Meet your Wissahickon School Board candidates
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
By Thomas Celona
, Staff WriterFour positions on the Wissahickon Board of School Directors will be contested in the Nov. 3 general election. Three Democrats and four Republicans will vie for the seats.
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The Democratic ticket features Val Burton, Ron Stoloff and Williams.
A Whitpain resident, Val Burton has volunteered in the district for the past 12 years, including serving on the executive board of the Shady Grove Elementary Home and School Association for three years, according to her campaign Web site.
Burton said a main reason she is running for the school board is she would like to see the achievement gap addressed.
"Whenever I see there is any percentage of students failing, I just don't understand it," Burton said. "I firmly believe that every student has the capacity to learn. It's hard hearing how these subgroups are not able to achieve when I know that's not true."
If elected, Burton's top two priorities would be to "focus on quality education for all students" and to ensure school safety, she said.
"For me, safety encompasses more than physical safety from other students; it involves respect and a classroom free of ridicule and embarrassment," Burton said. "I think it's important that we encourage the students to care about other students achieving."
Another goal is ensuring taxpayers know how their money is being spent, Burton said.
"It's important that the school board is completely transparent to this community," she said.
A retired high school-level social studies teacher who worked in the Philadelphia school system for 35 years, Ron Stoloff said he believes his experience will be an asset to the board.
"When I realized that no one on the board has any education experience, no one has ever been in the classroom, I thought I could offer a unique perspective," the Whitpain resident said.
Stoloff said he also has experience managing the needs of a school community.
"I was the head of the committee that was set up for the community, administration, students and parents to look for ways to improve the ways we delivered education to our students," he said. "The experience I gained I want to share with Wissahickon."
If elected, some of Stoloff's top priorities would be addressing the achievement gap and school safety, he said.
"I want to make sure there are no groups that are falling behind," Stoloff said. "One of my other priorities is security. I think the staff and the students have to be trained and made aware of the dangers of bullying and how to recognize it."
Continued funding for the North Montco Technical Career Center would be another goal, Stoloff said.
A secretary for the Ambler Borough Police Department, Teresa Williams is seeking her third term as a school director.
The Ambler resident wants to give the borough a voice, she said.
"There are four representatives on the board from Lower Gwynedd, four from Whitpain and one from Ambler, which is myself," Williams said. "Ambler needs a representative on the board. They need a voice, and if I can do that, I'm honored to do that."
Williams said she is dedicated to ensuring students receive the best education possible.
"I just have a passion for making sure students are educated so they can have the quality of life they deserve," she said. "It's very important that they leave our district with a competitive education, a lifelong desire for learning and know that their skills will carry them through a lifetime."
If re-elected, Williams would focus on closing the achievement gap, getting families involved in education and ensuring the district has the best educators and support staff possible, she said.
School safety is another key goal for Williams, she said.
"I want to make sure we have a safe student environment," she said. "I would love to be proactive instead of retroactive."
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To give residents a chance to meet the candidates in person, the home and school associations of the five district elementary schools will host a question-and-answer forum with the candidates at Blue Bell Elementary School from 7 to 9 p.m. Oct. 27.
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© 2009 MontgomeryNews.com, a Journal Register Property
This appeared in the Ambler Gazette, September 16, 2009
Ron Stoloff commented on the School District's decision first not to broadcast President Obama's speech to students, then to show it.
The relevant sections are in bold.
WSD addresses H1N1 virus precautions
By Thomas Celona
, Staff Writer
The Wissahickon School District outlined the precautions it has to prevent the spread of the H1N1 virus, commonly referred to as swine flu, at its school board meeting Sept. 14.
According to the CDC, people younger than 25 have been more affected by the 2009 H1N1 virus. As a result, schools across the country have undertaken efforts to prevent the spread of the virus among school populations.
At the meeting, district nursing coordinator Merri Walkenstein updated the board on what precautions the district has taken.
"We have done a lot in communicating to our school community the options that are out there," she said. "We have posted many different sources from the Montgomery County Department of Health and the CDC [on the district's Web site]."
Part of this communication involves telling parents that children who have a fever over 100 degrees need to stay home from school.
"We have drafted a letter that goes home to the parent or guardian of the student who is dismissed from the nurse's office," Walkenstein said.
The letter, which the parent or guardian must sign, provides information about the virus from the CDC and instructs the parent or guardian to keep the student out of school until they no longer have a fever, according to Walkenstein. She also said school nurses have been conducting follow-up calls to ensure students dismissed with a fever remain out of school the following day.
Letters about the symptoms of the virus have also been sent to district faculty, Walkenstein said.
The district has also increased its offering of seasonal flu vaccinations in light of the presence of the H1N1 virus.
The district will continue offering seasonal flu vaccinations to employees for a seventh year, while the all elementary and middle school students will be offered the seasonal flu mist in November, according to Walkenstein. In previous years, the flu mist had been offered only to middle school students.
Additionally, the district has registered to be a site for the H1N1 vaccination once it becomes available, Walkenstein said.
"The Wissahickon School District has been working on an ongoing basis with the Department of Health on this issue," Superintendent Judith Clark said, noting the district's communication with local health organizations to be best prepared for possible spread of the virus.
Another topic that came up at various points during the meeting was how the district handled showing President Barack Obama's Sept. 8 speech to district students.
The district's initial decision was not to air the speech live.
"Due to instructional constraints associated with scheduling and the delivery of curriculum, the Wissahickon School District will not show the president’s address live," Clark wrote in a post on the district's Web site Sept. 3. "However, the speech will be recorded and made available to teachers through the district’s internal network and may be utilized as a supplemental resource for courses and programs that align with the content of the address."
However, the following day, a new post on the Web site from Clark indicated a revised decision to air the speech live for students who wished to view it.
"Wissahickon School District did air the speech live for students who were available," Clark said at the meeting, noting the speech was shown in large group-viewing areas during lunch time. "At all times, I was looking to provide an option for all."
During the public comment portion of the meeting, Ron Stoloff of Blue Bell said he was concerned with how the final decision was reached.
"I am concerned that [Clark] appears not to have consulted the school board," he said. "I think she overstepped her bounds."
In another public comment, Shirley White of Blue Bell said this presidential speech was unique because districts had a limited time to make a decision, leading most districts not to consult school boards due to time constraints.
Clark and members of the board said the decision regarding airing the speech was made by Clark and not by the board.
The speech was the focus of the report from Andrew Ford, senior student representative to the board.
Ford presented the board with the results of a survey of 700 of his peers at the high school. Ford said the survey showed the majority of those surveyed believed the district's initial decision was wrong, while the majority felt the revised decision was correct. Ford reported the majority said how the situation had been handled sent a mixed message.
In other business, the board approved five contracts for special education services and one contract for physical therapy services for a combined amount not to exceed $154,385.28.
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© 2009 MontgomeryNews.com, a Journal Register Property