The Superintendent Update

Dear Pottsgrove School Community,

Welcome to the first edition of the Superintendent’s Newsletter! I plan to share this newsletter quarterly to keep our school community informed about what is happening across the district. Our principals do a great job providing monthly updates, and this newsletter will offer a broader district perspective, highlighting our successes, sharing important updates, and keeping you informed about the work ahead.

I would like to thank you for the warm welcome I have received. Whether I am visiting classrooms to see our students and staff in action or attending school and community events, I continue to feel the pride and support that make Pottsgrove special. Thank you for making me feel part of this community.

One of my goals this year is to strengthen communication with our families and community. We will continue to use our school messaging system to share important information while being mindful of the number of messages we send. We want those messages to remain useful and meaningful to you.

Social media also gives us an opportunity to celebrate our students and staff and share district news. These accounts will serve as a channel for highlighting the great things happening across our schools, and sharing important district news, while questions and concerns should be directed to the people best positioned to help.

For concerns involving a specific school, please contact the building principal. Districtwide concerns should be directed to the superintendent’s office, and questions about Board policy or governance should be directed to the School Board. Direct communication allows us to understand your concerns, gather accurate information, and respond in a timely manner. We cannot reliably monitor or resolve concerns raised in social media discussions, so please reach out to us directly. Your feedback matters, and we appreciate your support as we work to keep communication clear and productive.

The Pottsgrove School District website is a valuable resource for families, offering a wealth of information at both the district and building levels. From important announcements and upcoming events to school-specific updates, calendars, and resources, we encourage families to visit our website regularly to stay informed.

As we move from the fall sports season into winter, I look forward to the concerts, school activities, and special events that bring our community together. These moments give us opportunities to celebrate our students’ talents and the dedication of the staff who support them.

Thank you for being part of our Pottsgrove family. Go Grove!

Dr. Gregory Puckett
Superintendent of Schools

Mr. Anspach is a familiar face and voice of Pottsgrove! As our district’s Director of Athletics and Co-Curriculars, he can be seen at nearly every athletic and co-curricular event, supporting our students, coaches, and school community. His tireless work ethic and dedication help our athletic and co-curricular programs thrive and contribute to Pottsgrove’s continued recognition for sportsmanship in the Pioneer Athletic Conference (PAC).

Thank you, Mr. Anspach, for all you do to support our students and athletes while representing Pottsgrove with pride!

Research shows that when students are in school, they learn better. Please help us by making sure our students come to school every day on time and ready to learn.

11/3 - No School for Students

11/10 - School Board Meeting

11/23–11/24 - Parent Teacher Conferences

11/26–11/27 - No school - Holiday

11/30 - End of 1st Trimester

December

12/1 - School Board Reorganization Meeting

12/8 - School Board Meeting

12/23 - Half Day

12/24–1/1 - Winter Recess

Pottsgrove High School has had a great start to the school year, with October bringing many opportunities to celebrate our students and school traditions! Throughout the month, our athletic teams recognized senior student-athletes during Senior Night celebrations. Homecoming Week also brought many celebrations at the high school including, spirit week, the annual bonfire, pep rally, Homecoming Ceremony, Pink Out football game, and dance. Students participated in Red Ribbon Week, promoting healthy, drug-free choices through themed dress-down days and a tulip-planting project in partnership with Family Services. With the first marking period now complete, we encourage families to review their student's academic progress and reach out to teachers or guidance counselors with any questions. Thank you for your continued support and for helping make the start of the school year a great one at The Grove!

October has been a busy month at Pottsgrove Middle School as we continue to focus on student achievement, school culture, and student safety. Students recently completed their fall Firefly Reading and Math Diagnostic Assessments, and we thank our staff for their teamwork and flexibility throughout testing. The results will help us identify student needs and plan targeted interventions. At the end of September, our PBIS Pep Rally celebrated our school community and reinforced the Falcon 4 expectations of positive behavior, responsibility, and respect. Thank you to everyone who supported our PTA Philadelphia Sports Ticket fundraiser. Students were excited for our PTA Halloween Dance and Picture Re-Take Day. We remain committed to creating a safe, supportive, and welcoming environment where every student can learn, grow, and succeed!

