Catasauqua Area School District Board of Education got down to business Aug. 14 in preparation for the new school year.

Superintendent Robert Spengler took the board through his overall plan for the future, looking at long-term goals. He emphasized leadership recognized a need for a change, so it is going to seek input from stakeholders, including community and family members.

“I think we’re all tired of not enhancing our programming. I’m tired of not addressing our needs,” Spengler said.

The highest priority identified is the enhancement of school security. In addition to adding a school resource officer in the district, the district is upgrading building security, taking part in training sessions and more.

One new feature for the district is a focus on mental health services for students and families.

“We are contracted with Salisbury Behavioral Health Inc. to provide proactive behavioral and mental health services for our students and families,” Spengler said.

Another priority for the district was the addition of full-time kindergarten. With the help of Sheckler Elementary School Principal Eric Dauberman, the program is prepared and underway for the 2018-19 school year.

According to Spengler, the district wants to keep pushing forward. He said there will be a series of surveys going out to families to help identify the needs of the modern 21st-century student. There will be schoolwide surveys as well as a districtwide one.

Spengler wants as much input from the community as possible to enhance the district and bring it to the forefront of modern education.

Catasauqua High School Principal Adam Schnug updated the board on several of the changes happening for the 2018-19 school year. He reported staff are re-evaluating their Advanced Placement courses, restructuring elective courses to offer more options to students, re-addressing the physical education program and addressing the possibility of increasing online education opportunities.

According to Schnug, staff members want to form a committee to address future needs and to help the school evolve with modern times. He wants to include students on the committee as well, citing their input is invaluable.

Catasauqua Middle School Principal Melissa Inselmann detailed some new features, including additional programs for high-achieving students and updates to the mathematics curriculum.

Kathleen Kotran, coordinator of instructional technology and federal programs, informed the board of the different federal and state grants the school district submitted for to benefit basic programs and more.

Last year, the district received $10,000 in Title IV grants. This year, the district was awarded $33,465. These funds go toward a well-rounded education for students. The district is adding more STEM and STEAM programs for students. They are also used to promote mental health services, drug and violence prevention and the effective use of technology.

The district received $638,284 in Title I grants, which are used for instructional supplies, salaries for a reading specialist, guidance counselor, literacy coach and certified aides, conferences and contracted services.

The school district was awarded a $17,600 grant from the Department of Labor and Industry. This grant will allow approximately 20 individuals from the schools to go to industry sites and different workplaces to identify what is needed in today’s modern workforce. They will transfer this information into the curriculum to better prepare the students for the future.

According to Kotran, the district received a total of $1,334,456 in federal and state grants.

Lois Reed, business supervisor, presented details and photos about the work done at the different schools over the summer. Reed oversaw the custodians and the six student workers in the summer work program.

Some of the big projects included new lockers for fifth-grade students, the refinishing of the high school gym and stage, the painting of several rooms and hallways, power washing of all the school buildings, assisting in the installation of water bottle filling stations at the middle school and more.

“I’m proud of the fact we’ve been able to accomplish things we haven’t done in years,” Spengler said.

He and the board thanked Reed and the student workers and custodians for all of the hard work. Inselmann admitted it looked like the whole middle school had been given a face-lift.

The board approved numerous certified and noncertified instructional aides for the school year, as well as mentor teachers for the new hires. Extracurricular positions were also approved.

There were four district professionals who were approved for tenure. They are Michaela Labar, CHS English teacher; Andrew Oswald, CHS science teacher; Joshua Inman, CHS mathematics teacher; and Jennifer Churetta, Sheckler Elementary School nurse.

The board approved the handbooks and student guidelines for the schools, so they were ready for the start of the new school year.

The next school board meeting will be 7 p.m. Sept. 11, Patriot Day, in the district administrative board room, 201 N. 14th St.