawk School District

• Dr. Paul Kasunich
• August 21, 2008

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The impact education has on income, crime, and
illegitimacy has always been great. Today it is
significantly more so.
Charles Schwahn
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Mission Statement

• Blackhawk School District is dedicated to
• providing all students a rigorous learning
• environment in order to be highly
• successful and competitive in the global
• community.

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Vision

• The District will be the leader in providing a
• world class education.

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My Core Beliefs

• Dont allow the organization to stand still.
• Encourage people to act.
• Act quickly.
• Let your actions speak for you.
• Create a performance-based culture.
• Give people the benefit of the doubt.

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My Expectations for Blackhawk Staff

• Attend to the learning standards and assessments
  required by NCLB and Pennsylvania, but remember
  that more is expected of a well-educated person.
• Help children to connect the dots, i.e. to
  understand the relationship between their
  education and the world beyond the school
  building.
• Commit to the tipping point, that moment in
  time when each child begins to achieve his or her
  potential.

• Educate yourself about what students must know
  and be able to do to be successful in the global
  marketplace as citizens of the USA and the world.

• Support curriculum and instruction that require
  intellectual rigor and are grounded in the best
  educational practices and technologies.

• Raise the level of expectation for each students
  performance and communicate to the children that
  successful learning is very hard work.

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There are risks and costs to a program of action.
But they are far less than the long-range risks
and costs of comfortable inaction.
John F. Kennedy
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Introduction of Administrative Team

• Dr. Michelle Miller, Assistant Superintendent
• Mr. Scott Nelson, High School Principal
• Mr. Barry Balaski, Assistant High School
  Principal
• Mr. Tom Marsilio, Dean of Students
• Mrs. Nancy Bowman, Highland Middle School
  Principal
• Mrs. Carol Sprinker, Blackhawk Intermediate
  School Principal
• Mrs. JaneAnn Fucci, Northwestern/Patterson
  Principal
• Mrs. Phyllis Mulhollen, Special Education
  Supervisor
• Mr. Jack Fullen, Athletic Director

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Introduction of New Teachers

• Theresa Adams BHS Environmental Science St.
  Vincent College
• Bill Bacu BHS Business Robert Morris
  University
• Danielle Bailey K-7 Gifted Bloomsburg
  University
• Brian Bain HMS Science Grove City College
• Missy Bender BHS Math St. Vincent College
• Kim Boggs BHS Business Robert Morris
  University
• Alexandria Duham Long-term Substitute BHS
  English Allegheny College
• Julie Duvall HMS Librarian Slippery Rock
  State University
• Iain Eastman BHS Science Bowling Green State
  University
• Lauren Flurie BHS Latin Swarthmore College
• Nate Goodrich HMS Social Studies Mercyhurst
  College
• Mac Gosnell NW 1st Grade Shippensburg
  University
• Shawn Haddox HMS 6th Grade Clarion University
• Nicole Holiday BHS Math Gannon University
• Anthony Mooney BHS Social Studies University
  of Pittsburgh
• Brady Okon BIS Science Pennsylvania State
  University
• Kyleigh Squicquero BIS Special Education
  Slippery Rock State University
• Maura Underwood BHS Music Duquesne University

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University of Pittsburgh Teaching Interns

• Gerald May Secondary Social Studies
• Richard Holzworth Secondary English
• Melissa Williams Secondary Science
• Barbara Yost Secondary Math

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Introduction of Additional New Staff

• Nancy DiRuscia District Office Secretary
• Jacqueline Fec Nurses Aide at BIS
• Rosemary Highberger Paraprofessional at BHS
• Kathie Kiser NW secretary
• Angie Rolston Paraprofessional at BIS
• Tracy Sams Custodian at BIS
• Amy Singer BHS Guidance Office Secretary
• Heather Stewart Paraprofessional at BIS
• Pam Thellman Paraprofessional at BIS
• Patty Warnaka Paraprofessional at HMS

