Sugar Valley Rural Charter School Presents Data to KCSB
By Christopher Miller
BALD EAGLE TOWNSHIP – Sugar Valley Rural Charter School (SVRCS) CEO Tracie Kennedy and Supervisor of Curriculum and Instruction K-12 Broc Phillips met with the Keystone Central School Board Thursday evening as part of the overview of the Charter School with the KCSD Board’s annual report.
Below are some highlights of data from the presentation.
There are 474 students enrolled currently at the school with enrollment predicted to stay at 475 until June
The general fund balance as of June 2024 was $4.2 million
The school seeks to hire a School Psychologist using money from the PCCD School Mental Health and Safety Grant
A new maintenance building is being planned in 2025-2026
Daily attendance rate for 2023-2024 was 92.74%
There are nine varsity/junior high sports, included in that number is Elementary/Jr. High Volleyball
The majority of students scored in the “basic” or “proficient” levels for Algebra 1, Biology, and Literature in the Keystone Exams
The majority of students scored in the “basic” or “proficient” categories for the PSSA tests in grades 3-8
MAP Growth Tests also report that the majority of students are scoring within the “basic” and “proficient” categories for math and language arts
19 Advanced Placement (AP) students are taking 28 AP Exams this school year
Board President Roger Elling questioned some of the PSSA data, including the number of students scoring in the “basic” and “proficient” areas.
“We have a number of students in the “basic” bar that are right there on the edge where if they could have had a couple more answers correct, they would have scored “proficient,” Phillips said. “Looking into the future we are going to be making a few changes to get to that point.”
“We are going to be making some serious modifications into the instructional routine that we have,” Phillips said. “We will be increasing the contact time we have with the math content, ensuring we are using instructional minutes efficiently in the classroom, my involvement in the classrooms so I can be more present in the rooms so we can use our minutes appropriately.”
Elling then questioned what is going on with growth decreasing in fifth and eleventh grades.
“It is expected that as students get older, the amount of growth will decrease. Although you see them decreasing, that is what is to be expected there, but they are still exceeding the expected growth,” Phillips said. He also mentioned visiting other classrooms to get first-hand experience in other districts.
Board member Butch Knauff thanked SVRCS for letting their students participate in the county band festival earlier this week, commending the cooperation effort between all of the schools and to perhaps do a marching band festival at some point in the future.
Jeff Johnston commented on the presentation, interested in seeing if the MAP Growth Data will see data increases reflected in the spring with the upcoming testing window.
“We think that multi-layered approach will be something we are really happy to share with you next year,” Phillips said.