October has been a busy and exciting month at Lower Pottsgrove Elementary School! Our Student Leaders organized a “Real Falcons Wear Pink” fundraiser, with proceeds benefiting the McGlinn Cancer Center of Phoenixville, demonstrating our students’ commitment to supporting an important cause. Our PTA hosted the Fall Scholastic Book Fair on October 6–7 and our annual Trunk or Treat on Saturday, October 17. We also welcomed families to our Family Fun Night on Friday, October 10, for a movie under the stars. It was wonderful to see families come together to support our school’s PBIS initiatives and strengthen the positive school culture we continue to build at LPES. These events reflect the strong partnerships and sense of family that make our school community special.

Congratulations to our September Falcon Spotlights! Each month, one staff member from each of our schools and the District Office is selected as a Falcon Spotlight after being recognized by their colleagues for the positive impact they make at The Grove.

On Thursday, October 15, Pottsgrove hosted a Pennsylvania Senate Majority Policy Committee hearing on social media in the Middle School Library. Led by Senator Argall and Senator Pennycuick, the hearing brought together panelists to share their experiences and perspectives on how social media affects people. In attendance, was the PA District Attorney, members of different safety organizations from multiple counties, and parents who children were victims of social media crimes.

I was honored to be invited to testify, but the true highlight was listening to our two student panelists, Kareen Srour and Adrielle Santiago, both juniors at Pottsgrove High School.

During my testimony, I encouraged the committee to establish a minimum age requirement for social media use, supported by rigorous age verification standards. However, what I most want our community to know is how exceptionally well our students represented Pottsgrove.

Kareen and Adrielle thoughtfully shared both the positive role social media plays in their lives and the challenges they have experienced. Speaking openly about these experiences is not always easy, especially in front of state senators and other public officials. Both students demonstrated remarkable poise, honesty, and professionalism. Their voices brought an essential student perspective to an important conversation.

As superintendent, I am proud to work with students who are willing to speak up, share their experiences, and contribute to discussions that affect their peers. Kareen and Adrielle are just two examples of the amazing students we have throughout our district.

My heart is beaming with pride! GO GROVE!

Two years ago, the district began exploring options to renovate the high school stadium. That process identified several improvements to better serve our students, families, and community.

A key priority is making the stadium accessible to all spectators through improvements that meet Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requirements. The project also includes a turf field, allowing more of our teams and school activities to use the stadium for games and events.

Other improvements include new restrooms on both the home and visiting spectator sides, as required by township code, along with upgraded concession stands and ticket booths.

The project will also help create space for additional programming inside the high school. A new facilities center beneath the home bleachers will allow the Facilities Department to relocate from the high school, freeing up space for future educational opportunities.

With township approval received, the project is now out for bid. We expect bids back in mid-November. If the process moves forward as anticipated, construction could begin in February or early March, with the goal of reopening the stadium by the end of August 2027.

The stadium will be unavailable to our spring sports teams and community during construction. Our Athletic Director has developed alternate arrangements for the affected teams, and we will share additional information as the project progresses.

This is an exciting investment in the Pottsgrove school community. We look forward to sharing updates and welcoming everyone to the renovated stadium!

The safety and security of our students and staff remain a top priority at Pottsgrove. Over the summer, we conducted safety audits at each school building to identify opportunities to strengthen our security measures.

One area we identified was the need for clearer classroom identification for emergency responders. We have added outward-facing signs to classroom windows so police can quickly identify specific rooms when responding to an emergency.

We are also exploring the use of grant funding to enhance security at our school entrances. Planned improvements include cameras and intercom systems outside each building’s entrance. Visitors would use the intercom to request entry while the exterior doors remain locked. Staff would then authorize entry into the secure vestibule.

In addition, we have met with the police chiefs from each township to review our safety protocols and strengthen coordination between our schools and local law enforcement.

Safety is ongoing work, and we will continue to review and improve our practices to help keep our school community safe.

