PA at historic crossroads for school funding
Gov. Shapiro proposed an increase of more than $1 billion in basic education funding, including an additional $9.9 million for SDoL.
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The court did not specify what it considered “adequate funding.” Still, the state’s Basic Education Funding Commission in February issued a report finding the adequacy gap of $5.1 billion, which it proposed closing over five years.
In his proposed 2024-2025 budget, Gov. Josh Shapiro proposed an increase of more than $1 billion in basic education funding, including an additional $9.9 million for SDoL. To become law, the state’s budget must be approved by both the House and Senate and signed by the governor.
“For years, the state’s Basic Education Funding Commission has recognized school factors like poverty and fluency in English require significant resources,” said SDoL Superintendent Dr. Keith Miles. “These resources are essential for us to provide the academic interventions, specialized instruction, and mental health supports our students need without undue burden on our local taxpayers.”
Local effort
School District of Lancaster taxpayers are doing their part. The district’s “local effort capacity index,” a measure the state uses to determine the local tax burden, is in the top 10% among all Pennsylvania school districts. But not all tax rates are the same.
| New Hope-Solebury | SDoL | |
|---|---|---|
| Tax rate | 13.6 mil | 25.1 mil |
| Local revenue per child | $29,852 | $9,618 |
| State revenue per child | $5,375 | $11,755 |
| State/local per child | $35,228 | $21,375 |
SDoL raises approximately $9,600 per student in local taxes. By comparison, the New Hope-Solebury School District (NHS), located in Bucks County along the Delaware River, raises nearly $30,000 per student–with a tax rate half of SDoL’s.
Why? First, SDoL has almost 10 times as many students as NHS. But more importantly, about 30 percent of properties in SDoL are tax-exempt, including hospitals, colleges, churches, and economic development projects. In all, more than a quarter of a billion dollars in property value generates no tax revenue to the school district.
| New Hope-Solebury | SDoL | |
|---|---|---|
| Economically disadvantaged | 11.8% | 90.0% |
| English language learners | 2.7% | 20.6% |
And which school district needs more? Almost 90% of SDoL students are economically disadvantaged, compared to less than 9% in NHS. One in five SDoL students speaks a language other than English. In NHS, it’s fewer than 2%.
“This is exactly why the courts and the commission have found Pennsylvania’s funding system unconstitutional and inadequate,” Dr. Miles said.
Justice 4 Education
A group of concerned citizens is trying to convince lawmakers to chart a course to adequate, sustainable funding for PA schools. POWER Interfaith, a grassroots organization based in Philadelphia with a branch in Central Pennsylvania, organized a rally on April 18 in front of J.P. McCaskey High School.
“This rally, including students, parents, teachers, administrators, faith leaders, and local allies from many school districts coming together, was about raising our collective voices to tell the governor and the general assembly to enact full, equitable, and constitutional funding for public education this year,” said Rev. Matthew Lenahan, the lead organizer of POWER
Interfaith in Lancaster. “Thirteen out of 16 districts in Lancaster County are not adequately funded. This is a failure on the part of our elected leaders to ensure that every student has what they need to succeed. Now is the time for justice for education.”
Listening, learning, and looking ahead
SDoL superintendent settles in
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“As I visit schools and speak with staff, one thing I consistently hear is the main strength of our district is our diverse students and families,” Superintendent Dr. Keith Miles said. “And our students consistently tell me the main strength of our district is our caring staff.”
Students are praising their teachers for caring about them and supporting them, they like the extracurricular activities offered at their school, they appreciate the technology they can use for learning.
At the same time, students say they want more hands-on experiences and shadowing opportunities, they want more and better food options in the cafeteria, and they worry about student behaviors that can interrupt the school day.
Staff say the district is making good progress in rolling out better curricula and training on trauma-informed practices. They believe the district is making strong efforts to meet the needs of diverse learners and support refugee students new to the United States. And they believe the district has strong community partners and maintains positive communication between schools and families.
Staff also say the district can increase its mental health supports for students, more quickly identify students who would benefit from special education, and improve communication within schools and between central offices and the staff.
