The Central Bucks Board Note
May 2020 ~ Vol. 2, No. 8
Virtual School Board Meetings
Meetings of the Central Bucks School District Board of School Directors will be conducted remotely and recorded for public review while the governor's stay at home order is in effect. Meeting agendas and minutes are published online via BoardDocs here. Audio recordings of the meeting will be posted to the district’s website at www.cbsd.org/boardmtg within 24 hours of its conclusion. Please look for meeting notices on the district's website prior to the meeting date; a link will be published within the notice so that public comment may be submitted to the board in advance.
Graduation Plans Announced
Superintendent Dr. John J. Kopicki announced plans for commencement, developed in collaboration with student and building leaders at each school. Dr. Kopicki noted that "We worked to ensure that the events we have planned are safe for all those involved, meaningful for students and families, and flexible in order to allow each school to add unique touches. Most importantly, they were planned with our graduates foremost in our minds."
The key components are:
- A complete, edited commencement event will be broadcast at 7 p.m. on Friday, June 12, 2020 for all three schools individually.
- Footage of each student crossing the stage in cap and gown will be filmed while family members are present at a designated date and time to be communicated by the building principal. Each individual student’s name will be read by the building principal or designee at that time.
- The entire Central Bucks community will be invited to “make some noise” at the conclusion of the ceremony broadcast, clapping hands, banging pots and pans, and more!
- The entire Central Bucks community will be invited to “make some noise” at the conclusion of the ceremony broadcast, clapping hands, banging pots and pans, and more!
Other planned celebrations include:
- Distribution of individual lawn signs, unique to each school and bearing each graduate’s name.
- A “parade” motorcade event organized by each school, which will take place on June 12. Graduates and their families may drive along a pre-set route on campus.
- An in-person celebration (planned for later this summer with tentative dates scheduled on July 17, 2020 and August 14, 2020) based on the direction from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania on stay at home order protocols. These in-person events will be planned with input from student leadership.
Details, including a more detailed timeline of events, may be found on the district's website.
Distance Learning Family Survey Results Announced
Dr. Nadine Garvin, assistant superintendent for elementary education, shared the results of the parent survey distributed to gather feedback on the district's distance learning program.
As more than 8,100 families participated in the survey, about 45% of all students were represented in the results, with participation from all 23 schools and good representation across grade levels (51% of elementary students' families, 46% of middle school families, and 34% at the high school level).
Initial questions were focused on the time that students spent engaged in completing school work related to distance learning, along with the work's difficulty and accessibility. In planning for distance learning, the district aimed at students spending about three to four hours engaged in school work per day, and while families reported that the majority (7,068 students) are spending between two and five hours time, Dr. Garvin noted that some are spending far less (658), and some are spending far more (436). The district also asked families to report on their sense of the level of difficulty (too easy/just right/too hard) of the work assigned. While by no means a scientific analysis, the majority of families (73%) reported that in general, the work was "just right." The majority of families (80%) also reported that they "agree" or "strongly agree" that they understand how and where to access daily lessons and materials.
Since schools closed in March, principals, teachers, and administrators have been committed to ensuring regular, effective communication. More than 80% of survey participants reported that the level of communication they have received from their teacher, school, and the district (respectively) has been "just right."
Of those who responded, 3,549 individuals included optional written feedback as part of their survey. Dr. Garvin reported that after reviewing these responses carefully, five overall themes emerged, as follows. Dr. Garvin also shared several individual comments in each of these themes, providing the board with a sense of families' thoughts.
- Overall praise for the district, administrators, and teachers
- Desire to have more synchronous, real-time teaching
- Need for single Learning Management System (elementary)
- Too much work: Stress on working parents and elementary school specials should not be mandatory
- Too little work: Children finishing with little new learning/more to do and one time per week is not enough for middle school classes
Survey results organized by building were shared with building administrators so that they may analyze the feedback to determine takeaways and isolate any individual building or grade level themes that may emerge. Most importantly, the district will utilize the feedback as critical data to inform planning for different learning scenarios for the 2020-2021 school year.
Dr. Garvin's complete presentation is available for review on the district's website.
Central Bucks School District
The members of the Central Bucks School District's Board of School Directors each represent one of nine regions in the district. Each region includes one or more municipality. While each region elects one school director, members represent the interests of the district as a whole once elected.
Meetings are held on the second and fourth Tuesday of the month except for February, July, August, October, November and December. In February, the board will meet on the first and fourth Tuesdays. In July and August, the board meets on the fourth Tuesday only. In October, the board will meet on the third and fifth Tuesdays. In November, the board meets on the second Tuesday only. In December, the board meets on the first Tuesday only. Meetings are being held virtually at this time, look for meeting notices on the district's website, which will include a link for submitting public comment.
Correspondence for the Board of School Directors should be sent to Stephanie Radcliffe, Secretary to the Board, at sradcliffe@cbsd.org.
The "Central Bucks Board Note," is an e-newsletter designed to provide Central Bucks School District constituents with an overview of the work of their Board of School Directors.
Please share any feedback with Angela Linch, communications and public relations administrator, at alinch@cbsd.org or by calling 267-893-2073.
Email: alinch@cbsd.org
Website: www.cbsd.org
Location: 20 Welden Drive, Doylestown, PA, USA
Phone: 267-893-5800
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cbschools/
Twitter: @cbsdinfo