Northampton Area School District parents were treated to a Meet the Teacher open house Oct. 4 in the high school library.

The event was hosted by the Northampton chapter of the Pennsylvania Association for Gifted Education (NPAGE).

NPAGE President Chuck Longacre told the 30 to 40 parents in attendance the organization serves as an advocate for gifted students in the district and strives to ensure they are provided with the appropriate educational experiences.

"It's very important," he said. "It's worthwhile to join the state PAGE organization."

Longacre stressed NPAGE funding is derived solely from membership dues. Funds are used for membership in the state PAGE organization and used to help fund student academic and social activities.

"NPAGE receives no funding from Northampton Area School District, or any other source," Longacre said.

Currently, NPAGE membership dues are $9 per family per school year. Longacre said the organization is fortunate to have a strong relationship with the district.

"We enjoy a tremendous amount of support in the school district," he said. "It's not always that way [elsewhere]. We get things done."

District Superintendent Joseph Kovalchik also spoke at the open house, providing parents with a status update on the state education system and where NASD stands in terms of its performance on recent state standardized tests.

"I'm going to be very honest," Kovalchik said. "Our state scores are about average across all buildings. I'm not very happy about that."

Despite average scores, Kovalchik said he has high hopes for improving academic performance across the district.

"I'm on a mission," he said regarding improving scores. "We'll get it done. I promise you that."

Kovalchik also told parents to expect a few changes to academic programs, which he said will help boost performance. Two such changes involve a middle school honors science program for eighth-grade students and changes to credit requirements at the high school.

"The major priority is academic excellence and that is what we're going to strive for," he said. "I'll always try to put the money into the academics."

According to Kovalchik, the gifted population in the district is 4.9 percent.

"This is exactly in line with the percentage for the entire state of Pennsylvania," Longacre said.

After Longacre and Kovalchik spoke, families broke into respective groups to speak to gifted support teachers Mark Appleby (George Wolf and Moore elementary schools), Pam Kremus (Lehigh and Siegfried elementary schools) and Sharon Skrapits (middle school) and high school guidance counselors Nadine Rupp and Christina Thrash.