Bethlehem Area School District board members spent their Nov. 2 meeting discussing the basic framework and key objectives regarding course curriculum in the coming 2016-17 school year.

The curriculum changes are the brainchild of the High School Instructional Leadership Planning Group, chaired by Dr. Jack Silva, assistant superintendent for education and chief academic officer. The committee was comprised of BASD high school principals Michael LaPorta Jr. and Harrison Bailey III, assistant principals for the curriculum, Amanda Hinkel and Maureen Leeson, as well as Kimberly Harper, supervisor of curriculum, instruction and assessment.

The proposed changes are an extension of the board’s Roadmap to Educational Excellence 3.0, adopted in September of this year.

“That was the skeleton. Now Dr. Silva is going to put a lot of meat on the bones tonight of the details on the program,” explained Dr. Joseph Roy, superintendent of schools.

The two primary objectives of the suggested programs are a more personalized course program for college and career readiness in high school, and all students reading at grade level unilaterally by the end of third grade.

The updated curriculum emphasizes career pathways for students in four distinct fields: health and social services; science, technology, engineering, and math; humanities and communications; and business, finance and law. The pathways approach has been in place in the district since 2013, though Silva emphasized current credit requirements are too strict to allow students to pursue their chosen career path.

“We have no shortage of quality electives. What we have is a shortage of student access to be able to take them,” Silva explained. “What happens, many times the requirements are so tight that students don’t have the ability to spill over into the electives in their pathway.”

The current curriculum requires students to earn four credits each in both mathematics and science fields; the proposed changes would require only a minimum of seven combined math and science classes combined, allowing students to complete four math credits and three science credits, or vice versa. By comparison, Allentown, East Penn, and Parkland school districts require a cumulative six credits in math and sciences for graduation.

The planning group also focused on strategies to ensure all BASD students are reading proficiently at the end of Grade 3. Roughly a third of the district’s Grade 3 graduates read below their expected literacy level.

The district has taken steps to address the issue. The 2015 school year marks the first year all 16 elementary schools offer universal full-day kindergarten throughout the district. Previously, full-day kindergarten was available at select Bethlehem elementary schools, particularly for at-risk students. Those measures themselves, Silva maintains, are not enough.

“We can’t pat ourselves on the back saying, ‘Congratulations, we’re on the road to third grade reading comprehension just because we have full-day kindergarten,” he said. “Probably the most important thing we can do is make sure all students are reading on grade level by the end of third grade.”

Roy also took time to address the district’s School Performance Profile (SPP) ahead of its public release. Roy has been a vocal opponent of the accuracy of the SPP program and metrics it utilizes to gauge a district’s performance.

“The state decided, ‘We can’t even come up with an SPP for elementary and middle schools, but the Keystone Exams, which are only slightly less screwed up than the PSSA’s, we can use those for high schools,” Roy said sardonically.

The SPPs are measured on a scale of 0 to 100. Freedom HS received a rating of 68.6, while Liberty HS received a rating of 62.4. Eighty percent of a school’s SPP is determined by the Keystone Exam.

“That’s a meaningless grade,” Roy affirmed. “The things that matter to people are college and career readiness.”

By contrast, the district scored highly on alternate indicators of academic achievement highlighted in the SPP, both the Industry Standards-Based Competency Assessment and the SAT/ACT College Ready Benchmark. Both Liberty and Freedom scored an “A” (90-100) or “B” rating (80-89) on both respective assessments.

Roy also noted that the state’s Department of Education, including Governor Tom Wolfe, also remain skeptical of the SPP rating system, and have been exploring other ways to gauge schools’ performance. In an interview in March, Wolfe stated, “Education is a very full and holistic process. We’ve reduced it to a bunch of high-stakes tests that don’t seem to me to be tied to the specific, comprehensive skills we want our students to have.”

In a statement released concurrently with the disclosure of the statewide SPP scores, Secretary of Education Pedro Rivera stated, “While SPP scores can be a useful tool in assessing school performance, the department is engaged in conversations with multiple stakeholders to consider comprehensive measures in evaluating schools.”

The Board also reviewed the district’s energy plan, first implemented in 2010. The plan focused on energy-saving opportunities through streamlined and efficient HVAC, lighting, and hot water usage, as well as a focus on alternative energy.

Roughly 9 percent of the kilowatts throughout the district are generated by solar production. James Buchanan ES is entirely powered by solar energy, while Farmersville ES is nearly 90 percent solar-powered. Energy savings to the district through alternative energy is estimated at $191,331 for the past five years.

Mark Stein, director of facilities and operations, has also implemented an electricity demand response program, pledging to reduce energy use during peak periods for financial incentives, saving the district $77,000 annually. Since 2011, the district has spent $564,885 implementing the new energy plan, which has produced a net savings of $7,241,788.