West Chester Area School District

Dear WCASD Community,

It's hard to believe that the end of the school year is rapidly approaching! Although, with so much going on throughout our district, it's no wonder that time seems to be flying by. While the next few months may at times feel daunting with so much to do and so little time, we are ready and excited to enjoy every moment spent celebrating with you.

In the coming weeks, we have a such a wide variety of events - holidays, moments of appreciation, and more taking place. From concerts and performances to sporting events and local, state, and nation competitions, there is truly an opportunity for everyone to get involved in our district. These experiences also demonstrate the wealth of talent and dedication that fills community. We are grateful for the continued support of our families and community members, who play an integral role in helping our district thrive.

As we look ahead to the remainder of the school year, I hope that you will take a moment with me to appreciate the hard work and achievements that our students and staff have already accomplished. We look forward with excitement to all of the events and initiatives that are yet to come.

To make sure that you don’t miss a moment, check out the list of upcoming events in our Celebrate the Arts Flyer.

Important Dates:

April: Autism Acceptance Month | National Poetry Month | School Library Month

April 1: April Fool's Day

April 2: Autism Awareness Day

April 3-7: National Assistant Principal Week

April 5: Paraprofessional Appreciation Day

April 5: Passover

April 6: Schools Closed - No School for Students

April 7: Schools and Offices Closed | Good Friday

April 9: Easter

April 10: Schools Closed - No School for Students

April 11: Pupil Services Committee Meeting | 6:30 p.m.

April 11: Education Committee Meeting | 7:00 p.m.

April 12: Spellman Humanitarian Awards

April 16: Community Gathering | 2:30 PM.

April 17: Property & Finance Committee | 6:30 p.m.

April 21: Schools Closed | Eid-Al Fitr

April 22: Earth Day

April 23-29: National Library Week

April 23-29: Administrative Professionals Week

April 24: School Board Meeting | 7:00 p.m.

April is a month filled with special staff recognition and appreciation! We ask you to join us in thanking these groups of tremendous, dedicated WCASD staff who ensure that our students, fellow staff members, families, and our community are supported throughout the entire year.

Thank you to our Assistant Principals, Paraprofessionals, Librarians and Library Aides, and Administrative Professionals - we are a better district, a better team, and a better community because of you!

The Fern Hill Bobcats celebrated Women's History Month with local female leaders!

After a short musical performance, local leaders including state Senator Carolyn Comitta, West Chester Mayor Lillian Debaptiste, West Chester Borough Council member Lisa Dorsey, and our own Substitute Superintendent, Dr. Kalia Reynolds, shared a bit about themselves, their roles in the community, and words of wisdom. They encouraging all of our WCASD students to dream big and find their passions!

Thank you, Ben and Kira, for your wonderful report on all of the events, activities, and learning experiences taking place at Mary C. Howse. We especially loved hearing about the letter writing skills you're learning and how your school's mascot can answer just about any question!

We would also like to welcome our new School Board Director, Mr. Alex Christy, to the WCASD School Board. Mr. Christy is serving through this coming December to complete Dr. Shaw’s term. We look forward to working with Mr. Christy and the full school board to continue pursuing our district’s goals and serving our students, staff, families, and community.

The 2023 PMEA Region 6 Orchestra was co-hosted by Katrina Kelly (Henderson HS Orchestra Director) and Liz Shafman (Rustin HS Orchestra Director) at Rustin High School from March 9th - 11th. The students involved from both District 12 (Chester, Delaware and Philadelphia Counties) and District 11 (Bucks and Montgomery Counties) rehearsed on Thursday and Friday March 9th and 10th and performed an outstanding concert at Rustin on Saturday, March 11th. The orchestra was directed by Dr. Emily Freeman Brown from Bowling Green State University and the repertoire was, The Overture to the Merry Wives of Windsor, Beethoven's 2nd movement of the 7th symphony, a newer piece, Fanfare Ritmico by Philadelphia native Jennifer Higdon and Masquerade Suite by Aram Khatchaturian.

In order to get to this level, students had to successfully pass through 2 previous auditions. At the region festival, students auditioned again for the possibility of moving on to All-State. We are proud to announce that three WCASD string students are moving on to Pennsylvania All-State. Senior, Daniel Cheng, concertmaster for the PMEA Region 6 Orchestra from East High School and two students from Rustin High School, sophomore violinist Vidhu Sriram and junior bassist, Addie Kelly.

The WCASD High School String Teachers are extremely proud of all 11 of our string students from East and Rustin and the 1 wind student from Henderson who successfully auditioned for Region Orchestra and are excited for the 3 moving on to All-State.

(HHS student, Michael Li, not pictured).

At Glen Acres Elementary School, jump roping isn’t just fun and games – it’s an opportunity to connect as a community and even save lives. During the 2022-23 school year, Glen Acres Elementary School raised almost $40,000 through the Kids Heart Challenge, benefiting the American Heart Association (AHA). This impressive accomplishment demonstrates the school’s commitment to not only the health and wellbeing of their students but also their dedication to giving back to the community.

