It has been a busy summer of planning in the Allegheny Valley School District.

When students return Aug. 21, there will be several new programs in place, including a reading series for elementary students, a math intervention pilot program for first and third graders and technology upgrades districtwide.

Superintendent Pat Graczyk said the district is coming off the most productive summer it likely has ever had.

“(Back to school) and graduation are usually the most exciting times of the year,” Graczyk said. “Starting a new school year, everyone coming back, meeting new people and starting on a fresh new page..”

District spokeswoman Jan Zastawniak said Acmetonia students will begin a new reading series titled CKLA/Amplify, which stands for Core Knowledge Language Arts. Teachers have been trained for the program.

“Built on the science of reading, Amplify Core Knowledge Language Arts … sequences deep content knowledge with research-based foundational skills. With new digital features and multimedia resources, it’s now more engaging and flexible than ever,” reads an overview of the program on Amplify’s website.

Acmetonia also will launch a math intervention program called Spring Math for students in first and third grades. Zastawniak said the program assesses classes weekly and determines whether additional support is needed. The support then can be added to class sessions.

In addition, the special education program will extend its co-teaching program to the high school, she said.

“The program is a collaborative approach, enabling special education teachers and classroom teachers to work together to provide instruction to students,” Zastawniak said. “The results of the program in the elementary grades substantiated the expansion of the program.”

The district’s technology department purchased viewboards — similar to a projector display — for some classrooms at the high school. Zastawniak said viewboards were installed last year at Acmetonia.

“The project replaces all projector setups in the individual rooms throughout the district,” she said.

Other technological changes include a new mass notification system, called School Messenger, to relay information to families and staff.

“Emails, texts and phone calls will be made through this system to advise individuals of student absences, cafeteria updates, emergency situations or activities and events,” Zastawniak said.

New email domain: avsd.school

The district also is changing its email domain — the portion of an email address following the @ sign — to avsd.school. The new domain was implemented Monday.

“The new domain is shorter, easier to type and easier to explain over the phone,” Zastawniak said. “Parents, students and the school community should know that any email coming from the school will have the ‘@avsd.school’ address.”

Springdale High School is welcoming three new teachers this year, she said.

Heidi Islas will teach Spanish to students in seventh through 12th grades, while Ray Hutton will be a physics teacher for ninth through 12th grades. A math teacher for seventh through 12th grades will be hired at the school board’s August meeting.

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