Dear Abington School District Community,

Welcome to the 2024-2025 school year! The beginning of September, in a way, often feels like the start of a new calendar year for educators and families across ASD—an exciting new chapter in the lives of a generation of young people, and the chance to set goals and aspirations for what you would like the year to bring. A fresh start provides opportunity to reflect on past accomplishments and chart a path forward in how you plan to achieve your objectives.

We continue the process of our future facilities planning, including what's next for Abington Middle School. This process is ongoing, and we truly value our community's input. Please follow developments on our One ASD, One Future website.

This year is also an important year for Abington School District as we embark on developing our 2025-2028 Comprehensive Plan. Every three years, districts across the Commonwealth prepare and submit a Comprehensive Plan to the Pennsylvania Department of Education, which identifies priorities and action plans with steps to address the established priorities. The planning process is a collaborative one, involving multiple meetings of school district stakeholders, including teachers, administrators, parents/guardians, students, and community members, as well as, School Board members, who evaluate the most recent plan and then provide input regarding goals and action steps to guide the District's initiatives and programs for the next several years. For more information on our current, 2022-2025 Comprehensive Plan, please visit the About ASD page of our website.

A Superintendent's Committee is also being formed this year to develop Abington School District's Portrait of a Graduate, a collaborative and collective vision that provides an enriched community-wide understanding of what being a graduate of Abington Schools means. This vision goes beyond academic standards to include other skills and attributes seen as a laudable set of goals and outcomes that equip students for future success. The Portrait of a Graduate also provides a unifying stance on aligning school operations, resources, pedagogy and experiences based upon these common outcomes. As a result, the Portrait of a Graduate can be a driving force for change and innovation.

With the collaboration surrounding these three major initiatives already underway, I am very much looking forward to seeing where these conversations lead Abington School District and most importantly, our future generation of learners. I am inspired by our school community, especially our team of more than 1,100 educators, and am proud to be part of these pivotal processes.

Regards,

Dr. Jeffrey S. Fecher

Superintendent of Schools

Another school year has started, which means the return of Start with Hello week, a Sandy Hook Promise initiative that is a national call dedicated to making new social connections and creating a sense of belonging among youth. Schools had numerous creative activities, including lunch talk cards that facilitated conversations, a DJ during arrivals, and the reinforcement of upstander behavior. At the secondary schools, aligned with the September Abington Pledge of Character theme of "Inclusion", Where Everybody Belongs (WEB) and LinkCrew had events for the 6th and 9th graders, such as welcome assemblies, tours of their new buildings, and getting-to-know-each-other activities.

As part of its long-term facilities planning process, “One ASD, One Future,” Abington School District has identified several potential options for the future of Abington Middle School, as presented at the September 24, 2024, meeting of the Board of School Directors.

The facilities planning process included evaluating student needs, infrastructure, classroom and common space needs, the impact of building size and configuration on education, and community input. Now, the District is focusing on the oldest building with the most needs – Abington Middle School – while also addressing facilities needs across the District.

Using expert analysis from an independent facilities consultant and stakeholder and resident feedback, the District developed options to address the needs of Abington Middle School. The options include renovating the current building, building a new middle school, building two new middle schools serving grades 6-8, or creating two new middle schools, including one building for grades 5-6 and one for grades 7-8. Visit OneASDOneFuture.org options to learn more about the proposed options.

Over the next few months, the District will seek feedback from the Abington Township and Borough of Rockledge communities to help inform the best plan and investment for the middle school. One event, a Town Hall and Open House, will take place on Tuesday, October 15, from 6:30–8:30 p.m. at the Abington Middle School Little Theater.

The presentation will also be streamed live on the Abington School District YouTube channel, and residents are encouraged to share questions and input through the Connect Form on the One ASD, One Future website.

As the Abington School District Transportation Department and Abington Township Police Department prepare for efforts to celebrate National School Bus Safety Week in October, it is important that motorists traveling throughout our community remember and follow traffic rules aimed at keeping our students safe.

Earlier this year in an effort to enhance student safety, the Board approved agreements with BusPatrol America and the Abington Township Police Department for the installation of stop-arm cameras on District school buses, and the implementation of an enforcement system to capture any violations that occur within the boundaries of Abington Township.

BusPatrol outfits fleets with the latest stop-arm safety technology, including stop-arm cameras, DVR and storage devices, interior cameras, GPS, telemetry and LTE connectivity. The enforcement program is powered by proprietary software and processes, and by experienced safety professionals who coordinate with police and local officials.

When a school bus is preparing to stop and its lights and stop-arm are activated, BusPatrol safety technology is triggered. AI-enabled stop-arm cameras capture incidents involving vehicles illegally passing the bus. Through cloud computing, data is sent to BusPatrol's safety experts, who then review the footage and prepare evidence packages for law enforcement. By coupling technology-based enforcement with education and public safety campaigns, the aim is to change driver behavior around school buses and children.

