At the curriculum and technology committee meeting Feb. 18, the board of directors received student reports as well as presentations on a new social emotional learning program and an update on the success of the instrumental music program.

Salisbury High School student representatives were not present at the meeting so Salisbury Middle School students Evelyn Pojanowski and Gracelyn Case jumped right into the middle school events.

Sixth grade students will participate in Blue Mountain Resort’s Science of Slide program which applies science principles to real life by collecting data, graphing and calculating speed culminating in experiencing the thrill of tubing down the mountain.

Sixth and eighth grade students recently took field trips to the Zoellner Arts Center in Bethlehem. Sixth graders saw a performance of “The Red Firecracker” which tells the origin story of the Chinese Lunar New Year while eighth grade students listened to a Korean folk fusion band play modern day rock with Korean instruments.

Sixth grade students in Gary Schweyer’s class are studying the ecosystem and getting a close look at the life cycle of trout from egg phase to fingerlings which will then be released into the Little Lehigh Creek.

Upcoming events include a middle school band trip to Miller Symphony Hall and student council hosted teacher/student swap day featuring teachers dressing like students and students dressing like teachers.

In March, Race for Adam fundraising will begin with T-shirt sales and special events such as a dodgeball game and a pie-in-the-face contest in the works.

Salisbury Elementary School students Gunner Dickert and Sophia Romero reported a schoolwide Pokemon Coin Battle took place Jan. 27 through Feb 2. Grade three won first place and will receive an inflatable costume race and a DJ during recess.

The coin battle raised a total of $3,700 and the money will be used to stencil fun activity spaces on the blacktop on the back playground.

On Feb. 9, SES students and staff celebrated the 100th day of school and on Feb. 12 each classroom celebrated Valentine’s Day.

Piloting a new social/emotional learning curriculum was the next topic of discussion presented to the board by SES guidance counselor Cindee Hill-Boddie and kindergarten teacher Christina Attar.

According to Hill-Boddie, a staff survey revealed consistent implementation of the Leader in Me program proved difficult due to time constraints and student engagement was deemed “neutral.” Additionally, the whole-school cultural model of the Leader in Me program focused on leadership and accountability but the needs of students in the post-COVID-19 era indicate a shift toward specific skills that align with the current Multi-Tiered System of Support (MTSS) and support for students’ emotional and mental health.

Attar outlined how the K-4 program is implemented using a co-delivery system by classroom teachers and counselors in weekly 30-minute sessions divided into four units. Units include specific lessons dealing with goal setting, emotional management, empathy and kindness and problem solving.

The program comes in a completely digital format allowing clear progress monitoring and currently SES is on track to complete the program by early spring.

Implementation of the program will come at no cost to the district due to two grants totaling $17,500 that support social/emotional learning in the schools. The program is fully funded until 2030.

Elementary music teacher Stan Griffis showcased the successful resurgence of the fourth grade instrumental band program. Participation in the band program has skyrocketed after it was brought back into the school day and financial barriers were removed due to a concerted effort by Griffis, the Salisbury Foundation and community members to obtain and refurbish instruments for student use. As a result, 80 students will be moving on to the middle school band program.

Griffis extolled the cognitive, academic and social emotional benefits for students participating in band and noted with the growth of the band program, it is putting a strain on the three members of the music department but they strive to create opportunities for students to perform in the community.

Assistant Superintendent Kelly Pauling noted with the influx of band students coming to the middle school level both building principals and teachers have worked extremely hard to coordinate schedules and fill in the gaps but she cautioned it is a fine balance and an issue that will need to be addressed before it breaks down.

In her assistant superintendent’s report, Pauling thanked the technology department for their foray into community engagement leading several technology seminars for novice tech users.

She also outlined some changes in accommodations that will be available to students as state assessments transition to an online format. Several tools will be available including extended time, magnification tools, read aloud words, phrases or items and visual/ graphic aids and math manipulatives.

In other assessment news, the Pennsylvania State Board of Education will be opening math and English Language Arts standards in an effort to streamline the amount of standards. She encouraged Salisbury’s participation in new committees formed as the standards are under review so our district is represented.

SHS has been designated as an Additional Targeted Support and Improvement school by the Pennsylvania Department of Education which is a 3-year designation and requires collaboration and support with the Intermediate Unit 21. A plan of action will be brought before the board in May.

The citizen’s comments portion of the meeting saw the return of SFE cafeteria worker Adrienne Fitzgerald who at last month’s meeting came to the board meeting to ask, “Can we offer food to students before we throw it in the garbage?”

She said she is disheartened by the silence her question elicited. “Not a single question. Not a single comment. Just nothing.”

While she remarked she does not want to become the center of this story, she said after speaking out last month, her supervisor explained to her why it is not possible. She agreed to disagree and was subsequently terminated from her job one and a half weeks later.

She said she is sharing her story, “because it shows how uncomfortable this topic seems to be for the adults in charge. Why the children who are affected by it don’t have the luxury of avoiding hunger. They don’t get to ignore the decisions that we make.”

She went on to say that losing her job did not take away her voice or her responsibility to speak out for students. Instead she is more determined to make sure their needs are not met with silence.

She closed by saying she may no longer be an SFE employee “but I am still a constituent, still a taxpayer, still a member of this community and I will be watching.”

A reporter for The Press investigated further into the guidelines that must be followed in order to participate in the National School Lunch Program and found there are strict dietary rules and regulations that must be followed.

Salisbury participates in the Community Eligibility Provision program which provides free breakfast and lunch to all students in the district but guidelines such as one complete meal per student must be enforced as deviations from the rules could jeopardize CEP status which would affect the entire district.

As for disposal of unused meals, there are three ways in which to do so. Food can be donated to a 501(c)3 entity but the amount of food is usually too small to meet the needs of most nonprofits.

Food can be offered to identified economically disadvantaged students but it must be offered to all identified needy students in all buildings. The logistics of getting a few leftover food items to eligible students across the district makes the process next to impossible.

The last and least desirable solution is to throw the food away.

The district does what it can to safely store unused food and reserve food the next day to cut down on waste. For example, leftover chicken nuggets can be safely stored and repurposed in chicken bowls to be served first the next day. Unfortunately, pizza must be disposed of.

There is also an established sharetable where students can place packaged/unopened items for students to freely take what they need. Sharetables are allowed under the National School Lunch Program.

Also of note is that the district does not allow students to go hungry and they are welcomed to take as much as they would like from the salad bar.

These rules and regulations are statewide so any changes must be made by contacting local representatives for our area. These include state Sen. Nick Miller, D-14th, state Rep. Peter Schweyer, D-134th or state Rep. Milou Mackenzie, R-131st.

The next meeting of the Salisbury Township School Board curriculum and technology committee will be 7 p.m. March 11. All meetings are held in the administration building, 1140 Salisbury Road, Allentown.