CHELTENHAM Student members of the Montgomery County Cultural Proficiency and Equity Student Ambassadors had one critical question for state legislators during a recent virtual town hall: âWhy arenât we spending more on education?â
Yasir Valentine, a senior at Cheltenham High School, posed the challenge during the town hall discussion, organized by the student organization and their adult consultant Carmina Taylor.
Since launching last February, the group has involved 80 high school students across eight different school districts in Montgomery County who are meeting monthly.
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According to Taylor, Cheltenham, Norristown, North Penn, and Upper Dublin were the organizationâs original members, and Abington, Hatboro Horsham, Lower Moreland, and Upper Moreland school districts later joined.
WEST NORRITON â At Mondayâs school board meeting, Norristown Area School District Superintendent Christopher Dormer noted that staff will soon be busy preparing for on-site, in-person instruction five days a week for the upcoming  2021-2022 school year. Students return to class Aug. 30.
The board also approved a $173 million preliminary budget with no tax increase and increased staffing, as noted in Dormer s remarks to the board. Final approval will be in June.  Despite all the financial challenges that weâve endured throughout this pandemic, tonightâs proposed budget demonstrates a commitment of this board and this administration to support all taxpayers, families, staff and stakeholders in this great community, Dormer said. It is remarkable to think of where we were financially just a few years ago. We want to be able to propose a budget tonight that includes a zero percent tax increase, proposes no use of fund balance as a one-time revenue sou
NORRISTOWN For a Norristown teacher, some exciting news arrived in the form of a cleverly executed hoax.Â
Earlier this year, Donald Conaway was notified that he had been chosen as the NHL (National Hockey League) Most Valuable Teacher for March, netting the Norristown Area School District a $10,000 grant, which was presented to Conaway at Eisenhower Science and Technology Leadership Academy where he teaches eighth grade.
That victory meant Conaway, who motivates his classes to learn through a high-tech game of hockey called Future Goals Hockey Scholars, was in the running for the NHL Most Valuable Teacher of the Year when votes were cast between May 3 and 7.
LANSDALEÂ â A team of four Republican challengers are running in the May 18 primary for seats on the North Penn School board.
The North Penn Stronger Together team of candidates Jessie Bradica, Frederick Froehlich, Michael Kennedy and Harry Snyder have all filed on both the Democratic and Republican ballots, as have current board members Tina Stoll, Christian Fusco, Jonathan Kassa and Al Roesch.
All eight candidates were asked the same questions, and below are the answers for the North Penn Stronger Together team.
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Describe your background and qualifications for school board.
I have three children in North Penn schools, and have been an active volunteer both in the schools and our community since we moved here seven years ago. I gave up my career as a Regional Marketing Manager for a $6.4 Billion Company to raise my children and serve my community. I have been volunteering and working with children and families ever since. My volunteer and work exp
WEATHER
There will be some sun and, maybe, a few showers as well. Expect the high to hit about 65 degrees.
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NEWS
An urban farming program in the city expects to continue for at least five more years, teaching kids about healthy foods by actually growing them. Greener Partners has been working in Chester for over a decade, including a program at Chester Charter Scholars Academy, where the program had a garden last spring and fall. Greener Partners mission is to strengthen community health through equitable fresh food access, abundant gardens and farms, and discovery-based learning. It was founded in 2008 to connect communities in the Philadelphia area to healthy food, farms and hand-on educational programs. What started as a group of parents with a half-acre that reached 200 kids that first year has grown to include food access and food education programs for more than 100,000 in the Delaware Valley.