Homecoming Week brought students, staff, and our community together during the week of October 19! The festivities kicked off Thursday evening with a bonfire sponsored by the Student Government Club in the high school’s South Lot. Friday featured a spirited pep rally, followed by the Homecoming Court Ceremony and the Homecoming Football Game. The game also served as our Annual Pink Out Game, with proceeds and donations benefiting the McGlinn Cancer Center at Phoenixville Hospital. The celebration wrapped up Saturday evening with the Homecoming Dance in the high school cafeteria. Thank you to everyone who helped make the week special!

If you have attended one of our football games, you know that halftime brings a special performance by our marching band. What you may not know is that our band also spends weekends competing in Cavalcade of Bands competitions, where they have been scoring at the top of their class!

This Saturday, November 7th, the band will compete in the finals at New Oxford High School at 8:00 p.m. We are proud of the hard work and dedication of our student musicians and band staff. I hope you can come out and support them!

The Business Office has had a busy start to the 2026-2027 school year. The audit of the school district has started and we are actively working with our auditors to complete this process. We anticipate the audit report to be completed by the end of November. The Department has been sending out orders for our school buildings to start the year off. The change in transportation contractors has kept the department busy. The District, in partnership with our transportation contractor, has launched First View, a new bus tracking app that allows families to monitor their student's bus location in real time. Information about the app, including instructions for downloading and registering, has been shared with families. In the coming weeks, our department will be conducting an open enrollment for the flexible spending account plan.

Curriculum Renewal

Throughout the summer and the beginning of the school year, the Curriculum Office has been focused on our curriculum renewal process. We were excited to implement new instructional resources for Science K-12 and within our World Language Department. This included receiving and inventory many items over the summer in preparation for the first day of school. In addition, the Curriculum Office has also launched the renewal process for K-12 Social Studies. This process will result in recommendations for new social studies programming that will be made to the Curriculum, Instruction, and Technology Committee in March 2027.

Assessment Task Force

Throughout the 2026-2027 school year, a representation of the larger staff will be meeting to analyze the assessments the district uses at various grade levels. This group will be tasked with determining the information we need to collect, identify times during which to collect, and researching resources that can help to collect. Ultimately, this group will be making recommendations for the creation of an assessment calendar for the 2027-2028 school year and beyond. The goal will be to efficiently gather data to show student achievement and growth while maximizing instructional time.

Social Emotional Resource Review

The Pupil Services and Curriculum Offices are collaborating to review existing resources and programming that are currently in use for explicit teaching of social and emotional learning. A group representative of various grade levels and content areas will be reviewing resources to make recommendations for future programming. We expect recommendations to occur by March 2027.

Every school day, our Facilities Department works behind the scenes to keep Pottsgrove’s buildings and grounds safe, clean, and ready for learning. The department includes five maintenance staff members, 4 grounds staff members, 25 custodians, and 2 administrators, all working toward one shared mission: to provide a safe and healthy environment for the students, staff, and guests of the Pottsgrove School District.

When people ask what our facilities team does each day, the simplest answer is, “If it’s within our schools’ property lines, we help take care of it.” From maintaining building systems and making repairs to caring for athletic fields, cleaning classrooms, and preparing spaces for school and community events, their work touches nearly every part of the district.

Much of this work happens before students arrive, after they leave, and throughout the year. It takes teamwork, flexibility, and careful attention to detail to meet the daily needs of our schools while responding to unexpected challenges. We appreciate the pride our facilities staff takes in our district and the important role each team member plays in creating welcoming spaces where students can learn and thrive.

The HR team is busy keeping our district supported, compliant, and fully staffed! Here is a quick snapshot of what we are working on and a few helpful reminders for all team members:

• ERP System Data Review: We are currently auditing our system data to maintain precise accuracy for state reporting.
• We are Hiring (Referrals Welcome!): We are actively recruiting paraprofessionals, substitute teachers, and sub paras.
• Substitute Teachers: A bachelor's degree is required, but a PA teaching certification is not required.
• Paraprofessionals (Full-Time or Sub): High school diploma or higher required.
• Act 55 Training: Mandatory Act 55 safety training modules are being assigned to staff through the Vector training platform.

