Investing into the Future

1
Investing into the Future

• Everyone has it within his power to say, this I
  am today, that I shall be tomorrow.

2
The Challenge

• Moving from 20th Century thinking and planning
  for a 21st Century facility by modification of
  existing and antiquated high school structure
  providing a higher quality education program with
  enhanced opportunities for all students.

3
The Goal

• Creating a high school program that will
  prepare and equip todays MASD students for the
  complexities of 21st century life, for further
  education and careers.

4
Is There A Need?

• Lets examine the assumptions/expectations
• Student population growth at MASD will stay the
  same as it is now.
• Student population growth at MASD is normal as
  related to all other school districts.
• Student population growth will decrease in MASD.
• Student population growth is increasing and will
  continue to increase.

5
Identify The Issue

• The State will provide more funding to MASD in
  the future because it is a fast growing school
  system.
• The State will not provide more funding in the
  future to MASD despite its growth and need.
• The State will keep funding to the MASD at the
  same level it currently is.
• The State will increase funding to all schools
  because they will have more money when gaming
  happens, or because the new Governor said so,
  etc.

6
Needs Assessed Data Provided

• Overview of district and educational program
• Analysis of projected enrollment
• Analysis of building and functional capacity
• Analysis of options and choices
• Review of 2004 master plan of district facilities
• Staff Administration input gathered shared
• Program issues, General issues, Observed
  priorities
• Staff Issues/Building Floor Plan
• Adams Twp. Middlesex Twp. Data reviewed
• Pennsylvania Dept. of Education Projections
• School board Community Student Input
• All Information Ascertained and Provided by
  Consultant, Dr. John Linden
• Shared with Administration, School Board, and
  Community at various public meetings and high
  school tour of building facilities.

7
High School Projected Enrollment

• 2005-2006 (May 1) 932
• 2009-2010 projections 994
• 2014-2015 projections 1059

• PDE Projects 943
• PDE Projects 1028
• PDE Projects 1137

8
Functional Capacity

• Classrooms range from 660 square feet to 880
  square feet. (22 feet wide)
• Main upper and lower halls, all rooms are very
  narrow, 22 feet wide with univents under windows
  (losing 76 square feet)

9
General Issues

• Main Office Administrative Area is overcrowded,
  no conference room space, or records storage.
• Student lockers are not large enough, the
  majority are broken, model and parts for repair
  are no longer available. These are the original
  lockers when high school facility was initially
  built in 1960.
• Inadequate accessibility of restroom facilities
  throughout school floor plan.

10
Staff Issues

• Each Dept. Provided Input
• Overall Priorities Concerns of Staff which are
  shared amongst various Departments
• Lack of technology need for wireless
  technology.
• Lack of classroom space/ greatly compromised
  space.
• Access to and throughout the bldg. to other
  areas.
• Inadequate adult work and planning spaces.
• Lack of appropriate equipment areas for storage.

11
Program Issues

• Science Rooms lack appropriate space, labs,
  appropriate equipment, and work stations.
• Computer lab areas require more functional
  classroom space.
• Broadcasting/communication room 205 is extremely
  small and lacks studio and distribution
  capabilities.

12
Additional Program Issues

• Guidance Dept. /Nurse-Health Suite area lacks
  privacy for nurse and students and space is
  limited for Guidance Dept. and no extra
  conference rooms for meetings.
• Child Development/Family Consumer Science Area
  very small and crowded limiting student
  participation.
• Yearbook, Health, Music Theory areas are very
  small and minimally functional.
• Integration of robotics into the arts programs
  and the lack of
• space for pre-engineering programs.

