The Salisbury Township board of directors met April 22 for a curriculum and technology committee meeting where they received student reports, a special education update and an assistant superintendent’s report.

Salisbury High School student Meredith Kelley reported spring sports season is well underway and highlighted the success of each team as well as the individual accomplishment of student Steven Lozada who recently set a new school pole vault record of 14 feet, 11 inches.

She noted the SHS Class of 2026 is enjoying the many activities afforded senior students such as a recent graduation breakfast complete with swag bags and upcoming events such as a class trip to Knoebels Amusement Resort, a May 16 prom and the senior sunset event all leading up to graduation day June 5.

SHS Model UN students attended Cornell University for a three-day conference where student delegates worked together to pose solutions to world problems.

Keystone testing will begin in May as well as Advanced Placement testing.

Lehigh Career and Technical Institute student Samantha Conrad reported on the happenings at LCTI including the completion of competitions for teams participating in Skills USA which has seen a large number of teams moving onto state and national competition.

Senior students are also finishing their National Occupational Competency Testing Institute Exams and look forward to graduation which will be held May 28 at the PPL Center.

At this time most labs are provided an opportunity to experience field trips so they can see what working in their field of study will look like.

Conrad also shared her recent experience at the state capitol in Harrisburg where early childhood education students talked to senators and staffers to advocate for career and technical education, better funding and offer a student’s perspective as the next generation of workers.

Salisbury Middle School students Eden Klocek and Isabella Mercado informed the board that middle school students have raised $2,000 for Niemann-Pick Type C through several successful March for Adam fundraising events during the month of March.

PSSA math, ELA and science testing is taking place at the middle school so in the spirit of celebration and encouragement a week of themed days are set to take place all week.

In other academic news, sixth grade students are incorporating science principles taught in class to create balloon powered cars while eighth grade students will receive a visit from Judge Zachary J. Cohen and participate in a mock trial.

Fourth grade students Vera-Quinn Hallman and Nathan Mottey reported on the news at Salisbury Elementary School, which included the start of the Girls on the Run program for third and fourth grade students. The girls run after school two days a week to prepare for a race held at DeSales University in May.

Students participated in both Down Syndrome Awareness week as well as Autism Acceptance Week throughout the month of March with many activities which culminated in a glow party.

Families were invited to a math game night March 31 where dinner was served and each family played math games and received a bag of math manipulatives and games to play at home.

On April 1 kindergarten students showed off the bonnets they created as they walked around the school in the annual bonnet parade.

SES students are looking forward to a May 5 field day which will be held at SHS.

A reminder that kindergarten registration for the 2026-2027 school year is now open.

During the curriculum portion of the meeting the board heard a presentation from Director of Special Education Dr. Tracey Jacobi and Supervisor of Special Education Michael Vacaro. The presentation provided an in-depth examination of the continuum of special education services provided by the district for a given number of students.

The data presented is based on the 2024 special education population which is gathered on Dec. 1 in a given year and is not available until the following summer.

Notably, the 2024 percentage of the special education population in the district is 25.5% while the state average is 20.7%. The goal is to provide as many services for students inside the district as possible so students can be taught in their neighborhood schools. While the district has increased the number of autistic support classrooms and other needed services it is not always possible to provide appropriate services in-house and outside services must be contracted out.

Jacobi also explained the difficulties of budgeting for students with special needs who move into the district and require programming outside the district. During the 2025-2026 school 17% of new students required out of district programming creating a $685,000 deficit.

STSD Superintendent Lynn Fuini-Hetten emphasized “we never know exactly what expenses will be coming to us for special education because it is our responsibility to make sure students’ needs are met.”

Jacobi shared a draft of a special education action plan to use as a guide to improve math scores, review support systems, staffing levels and utilizing the curriculum to best meet students’ needs.

Fuini-Hetten delivered the assistant superintendent’s report highlighting activities such as a transition planning workshop for parents, a successful math game night and the start of PSSA testing.

She informed the board changes in standards for health and physical education are on the horizon and she noted the work that is currently being done to update the district’s artificial intelligence guidelines for student usage.

The next meeting of the Salisbury Township School board curriculum and technology committee will be 7 p.m. May 13.

All meetings are held in the administration office, 1140 Salisbury Road, Allentown.