Welcome to The View From Here, a blog by School District of Lancaster Superintendent Dr. Damaris Rau. She publishes about once a week on a range of issues, from topics local to international. Rau is a veteran of 35+ years in education, including stints as teacher and principal in urban and suburban school districts. She has been superintendent of the School District of Lancaster since 2015.
Viewers of our recent school board meetings know that the board considered and approved a resolution authorizing the board to furlough employees for economic reasons, as LNP + LancasterOnline reported […]
The state Legislature recently considered an amended bill that would freeze local real estate taxes for the upcoming year in response to the COVID-19 emergency. We join PSBA, PASBO and […]
Dear McCaskey seniors and parents, Many of you have written and called to ask, have we thought about what will happen to commencement and prom? My answer: Every day. Every […]
On Saturday, February 29, about 150 of my colleagues at SDoL gathered for the second day of training to improve equity, inclusion and excellence in our schools. I shared some […]
Due to the extensive media coverage of the Coronavirus, we want to reassure our students, families and staff that the School District of Lancaster is diligently monitoring the situation and […]
On February 19, our school directors unanimously adopted a resolution calling on the General Assembly to enact meaningful charter school funding reform. As I have written before, our biggest financial […]
The first piece of our budget puzzle has fallen into place. Gov. Wolf unveiled his proposed state budget on Tuesday, including his proposals for education funding. For the School District […]
Last week, our school board approved a preliminary budget for the 2020-2021 school year with a projected deficit of more than $10 million. It appears that this will be a […]
Last month, I updated our High School Parent Advisory Committee (PAC) on our school district’s legal case against the PA Department of Education and the idea of fair funding. We […]
Last month, I invited Dr. Jeremy Raff, our coordinator of college & career services, to call for reforms that could help low-income, first-generation college students be more successful pursuing higher […]
On Tuesday, I had the pleasure of attending a special tree-lighting program at Christmas Tree Lane at Clipper Magazine Stadium. The School District of Lancaster is fortunate to have decorated […]
The U.S. House of Representatives and Senate this week passed amended versions of the FUTURE Act, which simplifies the FAFSA process for student financial aid. It also permanently reauthorizes funding […]
On Thursday, I joined with colleagues from nearly 20 urban schools across Pennsylvania to advocate for our students, teachers, staff and families. Specifically, we called on our leaders in Harrisburg […]
It is the season of giving thanks, and as our students and staff embark on a much-deserved break, I want to share how thankful I am to continue to lead […]
On Thursday, I traveled to Philadelphia to participate in a briefing meeting on the PA Advisory Committee to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights. The topic was “Dismantling the School-to-Prison […]
