Dear WCASD Community,

I hope everyone has been enjoying a great start to the summer! This is such a wonderful time to explore the outdoors, catch up with friends and family, and simply take time to relax.

The beginning of our many summer programs, preparing for the coming school year, and hosting listening sessions with our elementary parents have certainly kept us busy in the best way during this first month of the summer. I am very grateful to all of the families that I've been able to sit down with and exchange ideas about the ways we can make our exceptional district an even better place for our students to learn and grow.

I wish our community a happy and safe Fourth of July!

Important Dates:

July: National Make a Difference to a Child Month

July 4: Independence Day

July 25: School Board Meeting | 7:00 p.m.

The last yearbooks were signed, the last hugs given, the last buses drove out of the parking lot, and with final high fives and smiles this school year officially wrapped up.

Check out the video below to see some of the last moments of the 2021-22 school year.

And just like that our WCASD Class of 2022 are graduates! We could not be more proud of everything these students have accomplished and cannot wait to see what they will do next!

As a Certified Athletic Trainer for the past 40 years, Mark Grothmann has dedicated his impressive career to the diligent care and treatment of athletes while also mentoring students interested in pursuing careers in athletic training and sports medicine. This year at the 2022 Pennsylvania Athletic Trainers’ Society (PATS) Convention in Harrisburg, PA, Grothmann was recognized for his commitment to student learning and exceptional clinical preceptorship with the Outstanding Preceptor of the Year Award.

While Grothmann has held many different roles over 40 years from traveling with athletic teams to working with ESPN, he finds working with students, both on teams and as a professional mentor, to be the most fulfilling.

Get prepped and ready for SAT testing with the Summer SAT Boot Camp Prep Course sponsored by WC East PTO.

The Boot Camp is open to all WCASD high school students and is run by WC East High School teachers! Zoom sessions are held Tuesdays & Thursdays, in August from 3:00 - 5:00 PM. For more information and to register, click the button below!

Three West Chester Area School District students won academic awards at the Jack and Jill of America, Inc. 72nd Annual Eastern Region Teen Conference in National Harbor, Md.

More than 1,000 teenagers from 59 chapters along the East Coast attended the conference.

The Chester County Chapter, which includes families from Chester, Delaware, and Montgomery counties, took home three individual academic awards.

To read the full article on the Patch, click the button below!

The WCASD is offering free memberships to Smart Social’s Very Important Parent (VIP) Program for all parents and guardians of students attending a school in the West Chester Area School District.

Josh Ochs and his team created this program to help parents and guardians understand the numerous social media apps, which ones are safe, which ones to avoid, and how to help their children create a safe and positive digital presence. Through newsletters, live events, and a library of on-demand videos, families learn how to successfully navigate popular social media apps and support their children in becoming capable and aware digital citizens whose social media choices reflect their bright futures.

We hope you will take advantage of this membership opportunity, which is completely free through the WCASD until July 31, 2023. Follow the links below to learn more and sign up today:

1. Visit https://smartsocial.com/westchester to create an account.
2. Get access to all of the courses and sign-up for live events at https://smartsocial.com/members

Choral Music Teacher and Drama Club Co-Director at Fugett Middle School, Matthew Hill,

was recently notified of his acceptance for publication in the PA Music Educators’ Association Magazine, a publication that is sent to every music teacher in the state.

Three professionals reviewed his article before approval and printing. The article, entitled Middle School Choral Music Review-- Rebuilding from a Pandemic!,” features suggested music for fellow choir directors to use as they begin to plan for the fall and work on re-engaging students who haven’t been able to sing as much during the pandemic.

The West Chester Food Cupboard in partnership with WCASD will be distributing healthy and child safe food items free of charge to families in need with school age children. Distribution will take place in the student parking lot of Henderson High School (located on the corner of Montgomery Ave and E. Washington Street - not in the front of the school) on Tuesdays from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. and Thursdays from 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. until Thursday, August 25, 2022.

The West Chester Food Cupboard is also available all year to support families in need. If you, or someone you know, is interested in learning more about Food Cupboard services and who can qualify, visit https://westchesterfoodcupboard.org/ or our community bulletin board.

