The Bradford Area School Board covered a lot of topics Monday night. From Tina Slaven returning to the district as a career mentor to the expulsion of three students in January, it was a busy night.
Slaven, who now works for the Potter County Educational Council, is stationed in the Bradford school system. During her presentation, she spoke about what the sixth- through twelfth-grade students have been doing in the district.
Sixth graders have been on tours at the University of Pittsburgh, while the seventh-grade classes participated in a Lunch and Learn program to understand and learn more about careers they might not otherwise be exposed to. The Lunch and Learns were held both in person with various community members and virtually.
Students in eighth grade have been rotating through the high school Career and Technical Education programs and learning from the high school students through hands-on demonstrations.
The high schoolers have been doing a lot of job shadowing and Lunch and Learns with those in the community.
Slaven invited the board to the CTE Open House at the high school on March 26, or to a private tour to see all the programs offered.
In other news, the board approved the expulsion of three students. According to Superintendent Katy Pude, none of the incidents were related.
“Keeping our students and faculty safe is our priority and although removing students from school is difficult, it is sometimes necessary. We always work with the families to ensure that schooling occurs in another setting and will help with securing counseling services for these students as needed,” Pude said.
One student was expelled for an incident Jan. 5 involving terroristic threats and violations of the student discipline policy. The expulsion was agreed to as of Jan. 22. Another student was expelled as of Jan. 26 for an incident Jan. 11 involving a weapons violation. And the third student was expelled Jan. 18 for a student discipline violation that occurred Jan. 3.
Pude stated the students were from both the middle school and the high school, and that all major incidents are reported to the Office of Safe Schools.
The superintendent explained that a terroristic threat (threatening comments, writings etc.) would be followed up by a threat assessment by a member of the team. She also explained that under state law, bringing a weapon to school results in an expulsion.
“The most common weapon brought in our schools are pocket knives and often they are an afterthought following a weekend of camping, etc.,” she said.
“Law enforcement is always involved in any major infraction as we have three SROs in our district who help us to investigate each incident and they will file charges if warranted,” Pude explained.
She continued, “We have become more progressive in our discipline and if a student has a history of violating our code of conduct (fighting, making threatening comments, etc.) and we have exhausted all other measures (detentions, in- and out-of-school suspensions, referrals to outside agencies), then we will review for expulsion. Sometimes student conduct becomes disruptive or dangerous to others who simply want to learn, and we need to make decisions that are best for the entire student population.”
Pude is excited about several upcoming activities, including the field trip to Washington, D.C., for Parkway Industrial.
“The Parkway Industrial students have been invited to attend Small Manufacturing Day on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. ARG and Zippo are both sending a representative with the students as they speak with both members of the House and Senate about their amazing business. I am so excited for them and this wonderful opportunity,” she said.
Other important activities coming up include Read Across America on March 1, the Honor Flight benefit March 16, and kindergarten registration April 16 to 18.
A contract for services was approved for technical and consulting for the student-run business. Crew Machining of 30 Laurel Drive in Bradford, was approved to provide these services for the 2023-24 school year at a rate of $75 per hour. Renewal of this agreement is contingent upon grant funding.
The district also approved a few expenditures during the meeting. Two new HVAC units for George G. Blaisdell Elementary School through a contract with Johnson Controls, Sourcewell in the amount of $112,854 were confirmed. Technology agreements for Internal Network Connections Equipment Purchase Agreements with CDW Government LLC in the amount of $29,869 and with IT Outlet Inc. for $26,264 were approved. Two Blue Bird buses were approved for purchase as well at $139,393 per bus for a total cost of $278,786.