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At the end of every day of every year two things
must remain unshakable our constancy of purpose
and our continuous discontent with the present.
Robert Goizueta Former CEO, Coca-Cola
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Standardized Test Results 2007-2008
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Grade 1 Stanford Longitudinal Data
Percentile Rank
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Grade 2 StanfordLongitudinal Data
Percentile Rank
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2008 PSSA District Results
Blackhawk Students Proficient or Advanced in Math
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2008 PSSA District Results
Blackhawk Students Proficient or Advanced in
Reading
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2008 PSSA Results (Summary)
District-wide Grades 3,4,5,6,7,8,11 All Students
- Math
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2008 PSSA Results (Summary)
District-wide Grades 3,4,5,6,7,8,11 All Students
- Reading
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Average Overall Proficient PSSA Scores
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Cost/Benefit Analysis
2008-2009 Local District Millage Data 2008-2009 Local District Millage Data 2007-2008 PSSA Results 2007-2008 PSSA Results
Hopewell Area 66.00 Beaver Area 83.40
Beaver Area 61.70 Center Area 82.75
Ambridge 61.02 Freedom Area 81.10
Riverside of Beaver County 60.50 Blackhawk 80.90
Big Beaver Falls Area 59.00 Hopewell Area 80.40
Rochester Area 53.18 South Side Area 77.75
Center Area 50.20 Western Beaver County 77.40
South Side Area 50.00 Riverside of Beaver County 76.45
New Brighton Area 49.00 Big Beaver Falls Area 74.80
Blackhawk 48.63 Monaca 74.45
Monaca 45.00 Ambridge 74.30
Western Beaver County 41.00 New Brighton Area 72.60
Freedom Area 39.00 Rochester Area 60.85
Aliquippa not applicable Aliquippa 43.30
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Benchmarking Academic Performance with
Identified High Performing Districts
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Grade 3 Reading MathComparison with Benchmark
Districts
95.9
94.1
91.9
Hampton
NorthAllegheny
UpperSt. Clair
Reading
83.1
Blackhawk
95
96.1
95.4
Math
Hampton
NorthAllegheny
Upper St. Clair
91.8
Blackhawk
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Grade 5 Reading MathComparison with Benchmark
Districts
84.2
83.8
88.9
Hampton
NorthAllegheny
UpperSt. Clair
Reading
70.6
Blackhawk
93.9
90.6
89.6
Math
Hampton
NorthAllegheny
Upper St. Clair
87.6
Blackhawk
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Grade 8 Reading MathComparison with Benchmark
Districts
94.3
96.7
96.7
Hampton
NorthAllegheny
UpperSt. Clair
Reading
85.5
Blackhawk
88.5
91.1
93.1
Math
Hampton
NorthAllegheny
Upper St. Clair
83.5
Blackhawk
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Grade 11 Reading MathComparison with Benchmark
Districts
91
94.2
93
Hampton
NorthAllegheny
UpperSt. Clair
Reading
62.2
Blackhawk
80.6
83
90
Math
Hampton
NorthAllegheny
Upper St. Clair
62
Blackhawk
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What does Adequate Yearly Progress Measure?

• AYP measures student results for three
  indicators, as illustratedAttendance (for
  schools without a high school graduating class)
  or Graduation Rate (for schools with a high
  school graduating class) Academic Performance
  and Test Participation. The details of AYP
  measurement can be complicated.

ACHIEVING PROFICIENCY
ATTENDING SCHOOLOR GRADUATING FROM SCHOOL
TAKING THE TEST
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AYP Report Card for Reading
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AYP Report Card for Math
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Additional Educational Initiatives
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Advanced Placement Class Participation
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Dual Enrollment Classes

• 2006-2007 CCBC, Penn State
• Enrollment 18
• 2007-2008 CCBC, Penn State
• Enrollment 31
• 2008-2009 CCBC, Penn State, Clarion
• Enrollment 12

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Online Course Selections

• 2007-2008AP Psychology
• SAT Prep
• 2008-2009
• AP French
• AP PsychologySAT Prep AP Government Politics
  U.S. HistoryAdditional RCI offerings

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Excerpt from Really Achieving Your Childhood
Dreams
Final Thought

• By Dr. Randy PauschCarnegie Mellon University
  Professor

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We cannot change the cards we are dealt, just how
we play the hand.
Dr. Randy Pausch
October 23, 1960 July 25, 2008