Thank you to our staff for all you do to support our students and keep Pottsgrove running smoothly!

The Pupil Services Department has been buzzing with activity as we kicked off a successful school year across our five buildings. To catch up on our latest developments and access key resources, check out the Pottsgrove Village Newsletter and visit the Pupil Services Webpage. Below are a few updates and upcoming events to keep on your radar:

• Free Produce Distribution: Given strong positive interest from the community, our Social Work team has partnered with Sharing Excess to offer free produce distributions at West Pottsgrove and Lower Pottsgrove Elementary Schools. Distributions took place on October 16 and October 30, with the next distribution scheduled for November 13 at 3:45 PM. View the Free Produce Program Flyer for full details.
  
• PIAA Unified Strength & Conditioning: PGHS proudly debuted its first-ever Unified Strength and Conditioning team, where athletes with and without disabilities train and compete side-by-side. The team had a match on 10/22 at Pottsgrove; 10/26 at Governor Mifflin; and 10/29 at Spring Ford.
• "How to Advocate for Your Child" Event: Join the Pottsgrove Village and Pupil Services admin team on November 16, 2026 (6:00 – 7:30 PM) at the Pottsgrove High School Library for a panel discussion. Learn how to navigate early supports, understand 504s vs. IEPs, and prepare for parent-teacher conferences at the end of November. Free child care is provided! See the Advocacy Panel Event Flyer & Sign-Up to reserve your spot.
• Special Education Plan: This past spring a steering committee of representative voices of staff, families, community and board members, came together to develop the Pottsgrove District Special Education Plan. Check out the finalized version on our District website and thank you to those team members who helped us build our updated plan.

This summer, the technology department was hard at work making the shift from Chromebooks to MacBook Neos for our high school students, a reality. We have also begun the installation of SMARTboards in our classrooms. Two major changes to our classroom technology landscape.

The Neos arrived on the market last Spring and after cost comparison, we are happy to have the Apple devices back in our inventory, and I think the students welcome them in place of the Chromebooks.

This year we installed nearly 60 SMARTboards across all buildings in the district. They are a change from our aging projectors. The SMARTboards offer a variety of other options in terms of presentation for our teachers. Since this is our first year using such devices, we are taking our time to work through the advantages and challenges our teachers may face with this new device. Like any teaching and learning tool, we are working to ensure its value and that our teachers and students are successful.

Welcome to the 2026/27 School Year!

My wife Denise and I have lived in the Pottsgrove School District for over 45 years. We have two sons and four grandchildren who graduated K-12 from Pottsgrove School District, as well as two granddaughters who are currently in grades 10 and 12 at Pottsgrove High School. We are grateful for the quality of education and social/emotional development they received from our school district, and I’m honored to have the opportunity to give back to our community through my service on the School Board.

The 2026/27 school year brings a lot of “newness” with it:

• We are pleased to welcome our new Superintendent, Dr. Greg Puckett. We are excited by the energy, competence, and relationship-focused leadership he brings to the position! If you haven’t had the chance to meet with him and hear his vision and goals, I suggest you do so.

• We are continuing with our plans to upgrade our track and stadium. It’s been many years since we have invested in these assets, and I think you willl be pleased with the outcomes of our efforts. The new tennis courts are completed, and work on the track and stadium will begin around February/March. An added advantage is that our marching band will no longer have to practice in the parking lot!

• In December, the School Board is meeting for a Board workshop to review and strengthen our approach to school district governance and finalize our goals for the year. The workshop will be facilitated by the Pennsylvania School Boards Association.

I have frequently said that Pottsgrove School District is a “little school district with a big heart,” and I continue to believe this is true. We have the curricular and extra-curricular offerings of the larger schools, combined with competent and relationship-oriented teachers, staff and administrators.

I am proud to be a part of it all, and I hope you are also!

Jay Strunk

President, Pottsgrove School Board