13
Preparing Students for Jobs That Dont Exist Yet!

• By the year 2015, more than half, and even
  some say 80 percent of us will be working at jobs
  that do not currently exist yet.
• Faith Popcorn, International Trend
  Forecaster/Expert, Dictionary of the Future

14
Some Startling Statistics

• Every year about a million young people who
  started high school with their peers dont
  graduate from high school at the same time as
  their peers. (High School Graduation Rates in
  the united States, Jay P. Green, The Manhattan
  Institute for policy research, September 2003)
• Approximately 11 of young adults ages 16-24 are
  out of school ad lack any high school credential
  including GED.(U.S. Dept. of Education, National
  Center for Education Statistics, The Condition of
  Education, 2003)

15
Career Technical Education

• Enrollment in career and technical education
  has increased in the past decade alone by 57,
  from 9.6 million students in 1999 to 15.1 million
  in 2004.
• (Source United States Department of
  Education)

16
High School Reform

• Two Key Components to meet a Changing World
• Rigor for all students
• Relevance for all students

17
Emerging Careers

• Computer Forensic Expert
• Radiation Therapist
• Leisure Consultant
• Medical Illustrator
• Genetic Counselor
• Art Therapist
• Legal Nurse Consultant
• Nurse Paralegal

• Veterinary Physical Therapist
• Animal Defense Doctor
• Animal Assisted Therapist
• Artificial Intelligence Technician
• Automotive Fuel Cell Battery Technician
• Cybrarian

18
Emerging Careers

• Cryonics Technician
• Virtual Set Designer
• Ring Tone Composer
• Tissue Engineer
• Smart-Home Technician
• Medical Diagnostic Technician
• Construction/Building Trades

• Nanotech Fields
• Biotech Fields
• Environmental Fields
• Development of Energy Sources Fields
• Education
• Computational Linguist
• Information Broker

19
Knowledge Workers in Knowledge Industries

• Education
• Technology
• Public Relations
• Communications
• Law
• Marketing
• Engineers
• Economists
• Brokers

• Consultants
• Facilitators
• Journalists
• Medical/Health Fields
• Architects
• Designers
• Foreign Language
• Interpreters, Translators, Teachers

20
21st Century Implications for Schools
Preparing Students

• One Size Fits All Testing of Same Information
  vs. teaching a broad, content based, knowledge
  based curriculum for all students. Individual
  learning which equate into broader knowledge
  which will lead to wisdom, real life
  applications, inspiring innovation,
  entrepreneurial, skills, creativity,
  adaptability, and resilience in the world where
  high-skill jobs require higher levels of
  education and independent thinkers.

21
More Implications for the 21st Century teen

• Becoming Competitive for talent/resources
• Anticipating development of new careers
• Shaping education and training programs
• Helping the local community invent and capitalize
  on emerging careers
• Continuous improvement and collaboration creating
  increased need for life long education

22
Identify the Need and Collaboratively work as
school district and community to proactively
address issues

• Community stakeholders Parents and taxpayers
  with no children or students in the school.
• What are their values?
• What are their expectations?
• What are their needs?

23
Community Connections

• Several industrial parks in the vicinity,
  potential local internships for students, future
  jobs in a local economy, student-career
  partnerships facilitated by opportunities
  provided by both school and various companies.
• Schools relationships with local and regional
  colleges and access to broadened learning
  opportunities for students for future needs of
  education while still in high school and beyond
  in the local region.
• Preparing people for the new economy, for
  existing and emerging careers in the for profit
  and nonprofit sectors.

24
Community Collaborations

• Focusing on employment and quality of life issues
  that might keep younger people in our communities
  by providing resources and opportunities.
• Setting up opportunities for greater
  intergenerational communication which will be a
  essential necessity with an aging population
  where the old will outnumber the young by 2030.
  The average age in the United States will be 38
  years in 2050. (Source Sixteen Trends, Author
  Gary Marx)
• Connecting students, teachers, and communities
  with each other and with the world through
  interactive technologies promoting college
  teaching, distance learning globally, cyber
  communities.

25
The Benefits are endless, but, here are Four and
you add to it!

• 1. Highly Prepared young people to meet the
  new expectations of our economy and society and
  the world in which they live.
• 2. Personalizing education as a way to
  reaching standards and ensuring standards do not
  limit the curriculum.
• 3. Quantifying as a community and school
  district the value of a broad comprehensive
  education vs. the cost of neglect.
• 4. Seeing education systems as prime
  community assets. Moving from Good to Better to
  Great!