For more information, including school bus stopping laws and penalties for violating such laws, please read the following linked resources from the PennDOT website: https://www.dot.state.pa.us/Public/DVSPubsForms/BDL/BDL%20Publications/Pub%2097.pdf and https://www.penndot.pa.gov/TravelInPA/Safety/TrafficSafetyAndDriverTopics/Documents/PUB%20741_12-23_School_Bus.pdf

The Pennsylvania Art Education Association (PAEA) is proud to recognize Abington School District for its commitment to visual arts education with the endorsement of Outstanding Visual Arts Community 2024. PAEA empowers its members to transform their practices, students, colleagues, and communities to build a strong art education culture and citizenry.

Districts receiving this endorsement demonstrate the importance of their visual arts programs with:

• Rigorous and Inclusive Programs - Arts programs demonstrate rigor using standards-based curricula taught at every level by highly qualified and certified art educators.

• Highly Accessible Programs - Art programs are offered to all students at every level of education with a sustainable budget for the visual arts.

• Highly Visible Programs - Schools and districts identify their programmatic accomplishments, curriculum for all levels, art staff, mission statements, and arts events using their school websites and social media.

Students in Abington School District celebrate the importance of a well-rounded education with opportunities to engage in arts education courses at all grade levels, K-12. These opportunities prepare students for robust futures in the creative industries, as well as prepare them for skills needed across all aspects of life, such as problem-solving, flexible mindsets, team and collaboration skills, creativity, and more. These are the cognitive skills young people will need to find their place in a globally competitive workforce.

The U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis reports that the arts and culture sector is a $699 billion industry, which represents 4.3% of the nation’s GDP—a larger share of the economy than transportation and agriculture. Technology innovations such as digital literacy, data analytics, and visualization will simply increase the importance of visual and spatial learning skills.

• Community E-Fliers - For students and parents/guardians to find out what is happening in the communities of Abington Township and the Borough of Rockledge, including service opportunities, family-friendly events, and various programs and resources.

• How to Use District Technology - For staff, students and parents/guardians to learn how to access and use various digital tools across the District.

• MySchoolBucks - For parents/guardians to easily and securely pay for school meals online using a credit/debit card or electronic check.

• Senior Citizen Tax Rebate Program - For Abington Township and/or Rockledge homeowners, age 65+, who have an annual gross household income of $45,000 or less.

Did you know? Families need to apply for free/reduced lunches each school year. If you have not yet submitted an application for the 2024-2025 school year, the previous school year's application and free/reduced status will lapse beginning on October 16, 2024. Apply today so that your student can continue receiving this benefit. As a reminder, breakfast is free for all students for the duration of the school year. Click here for menus available through the Nutrislice website.

Download the Abington School District mobile app in the App Store or Google Play! Get quick access to your school's most commonly used resources, including the breakfast/lunch menus, calendar and staff directory. Plus, subscribe to the District to get ASD updates and information.

• Thursday, Oct. 3-Friday, Oct. 4 - Rosh Hashanah (schools closed)
  

• Monday, Oct. 7 - Special Education Parent Advisory Council Meeting, 6 p.m., Copper Beech

• Tuesday, Oct. 8 - Board Meeting, 7:30 p.m.

• Tuesday, Oct. 15 - Future Facilities Town Hall and Open House, 6:30 p.m., Little Theater at Abington Middle School

• Wednesday, Oct. 16 - Superintendent's Bullying Prevention Committee Meeting, 3:45-5 p.m., Administration Building Board Room

• Monday, Oct. 21 - Gifted Education Parent Advisory Council Meeting, 6:30 p.m., Copper Beech

• Tuesday, Oct. 22 - Board Meeting, 7:30 p.m.

• Friday, Oct. 25 - Community Trunk or Treat, 5-7 p.m., Faculty Parking Lot at Abington Senior High

• Saturday, Oct. 26 - "Bands in the Boneyard" Show, 6 p.m., Schwarzman Stadium at Abington Senior High School
  

• Friday, Nov. 1 - Professional Development Day (no classes)

• Monday, Nov. 4 - Gifted Education Parent Advisory Council Meeting, 6:30 p.m., Copper Beech

• Tuesday, Nov. 5 - Election Day (professional development day; no classes)

• Friday, Nov. 8 - Abington Educational Foundation (AEF) Fall Fundraising Event, 7 p.m., The Abington Club (click here for tickets)
  

• Monday, Nov. 11 - Special Education Parent Advisory Council Meeting, 6 p.m., Copper Beech

• Tuesday, Nov. 12 - Board Meeting, 7:30 p.m.

• Monday, Nov. 18 - Arts in ASD Parent Group Meeting, 7 p.m., Library at Abington Middle School

• Thursday, Nov. 21-Saturday, Nov. 23 - "A Midsummer Night's Dream", 7 p.m., Auditorium at Abington Senior High School

• Monday, Nov. 25-Tuesday, Nov. 26 - Early Dismissal (elementary schools and middle school ONLY)

• Tuesday, Nov. 26 - Board Meeting, 7:30 p.m.

• Wednesday, Nov. 27 - Early Dismissal (ALL schools)
  

• Thursday, Nov. 28-Friday, Nov. 29 - Thanksgiving (schools and offices closed)