CENTER VALLEY, Pa. – Southern Lehigh School District Superintendent Michael Mahon presented his objectives for the new year to the school board Monday night. They touched on all aspects of the district’s operations, including technology, curriculum and facilities.
Mahon pointed out its schools’ scores in the U.S. News & World Report rankings. The high school was one top schools in Pennsylvania.
Mahon said the district plans to update its technology and finish upgrades to the internet infrastructure and phone system. He said they intend to implement multi-factor authentication and new student authentication measures.
“Our insurance companies are demanding it and we want to avoid being hacked,” he said. “It’s really what it amounts to.”
Southern Lehigh English Teacher Amy Bausher told board members because the IT had been previously downsized, the school year had a bumpy start. She said problems included seventh-graders receiving laptops that were not charged and programs students weren’t able to access.
“My point is, it is very clear that the decision made to not replace technicians who have left and the recent elimination of two tech coaches has certainly not provided any benefit to our students,” she said. “I ask that you as a board reflect on decisions that have been made and reexamine the need to provide our technology staff with adequate support.”
Mahon said they will be reviewing and doing curriculum planning for English Language Arts, social studies and Spanish. He said they also plan to make materials publicly available on the district website.
Another objective is to review the interactions among guidance counselors, social workers, school psychologists and outside resources to focus on improving positive student outcomes. Some board members said they would like the district to view how guidance counselors are assigned to students. Currently, all students in one family have the same guidance counselor.
Board Director Emily Gehman said she was concerned that some students had multiple guidance counselors throughout their school careers or went without one for months at a time.
“I would ask that those families be spared, or be minimized or be counseled and coached through any additional guidance shifts that need to be made,” she said. “Including if there will be gaps and students won’t be covered by guidance counselors as they were this year.”
He also said one of his goals was to develop and implement a marketing plan for the new stadium that results in new revenue, including for the scoreboard.