Antietam School District is partnering with local institutions to help provide services and host students following a flood that devastated the building for middle and high school students.
The building was deemed unable to be used for the 2023-24 school year that begins Monday after floodwaters from the Antietam Creek on July 9 breached about 90% of the school.
Dr. Heidi Rochlin, superintendent, said that a damage evaluation by state, federal and local emergency agencies is ongoing.
The investigation will play a part in determining if the district is eligible for any emergency funding.
In the meantime, Antietam has taken steps to maintain its educational offerings since the school board voted in July to hold core classes for high school and middle school classes in the Mount Penn Elementary Center.
Partnership with Albright
One major change involves a new partnership with Albright College to educate all sixth-graders on the Albright campus.
Classes will be administered via Albright’s Total Experience Learning program, an approach to instruction that fuses research-based learning with a philosophy of involving students in their own education, according to Albright’s website.
The program began in 2015 at Conrad Weiser High School. It was launched by Adele Schade, formerly a Conrad Weiser teacher, with the goal of allowing students to plan and execute in-depth research projects.
Schade brought the Total Experience Learning to Albright in 2020, where it has since been offered to middle and high school students as summer and after-school programming, as well as a dual-enrollment initiative for high school juniors and seniors to earn college credits.
Students in the program are encouraged to create research projects across a variety of fields, including biomedicine, genetics, environmental studies, agriculture, biotechnology and materials sciences as well as dance, art, music, the humanities, culinary arts and fashion, according to Albright’s website.
“The program with Albright is an amazing opportunity for our students,” Rochlin said.
The version of the program that will apply to Antietam’s sixth-graders will see students traveling from the elementary center to Albright for instruction.
Classes will be taught by Antietam teachers as well as facilitators from Albright trained in Total Experience Learning, according to a fact sheet on the district website.
Student interns from Albright will help students navigate the campus and adapt to the changes, and they will serve as mentors.
In addition, Total Experience Learning will offer professional development training to Antietam teachers and grant them admission to weekly Educator Sanctuary events for teachers from districts enrolled in Total Experience Learning programming.
Antietam officials noted that students will always be supervised by teachers while at Albright, and that lunch and recess will be held in an area separate from college students.
Officials said they are hoping to partner with Aramark, Albright’s food service provider, and that all meals will remain free.
Rochlin noted that sixth-graders who prefer not to engage in the Albright program can enroll in the district’s virtual academy.
Working with Exeter
Antietam is working with the Exeter School District to secure space for classes, meal preparation and sports.
In a statement posted to the district website, officials said Antietam asked Exeter for space for two specialized instruction classrooms of 10 students each.
Exeter is providing Antietam space at Jacksonwald Elementary School for its summer feeding program and is looking into cafeteria solutions for the school year.
In addition, Antietam has asked for space to accommodate its girls tennis and volleyball teams in the fall.
Rochlin noted that all other sports will remain on-site at Antietam.
All clubs and activities will also continue for the upcoming year, Rochlin said.
Other arrangements
Another agreement authorized in August by the Berks County commissioners allows Antietam to use a county-leased warehouse at 160 Water St. in Reading to store furniture and other materials that were not damaged in the flooding, at no cost to the district.
That agreement is subject to final review and approval by the county solicitor’s office.
A partnership for additional classroom space has also been solidified with a local church, Rochlin said. According to information on the district website, students will attend some classes at Trinity United Church of Christ on Cumberland Avenue.
Some students will eat lunch at Trinity UCC, according to the district website.
Regarding criticism from some parents about holding classes in a religious setting among adults who may not have the same safety clearances as district personnel, Rochlin said that adults who will be occupying the space at the same time as the students are required to obtain all necessary clearances and complete background checks.
“Keeping students safe is our number one priority,” Rochlin noted.
At a school board meeting Monday night, Rochlin said the district is getting help from local churches in regards to parking, leasing parking spaces at 23rd Street and Perkiomen Avenue and being gifted 16 more space by St. Catherine’s Church.
“The local churches have been very gracious with their space and offering a helping hand in this time of need,” Rochlin said.
Rochlin said she spoke with Central Berks Regional Police Chief Ray Serafin, who said there would be no changes in traffic patterns for the start of the school year.
(Correspondent Keith Smoker contributed to this report.)
Source: Berkshire mont
Be First to Comment