The North Schuylkill School District has completed their feasability study. Please direct all questions to Superintendent Dr. Andrew Smarkanic. A review of the study can be scheduled by appointment.

 

Harrisburg – More than 1,900 Pennsylvania schools are being honored with Keystone Achievement Awards for showing sustained academic achievement over the past two school years, including scores of schools whose students are overcoming academic hurdles, Education Secretary Gerald L. Zahorchak announced on November 19th.

“These awards reinforce the hard work our schools are executing and the success they are achieving,” Zahorchak said. “Schools are overcoming obstacles by implementing quality instruction, adopting research proven strategies and aligning their curriculum to academic standards.”

Keystone Achievement Awards are given to public schools that achieved Adequate Yearly Progress in both the 2007-08 and 2008-09 school years. AYP is determined, in part, by a school’s performance on the Pennsylvania System of School Assessment, the standardized test given annually to students in grades 3-8 and 11. The students and staff of North Schuylkill Elementary and the former Ringtown Elementary achieved Adequate Yearly Progress during those years, thus earning this recognition.

“A Keystone Achievement Award represents the hard work and dedication of students, teachers and administrators,” Zahorchak said. “Recipients of these awards should proudly display their placards as evidence of academic achievement and a commitment to excellence.”

Zahorchak said earning this year’s award is impressive considering the targets for achieving AYP increased in 2008. At least 63 percent of a school’s students had to perform at grade level in reading and 56 percent had to be at grade level in math, up from the 2007 targets of 54 percent for reading and 45 percent for math.

“Our schools are continuing to meet higher expectations as the bar continues to rise,” the secretary said, but he noted two areas where academic performance tends to lag: under-funded school districts and high schools.

For more information on the Keystone Achievement Awards and details about Pennsylvania’s other education initiatives, visit www.education.state.pa.us. Enter PDE Search: Keystone Achievement Awards

 

The North Schuylkill Board of School Directors announces the appointment of Dr. Andrew D. Smarkanic of Frackville, PA as their Superintendent of Schools. His solid foundation in financial planning, community involvement and “teach every child as if you were teaching your own” approach made him an outstanding choice.   His letters of recommendation praised his knowledge of curriculum and teacher needs/requirements.  Dr. Smarkanic is currently the Assistant Superintendent for Business Affairs in the Blue Mountain School District where he has served in that capacity for the past 17 years. He will be taking over the duties of superintendent beginning January 1, 2010 until that time he will transition days between the two school districts.

Smarkanic, a former teacher and administrator at North Schuylkill, received his Bachelors and Masters Degree from The Pennsylvania State University where he also completed the necessary requirements for his Principal’s Certification and Superintendent’s Letter of Eligibity. In 1994, he received his Ed.D. in Educational Leadership from Nova Southeastern University.

Along with his administrative duties, Dr. Smarkanic is a member of the PSBA Insurance Trust Advisory Board; PASBO Act 32 Task Force Member; Executive Director of the Health Insurance Consortium of Schuylkill County Schools; Member of the PENCON Board of Directors. He has coached various basketball and little league baseball teams. Most recently he was an assistant coach on the West End Outlaw 13U travel baseball team and the Frackville Teener B Team.

Smarkanic and his wife Michelle have been married for 31 years, and they have two children, Lauren (married and living in West Chester) and Matt (at home).

 

North Schuylkill has been recognized by Project Tomorrow, the national education nonprofit group, as one of this year’s Speak Up 200. This award recognizes schools who are working to encourage and involve authentic student, parent and teacher ideas and views in education planning and decision making.  North Schuylkill will retain this status through spring 2010.  Click here to read the press release announcing this year's Speak Up 200 schools.

At the March 12, 2009, meeting of the North Schuylkill School District Board of Education, a new dress code policy was adopted. The new policy will be in effect, beginning with the 2009-2010, school year. Additional information regarding the policy and its implementation, will be sent home in the coming weeks.

ClassLink, first introduced to the district in 2007-2008, is a software program that enables students and teachers to access school-based software and documents from home. To accommodate the volume of use, additional home access licenses have been purchased. We now have the capability to allow up to 75 home users to be logged on to Classlink at the same time. If you have any difficulty logging on to ClassLink or need any assistance installing the ClassLink client software, please call the ClassLink Platinum Support Number at: 877-606-5774. Support is available 7:00 AM to 10:00 PM, Monday to Friday excluding holidays. 

North Schuylkill's elementary students participated in Speak Up 2008, an annual national research project facilitated by Project Tomorrow. The purpose of the project is to:

• Collect and report the unfiltered feedback from students, parents and teachers on key educational issues.
• Use the data to stimulate local conversations. 
• Raise national awareness about the importance of including the viewpoints of students, parents, and teachers in the education dialogue.

Quantitative survey results are available to participating schools and districts, online, free-of-charge, so that they can use the data for planning and community discussion. National findings are released through a variety of venues, including: a Congressional Briefing in Washington, DC, national and regional conferences, e-mail distribution, Project Tomorrow website, and various Speak Up partners.  Local, state and national stakeholders report using Speak Up data to inform their new programs and policies. North Schuylkill's results from this year's survey are found below:

North Schuylkill Parent Survey Results

Kindergarten through Grade 2 Results

Grades 3-5 Results

Grade 6 Results

Click here to see previous year's results and to learn more about Project Tomorrow.

 

The North Schuylkill School District has adopted the ALERTNOW Notification Service which will allow our schools to send a telephone or e-mail message to students and their families providing important information about school events or emergencies. We will use ALERTNOW to notify you of school delays or cancellations due to inclement weather, as well as to remind you about various events, including report card distribution, open house, field trips, and more.  In the event of an emergency at school, you can have peace of mind knowing that you will be informed immediately by phone.

What you need to know about receiving calls sent through ALERTNOW

• Caller ID will display the school district’s main number (570-874-0466) when a general announcement is delivered.
• Caller ID will display 411 if the message is a dire emergency.
• ALERTNOW will leave a message on any answering machine or voicemail.
• If the ALERTNOW message stops playing, press any key 1-9 and the message will replay from the beginning.

It is important that we have your most current phone number. If this information changes during the year, please let us know immediately. 

The North Schuylkill School District has received a federal grant allowing it to expand its school-based drug-testing programs for students in more grades 7 through 12. The district received grant funds totaling $137,448.oo during the 2008-2009 school year. Provided funding for school-based programs remains in the federal budget, North Schuylkill will also receive $136,706 in both 2009-2010 and 2010-2011. North Schuylkill is one of two districts in Pennsylvania to receive this competitive grant.

North Schuylkill's popular eSchoolBook program will be available in 2009-2010. Many families have found this to be a convenient way to keep track of their child's grades, attendance and assignments.  If you do not have an eSchoolBook account, please contact your child’s school or call the district office at 874-0466, extension 1173.