Fox Chapel Area School District to welcome students Aug. 22

Fox Chapel Area School District officials are preparing to welcome students for the start of the 2024-25 school year.

First day of classes is scheduled for Aug. 22.

Teachers reported to work and had staff meetings with administrators Aug. 14.

Superintendent Mary Catherine Reljac said there is a lot of enthusiasm coming from the faculty.

“They are working collaboratively in their buildings and with the building principals to start the ramp up for the beginning of the school year,” Reljac said.

“We are so excited about the school year and welcoming people back. I think it’s a year full of promise and opportunity.”

The district has 355 teachers educating about 4,250 students.

One of the goals this year is to build on the district’s strategic vision pillars of “purpose, passion, care and community.”

“We want all students to be able to say, ‘I can, I want to and I belong,’ ” Reljac said. “We want our students to be engaged intellectually, engaged socially, engaged emotionally. If they have those feelings, it helps to make the kind of learning environment that fosters more success for students.”

Social studies expansion

A team of elementary teachers have worked the past few years to upgrade the social studies curriculum.

They used some new resources and piloted a program last year called myWorld by Savvas.

Officials described the program as bringing learning to life through storytelling and literacy instruction with a strong focus on collaboration and communication.

It was so successful that the district expanded it to all K-5 students this school year. The program keeps the students engaged easier than having them reading text books.

“One of the things we really appreciated about the curriculum is the emphasis on communication and students working together as they are completing their learning,” Reljac said. “It was able to help our educators to bring alive some of the concepts of social studies in new ways for our students.”

More student help

The district also adopted a new reading intervention program for students in grades second through fifth called SPIRE.

Officials said the program has six levels of increasingly complex content and is written for students with dyslexia.

It involves systematic, explicit, sequential, multisensory, phonics-based and emotionally sound instruction.

“We are always looking at how we can best meet the students’ needs, whether those are needs for intervention or needs for enrichment,” Reljac said. “Although the district has many different programs for intervention in literacy, we also know that there other programs out there, and there may be some students whose needs aren’t being met as well in the programs we currently have.”

Reljac said SPIRE was selected after nearly two years of research by a team of educators evaluating different programs and resources.

The team was led by Ashley Constantine, district executive director of elementary education and instruction, and Dana Simile, director of literacy. The program was piloted last school year.

Meal plans

Student lunch prices will remain the same. Meals are $2.95 daily for secondary education and $2.65 daily for elementary students. Milk costs 75 cents. Breakfast is free for all students.

All school meals will be free for Hartwood and Kerr elementary schools. Students eligible for reduced-priced lunches will receive free lunch through the state.

New and familiar faces

A couple of personnel moves made over the summer included adding Matthew Patterson as Fox Chapel’s new executive director of secondary education. He previously served as assistant superintendent/director of federal programs for the West Jefferson Hills School District.

Patterson replaces Matthew Harris, who is retiring at the end of September after 30 years of service.

O’Hara Elementary School program Principal Katelyn Toth was promoted to Kerr Elementary principal.

She replaced Paul Noro, who retired at the end of last school year. Kerr has 437 students enrolled.

“I am thrilled to be the principal of Kerr Elementary,” Harris said via email. “Having served as the program principal at O’Hara, I am well aware of the high standards required to lead a successful school in the Fox Chapel Area School District. I am excited to build on the current strengths of Kerr Elementary and sustain the positive momentum the school has already achieved.

“One of my goals is to build strong, positive relationships with students, families and staff. Building positive relationships with the Kerr community will enable me to earn the trust of all team members, which is crucial for achieving our goals and sustaining success.”

The board recently approved hiring former Yough Intermediate Middle School Principal Kevin Smetak as O’Hara’s new program principal. Smetak also worked for the Freeport Area School District.

Reljac said Smetak is going to be a great asset for the district.

Many of the other staffers from last school year have remained in their respective roles.

More information about district activities is available at fcasd.edu.