Hello Agora!
My name is Danielle Schall, and I have the privilege of serving our amazing students as the High School Assistant Director of Special Education. I began my journey at Agora 12 years ago and have had the opportunity to work with so many wonderful students, families, and faculty from kindergarten through high school as a Special Education Teacher, Instructional Coach and Assistant Director.
I grew up in Philadelphia and graduated from Temple University. I currently live in Montgomery County with my husband and our three beautiful children, ages 11, 9, and 4. Outside of Agora, I enjoy spending quality time with my family, teaching dance classes, crafting, and participating in my children’s school events and extracurricular activities. I always make an effort to recognize and appreciate all of the little things life has to offer.
My experiences as a child who struggled throughout school inspired my passion for teaching and my desire to become someone who could make a difference for students. As someone who has been with Agora for 12 years, I love having the honor of seeing my former elementary school students graduate from high school. I am thankful to know that like me, they found their place to belong here at Agora. I can be reached at dschall@agora.org. Please reach out to me with questions or to say hello!
Danielle Schall
Assistant Director of Special Education
If January is any indication of what's to come, February is going to be one cold month! Not only is it important to stay warm physically, but it is also critical to maintain warm relationships. According to the Mayo Clinic, having strong social connections and good friends is beneficial to our health and well-being. Friends are there to celebrate our good times and support us in the not-so-good times. Additionally, friends increase our sense of belonging, reduce stress, improve our self-confidence, and encourage us to change or avoid unhealthy habits. The national calendar celebrates friendship in February with Send A Card To A Friend Day (Feb. 7) and Make A Friend Day (Feb. 11). Watching a movie with a friend is a great way to enjoy a frosty winter afternoon! If you were snowbound or grounded by the cold, what movie would you choose to view with a friend? Below, some of the high school administrators share a movie or a binge-worthy show they recommend with popcorn, hot chocolate...and a buddy!
Jeff Miller - Star Wars
Eric Buffington - Percy Jackson (series)
Paul Harkins - The Office
Erin Hilson - The Holiday
Heather McCormick - Ted Lasso
Holly Allen - Home Improvement
Morgan Witman - Glee
Valerie Natale - The Greatest Showman
Danielle Schall - Friends
The high school PBIS All-Star program recognizes positive behavior in the classroom. High school students are encouraged to nominate classmates who demonstrate Agora's core values of learner-centeredness, wellness, responsibility, and engagement in their classes. Each month, five students' names will be randomly drawn from the pool of student nominations (one from each of the five content areas), and those five students will be recognized as the PBIS All-Star students for that month. The monthly PBIS All-Star students will be announced in this newsletter, in The Agora Times (our high school newsletter for students), and celebrated in live class sessions.
🤩CONGRATULATIONS🤩 to the December 2023 PBIS All-Star students!
- Zakk C. - 9th grade - English
- Darby B. - 9th grade- Math
- Harminey A. - 9th grade - Science
- Amy L. - 10th grade - Social Studies
- Lily R. - 10th grade - Electives
- We are excited to announce that we are preparing to launch our PBIS All-Star STAFF program! The All-Star program for staff, modeled after our All-Star student program, will be rolled out in February, with our first All-Star staff members named at the end of the month. Students will have the opportunity to nominate staff members who demonstrate and encourage Agora's core values, and five All-Star staff winners will be randomly selected from all nominations. All-Star staff members will receive a 16-ounce Agora All-Star Staff tumbler and will be publicly recognized in various media. Students are encouraged to nominate any teacher, counselor, family coach, administrator, or other Agora staff member who embodies the PBIS culture of caring and belonging!
Agora is proud to offer our high school students 30 club options where they can achieve, exercise leadership skills, find friends, broaden their interests, and more! Below is a list of our high school student clubs. Please encourage your student to consider participating in a club or two! For a description of each club and the student sign-up link, click here:
https://www.smore.com/rqvjc-high-school-clubs
- Agora Car Club
- Agora Theatrics Club
- Anime Club
- Art Club
- Astronomy Club
- A Time For Christ Club
- Book Club
- Chess Club (combined with middle school participants)
- Coffeehouse
- Cooking Club
- Debate Club
- Equine Club
- FBLA - Future Business Leaders of America (Agora chapter)
- F.I.R.E. Club - Female Initiative, Respect, Empowerment)
- Gaming Club
- GSA - Genders & Sexualities Alliance
- Girls Who Code
- Global Awareness Club
- HOSA - Future Health Professionals Student Organization (Agora chapter)
- 4 Diamonds Mini-THON Club
- Photography Club
- Poetry Club
- PYLN - Pennsylvania Youth Leadership Network
- Pursuing Joy Club
- RAKA - Random Acts of Kindness at Agora
- Sable Alliance - fostering unity in our school community through exposure to Black culture
- Spanish Club
- The Agora Times - e-newsletter by and for Agora high school students
- Travel Club
- Writing Club
Act 158 of 2018 (Act 158), signed into law by Governor Tom Wolf on October 24, 2018, provides alternatives to Pennsylvania's statewide requirement of attaining proficiency on the three end-of-course Keystone Exams (Algebra I, Literature, and Biology) for a student to achieve statewide graduation requirements.
In order to graduate from high school, students must meet all local graduation requirements related to credits and coursework along with the state requirements outlined in Act 158. Students must score proficient or advanced and/or score within a specific target range on Keystone exams to meet either the Keystone Proficiency Pathway or the Keystone Composite Pathway. There are alternate pathways that students may be eligible to complete if their Keystone scores do not meet the testing requirements.
Administrators and school counselors are working closely with each high school student to review Keystone scores and help students determine which pathway they are eligible to complete to meet graduation requirements.
- Thursday, January 25: Report cards were published; students should review grades and consider any adjustments that need to be made for the 3rd marking quarter.
- Monday, January 29: 9th & 11th grade student assemblies - link in ClassConnect
- Tuesday, January 30: 10th & 12th grade student assemblies - link in ClassConnect
- Tuesday, February 6: Required advisory session at 3:30--link in ClassConnect
- Wednesday, February 7: Parent-Teacher conferences in the morning and evening; asynchronous day for students
- Monday, February 19: Presidents' Day - school and offices closed
- Wednesday, February 21: Half-day in the morning for students; asynchronous afternoon
Occasionally, high school students will follow half-day schedules with abbreviated classes that are completed by noon. February 21 is a half-day for students to follow the half-day academic schedule; students have classes in the morning only, and staff in-service takes place in the afternoon. The half-day academic schedule for students is detailed in the image to the right.