Read the full article on the Daily Local or by clicking the blue button!

Congratulations to WCASD East students, Brooklyn and Joseph! These students were recently awarded 1st place in the National History Day Regional Competition at the Chester County Historical Society.

Brooklyn and Joseph researched, developed, and presented on their topic, "Susan LaFlesche: Doctor. Reformer. Trailblazer.” through the medium of a website. They earned the opportunity to compete in the State Competition for National History Day!

WC East High School hosted its 3rd Annual Coding Contest at West Chester University! 18 teams from local high schools competed against each other to solve challenging coding problems and be declared the winner.

The problems were very tough, but students worked together to get that "ah-ha moment" and pushed themselves to think outside of the box. Thank you to our incredible WCASD staff and contest sponsors, WCU, Venerable, and bfw high school publishers, for making this possible!

To kick off World Autism Month, Peirce Middle School had Ben Hartranft of Benergy1 come speak to staff and students and the energy, or Benergy, in the auditorium was off the charts!

Ben is an adult with Autism who shares his education, work and life experience through public speaking to encourage Autism acceptance and awareness. Substitute Superintendent, Dr. Kalia Reynolds, loved getting to meet and talk to Ben as much as he loved meeting her!

Congratulations to the West Chester East Boys Ice Hockey team as they secured their third straight state championship over the weekend!

Don't miss spectacular performances of "Annie Jr." by the talented students of Peirce Middle School!

Join the cast from May 5-7 as they bring the heartwarming story of Annie to life, complete with unforgettable musical numbers and captivating choreography. Don't wait, get your tickets now to experience the magic!

For the second year in a row, the Penn Wood Daisy Scouts donated girl scout cookies to PWE staff as part of their efforts to recognize and celebrate Hometown Heroes!

This sweet treat and incredibly thoughtful gift is quickly becoming something the PWE staff look forward to each year. Thank you, Daisy Scout Troop #45!

During the varsity championship match held on Tuesday evening, West Chester East High School came out on top among 22 other Chester County schools in the Chester County Academic Competition, facilitated by the Chester County Intermediate Unit (CCIU) and sponsored by Franklin Mint Federal Credit Union. West Chester East will represent Chester County at the PA State Academic Competition on Friday, April 28, at the Pennsylvania State Capitol.

When asked how it felt to be named the Chester County Academic Competition champions, Dr. Brent Jones, coach of West Chester East’s academic team exclaimed, “We are so thrilled to be representing Chester County and we can’t wait to go to the Capitol – it’s so exciting!”

Read the full article on the Daily Local News by clicking "article" or the blue button!

Shoutout to GIANT Food Stores for their incredible generosity! Thanks to all those who "rounded up" at the register in recent months, Giant donated almost $40,000 to the district.

This contribution will help provide much-needed resources and support for our students facing issues of food insecurity and food access. Thank you, Giant, for investing in our community!

The House of Hope Concert at East High School featured incredible student performances, student hosts, student crews, students ushers, student-everything, and they did an amazing job!

Not only was it simply a great night to be a part of, the event raised over $13,800, which is the most that's ever been raised in the 13-year history of the House of Hope! Well done to all student performers, hosts, and especially to Saanvi Bhatia, Jacob Samuel, and Daniel Cheng for their leadership.

It was a fun family evening of dotting cards, cheering friends, shouting B-I-N-G-O! and raising money for the Fugett MS Best Buddies Program! Thank you to the local businesses who donated goods to the fabulous evening.

Come together for an evening of learning and discussion around building community within the WCASD. We will explore how social awareness and relationship skills are foundational to a safe and supportive community for all.

Each session will include purposeful prompts to facilitate sharing, reflection, and solutions-based practices and strategies around building community. Remaining session dates are:

• April 12 - Henderson Feeder Elementary Schools
• April 19 - High Schools
  

Students in Mrs. Schaller's class at Exton Elementary all become Phillies super fans on the Opening Day of Major League Baseball!! Through a variety of Opening Day-themed learning activities like team salary research, pretend reporting, primary source reviewing, these students get to have a blast while learning.

This year, they were also able to share that excitement with Fox29 and the Daily Local News. To watch the Fox29 segment, click on the photo above or Fox29 Exton. To read the article in the Daily Local, click "article" or the blue button.

Thank you to the West Chester Area Education Foundation (WCAEF) for an incredible night of fun and fundraising for our students! The Harlem Wizards and the WC Schoolers put on a great game for all in attendance and had tons of fun along the way.

The event raised over $22,000 and every cent goes into the classrooms of the WCASD. To see more photos of the event, visit the WCAEF website!

And thank you again to all of our incredible volunteers and sponsors for making this such a wonderful night!

At various times throughout the year, community members may request a review of instructional materials or books related to the WCASD. When this occurs, the Superintendent can create a committee to review the material in question. Parents and community members are an important part of the committee and review process.

If you would be interested and willing to serve on review committee if the need should arise, we encourage you to complete a brief interest form by clicking the blue button.

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.