The WCASD is committed to ensuring the safety and security of our students, staff, and visitors within all of our buildings. As we continue to invest in and evaluate measures that increase the wellbeing of our school community, we have outlined the many existing resources that help make our district a happy and safe to learn and grow.

Safety and Security Personnel:

• In addition to working with our local police departments, the district has a Safety and Security Supervisor and looking to increase the number of Campus Security Officers from two to three before the start of the year.
• These individuals serve each of our feeder patterns and work diligently with local law enforcement and our administration.

Trainings:

• All of our WCASD staff complete required safety trainings including the Youth Suicide Awareness Training, Trauma Informed Care Training and ALICE Training, which is an active shooter training.
• The district also requires monthly cyber security awareness training for all of staff as cyber safety is also a critical concern.

Resources and Practices:

• The interior video surveillance coverage at each of our schools has been greatly expanded.
• In addition to a cloud based system that flags concerning internet searches from students, the district has also improved cellular amplification for communication purposed in the event of an emergency.
  
• The district continually reviews and updates our emergency response plans to ensure that these plans are in alignment with best practices and to make our staff aware of the appropriate response in the event of an emergency.

Mental Health Supports and Preventative Resources:

• In the past two years, the district has increased the number of Mental Health Therapists from three to 12 to better assist our students and staff.
• Our pupil services team also works closer with law enforcement to address and evaluate any Safe2Say reports in addition to their work conducting Violent and Suicide Risk Assessments and Screeners.
• The district has focused on the importance of Social-Emotional Learning practices and strategies to better help our students navigate their social interactions and address behaviors.
  

We will continue to evaluate and improve our safety and security measures to ensure the safety and wellbeing of all those in our buildings and community.

Even before school was out for the summer WCASD students were outside enjoying the great weather while building their communication and teamwork skills - and, having a blast of course!

Our summer learning programs have officially begun and our students have already starting learning or building their skills in many areas! This summer, our learning options for students include the summer academy, book clubs, theme-based learning, preview learning, middle school foundations, high school recovery courses, original credit classes, and more.

If you or your student have any questions regarding our summer learning programs, please email WCASDSummerLearning@wcasd.net.

The Rustin Marching Band is looking forward to December as they will head to Hawaii to represent the state of Pennsylvania and the USS Pennsylvania Battleship in the 2022 Pearl Harbor Memorial Parade!

The students and their Band Director, Michael Shoremount, are honored to be a part of the Pearl Harbor Commemoration Ceremony and Parade and are busy raising funds to defray the costs for students to be a part of the trip. Additionally, any students that will be attending Rustin next year are still welcome to join the band, even without experience playing an instrument.

Check out the Rustin Marching Band's website to learn more about the band, their performance in the Memorial parade, upcoming performances, and how to become a sponsor for the trip!

The Dual Enrollment program offers juniors and seniors the opportunity to concurrently enroll in a college-level course that would be considered a high school elective credit.

Students participating in dual enrollment coursework would receive High school advanced placement credit, as well as college credit, which can help them get a jump start on their college and career goals!

To learn more about Dual Enrollment, click on the image.

On the behalf of the West Chester Area Education Association, and with the support and sponsorship of the Chester County Art Association and Young Rembrandts of Chester County, the 6th Annual E-Poetry Contest was launched this spring. The contest encourages both students and staff throughout the West Chester Area School District to submit original poems in any content area or personal topic of interest, including pieces connected to visual or audible art works.

This year, the contest received over 150 creative entries on a broad spectrum of themes. Each poem was a testament to the true power of words and creativity when sharing messages of strong importance.

Did you know that the WCASD offers a Senior Tax Reduction Incentive Volunteer Exchange Program designed to assist Senior Citizens with the burden of Real Estate Taxes? In return for volunteering their services through this program, senior citizens may be entitled to a rebate of property taxes in accordance with the guidelines outlined on our Senior Tax Reduction Incentive Volunteer Exchange Program webpage.

Before applying to the program, we encourage those interested to review the attached brochure below and the guidelines on our website.