26
Heres Three More!

• Preparing Students for the future and not for the
  past while respecting tradition heritage of
  community and school district.
• Bringing out and cultivating individual talents
  and abilities of students through expanded
  curriculum offerings made possible through
  expanded and available classroom space and
  staffing opportunities in lieu of limiting
  students opportunities due to lack of general
  classroom space.
• Highly prepared and qualified students have
  potential to give MASD students the
  edge/advantage needed in future, competitive
  education opportunities, job recruitment and
  retainment by employers of companies and
  businesses.

27
More Positive Implications

• The majority of the baby boomer population
  is going to be older and this will be the first
  time in our national history where the trend will
  have older vs. younger people. We want an
  educated highly knowledgeable workforce to meet
  the diverse demands and needs of an older
  generation.to enable a favorable quality of
  living.
• Property values will increase based on
  what is invested into the schools to provide
  quality facilities and learning opportunities.
  Attracts new home owners which in turn naturally
  increases tax base.

28
Qualified Educators

• Attractive and professional learning spaces
  for students to learn in and enable opportunities
  rather than block them. Attractive schools will
  also enable a higher percentage of highly
  qualified administrators and staff to want to
  work in these facilities enabling future
  increased opportunities for recruitment and
  retainment as competition for qualified educators
  will increase dramatically and soon.as between 2
  and 2 ½ million NEW Teachers will be needed by
  2012. Schools will be competing for teachers and
  highly qualified teachers at that!
• (Source Gary Marx, President, Center for Public
  Outreach)

29
School of the Future

• Capitalizing on our own social and
  intellectual capital.students and staff
  contributing toward local economy is an economic
  implication.
• Increased flexibility in school based program
  to expand and refine in the future providing
  greater adaptability for working staff in lieu of
  inhibiting their teaching opportunities due to
  restricted resources.
• Improved energy efficient facilities and
  resources associated with new construction such
  as new windows, insulation, heating, electrical,
  and energy saving devices installed. New
  Construction will enhance the ability to provide
  wireless technology for students and staff.
• High performance green school construction
  providing for a healthier environment for
  occupants.

30
Concerns Conflict

• Working within government regulated parameters of
  PlanCon Process and the 20 rule related to state
  reimbursement funding.
• New Construction of Alternative Local Schools
  such as North Catholic St. Killian along Route
  228.
• Sector of community not wanting increase in taxes
  to pay for education system.

31
Special Session Act 1 of 2006

• Future of financial funding with Act 1 resources
  funding
• Sector of community not registered to vote or
  actively engaged in voting process
• An uninformed and uneducated electorate
  pertaining to school issues affecting education
  in their childs schools

32
Tough Choices Consequences

• Lack of registered voters within community with
  school age students not having a voice for
  referendum/ballot issues.
• Long term debt obligation for community
  investment affordability factor.
• Meeting the demands of a growing school district
  and balancing the needs, expectations, and values
  of the community we live in.
• The alternative option of not doing anything at
  all, or pragmatic or expedient options and
  weighing out the consequences on our schools,
  education system, and community if so choosing
  one of these choices.

33
Capable of Creating a New Future for All our
Students and Staff

• Collaborative efforts of all stakeholders
• community, school administration team, school
  educators and staff, school board, community,
  students, and taxpayers.
• Abandoning arrogance and mistrust
• Rallying community support
• Developing a philosophy of possibilities in lieu
  of the impossible dream. But, being cognizant of
  financial responsibility.

34
Tomorrow The Future

• The future is the shape of things to come!
• In a world of accelerating change, are we capable
  of Audacious Goals?
• Shaping a 21st century education system capable
  of preparing students for life in a global
  knowledge/information age.
• Shaping a 21st century community such as Mars
  Area and enabling it capable of thriving in a
  global knowledge/information age.

35
Something to Ponder

• Mars Area School District and the community
  have a choice. We can simply defend what we
  haveor create what we need.
• The choice is yours!

36
In closing, keep this in mind

• Education is not an expense but is the best
  investment we can make as a community.
• Begin with the end in mind Stephen Covey