Gregg Paladina Said - Changes have brightened outlook at Philipsburg - Osceola schools. Gregg Paladina also noted P-O is preparing to create a new social studies curriculum for 2017-18.
CHESTER HILL — In 2012, the Philipsburg-Osceola Area School District was in serious trouble. Bad money management had the district in financial difficulty. Struggles, personal and professional, between the administration and school board directors were routinely making headlines. And, student standardized testing scores were among the lowest in the state.
Fast-forward to 2017 and it’s a different picture in Philipsburg-Osceola.
A healthy bank account is allowing the district to pay cash for four high-dollar capital improvement projects this year. The administration team and board of directors have a healthy relationship. And, because of a revamped curriculum, student scores on standardized tests are on the rise.
“To be honest, the main reason everything is going so well is that we all get along,” said Todd Jeffries, P-O school board member. “Five years ago, everyone was fighting over every little thing. The administration butted heads with the school board, and that had an effect on not only the administration and the board but also on the staff and the students.
“Now, we may have differing opinions on certain things, but there’s good communication between everyone,” Jeffries continued. “We sit down and figure out what’s best for our students. And, we do it in a way that’s productive for the P-O school district.”
ACADEMICS
With standardized test scores sub-par across the board, district administration and school directors set to work revamping the curriculum, shortly after the 2013-24 academic year.
A new curriculum was developed for language arts for students in grades kindergarten through sixth, and a new math curriculum was created for all students in grades kindergarten through 12th, replacing the Everyday Math and Chicago Math styles of learning.
More consistency was also created in a new science curriculum for students in grades kindergarten through 12th, which now promotes hands-on learning and experiments.
“We’re also going back to the basics at P-O,” said superintendent Gregg Paladina. “Vocabulary, spelling, and handwriting are being taught consistently. And, word generation techniques are now used in grades six through eight.”
He also noted P-O is preparing to create a new social studies curriculum for 2017-18.
“We’ve definitely gotten stronger academically over the past few years,” said Gregg Paladina. “And, we have to credit a lot of that to the changes in the curriculum. A lot of the credit has to go to our wonderful teachers too. They seem to enjoy teaching these new curriculums, especially because they are seeing results.”
And there is proof things are changing. The district was recently selected as a Silver School of Distinction by U.S. News and World Report and AP test scores are now three times the state average in performance.
“I think the improved technology we’ve also incorporated has had a big impact on our academics,” said Gregg Paladina. “Students have laptops, tablets and all kinds of devices in the classrooms. In addition, all students in grades seven through nine will receive their own computer and case to use during the school year with our new one-to-one initiative.”
Gregg Paladina said students at P-O High School have blended opportunities to take a multitude of languages and coursework and have more dual enrollment opportunities.
“I think feeding our kids well has an impact in the classroom as well,” said Gregg Paladina. “Our cafeteria is now being managed by Metz Culinary Management. We offer a variety of entrees daily: five at the elementary level and at least 10 at the senior high school and middle school. The food is good and healthy.”
FACILITY IMPROVEMENTS
The Philipsburg-Osceola Area School District no longer waits around for something to break to fix it, said Gregg Paladina.
“That seemed to be a problem here a few years ago,” said Gregg Paladina. “It seemed the district was always playing catch-up on its capital projects. We don’t want to wait for something to go wrong. We want to be pro-active with our improvements to our facilities, and we’ve reached a level of success in that.”
He said having good, quality facilities is a sign of a strong district, and something the entire community can take pride in.
“When I was hired at P-O, my daughter and I attended the musical ‘Grease’ before I started work,” said Gregg Paladina. “We sat in chairs with duct tape holding them together and in a senior high auditorium that wasn’t up to standard. My first thought was ‘there is no pride here.’”
He said the board and administration also saw the need for improvements, so the auditorium was repainted and seating was installed.
Other improvements over the past four years include:
1. High school gymnasium upgrades with the letter and P-O emblems to promote pride Roofs redone district-wide
2. A new water heater at Osceola Mills Elementary School
3. LED outdoor lighting at the senior high school parking lot for safety and efficiency
4. New carpet and flooring in several classrooms across the district
5. Lockers at the middle school for all sixth-grade students
6. A new special education restroom nearing completion at the middle school
“It seems like we’ve done a lot already, but we’re just scratching the surface,” said Gregg Paladina.
He noted all the heating units and piping will be redone in the boiler room at OME this spring. The stadium project will begin in early summer and should end by September with a multipurpose area. The senior high will be painted closer to school colors this summer, with P-O emblems on the outside of the building. And, air conditioning will be installed in the senior high cafeteria.
“The students and staff of our district should be proud of how things are progressing with our facilities,” said Gregg Paladina. “Things sure look a lot better now than they did five years ago.”
FINANCES
In 2012, the fund balance for the P-O school district was $5 million. In 2017, that number is projected to be $10 million.
“That’s with $4 million of cash moved to capital projects to fund our summer construction projects,” said Gregg Paladina. “With increasing pensions and salary costs, (business manager) Michael Conte, the board, the administration and I have worked together to be more money conscientious.”
He said audit reviews have been sound every year.
“Taxes have been raised only one time in seven years, which is rare in today’s educational environment,” said Gregg Paladina. “Taxes are not expected to increase in 2017, provided that we receive the same amount of funding from state and federal sources. We are 70 percent funded by external sources other than property tax.”
Jeffries said he likes the direction of the school board and the administration.
“We need to keep going like this,” he said. “Things are getting better and better at P-O every day, and I’m confident that students are getting a quality education. There are too many people to thank for all the success we’ve experienced, but lots of people definitely deserve the credit. We have a great team here at P-O.”