“We are seeing some trends and we’re creating plans to address issues that come up throughout the year,” Dr. Miles said. “Some items we can address right away, others will require more comprehensive planning” as part of the district’s new strategic plan, which is being developed and will be presented to the school board this spring.
Growth in proficiency from 2021 to 2023
on the Pennsylvania State System of School Assessment (PSSA) exams, given annually to students in grades 3-8.
+10%
English Language Arts (ELA) proficiency
+14%
mathematics proficiency
Three years on, the COVID-19 pandemic continues to have a significant impact on educational outcomes in the School District of Lancaster and across the nation.
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Surging Growth
The Pennsylvania Value-Added Assessment System (PVAAS) is not a separate assessment; it is a system used to determine student academic growth based on existing assessments (PSSA and Keystone). For the past two years, SDoL has achieved some of the highest growth rates for the most students in the 30-year history of PVAAS.
English Language Arts Achievement
District students are approaching pre-pandemic achievement rates in English Language Arts, especially at the secondary levels. The district implemented a new ELA core curriculum for students in K-2 in 2020-2021 and in grades 3-5 in 2021-2022.
Mathematics Achievement
Like English Language Arts, math scores are approaching pre-pandemic levels. In general, student performance in math tends to decline as students move up in grade levels. The high school Keystone scores were artificially low due to the impact of COVID-19 on the testing cohort and test requirements. Over the past two years, the district implemented a new elementary math curriculum which is designed to enhance students’ understanding of math concepts. The district also invested in specialized teachers to provide additional support to elementary math learners in the formative years.
Advanced course participation
With the International Baccalaureate program, IB Middle Years Programme, Advanced Placement (AP), Dual Enrollment, and the region’s most extensive career and technical programs, the School District of Lancaster offers a wide range of advanced courses. It’s a major goal of the district to increase the share of students who participate in one or more of these courses. In 2023, advanced course participation hit its highest rate in five years.
Ninth grade passing rate
A student’s success in ninth grade often determines their outcomes in high school. The more failure they experience as freshman, the more likely they are to drop out of school. SDoL tracks the percentage of freshman who pass ninth grade on their first try, which is now higher than prior to the pandemic.
Attendance
Attendance continues to climb from its pandemic lows, event if not yet back to pre-pandemic levels. However, the 2019-2020 school year is an outlier in that student attendance was difficult to track during the first wave of lockdowns in the spring.
You can view this and much more on the district’s data dashboards
SDoL Fast Facts
88.4%
Economically disadvantaged
18
Schools
1
Cyber Academy
2
Alternative programs
18.6:1
Average class size (K-5)
79
Countries represented
60
Languages spoken
2,071
English Learners
41%
Teachers with 10+ years experience
$27,704
Per student expenditure
Achievements & Innovations
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Standout Students
Congratulations to McCaskey’s four seniors recognized by the National Merit Scholarship Program: Caleb Peters, Susannah Ardia, and Jayd Kendall, who are commended scholars, and Erik Peachy, who is a semifinalist. Fewer than 1% of graduating high school seniors qualify as semifinalists.
Commendations to McCaskey senior Owen Wilson, who received a full scholarship to Hamilton University through the QuestBridge’s National College Match program, which connects the nation’s most exceptional, low-income youth with leading colleges and opportunities.
Fulton third-grader Arlo Sampio and Reynolds sixth-grader Adam Schuetrumpf were the elementary and middle school winners of the second-annual MLK essay contest. Videos of Arlo and Adam reading their essays were part of the program at Crispus Attucks’ 36th annual Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Breakfast.
McCaskey Mock Trial Team member Vanessa Grant was named “Top Attorney” in November at the Empire World Championships in Chicago. At the event, the team competes against other mock trial teams from across the United States as well as teams from Canada, China, and South Korea. Grant was accepted into Harvard for the fall.
McCaskey’s Model UN team brought home three awards at a conference in December.
Jackson Middle School seventh-grader Jason Ortiz performed as a member of the youth ensemble in the Fulton Theater’s production of “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat” in November and December.
McCaskey senior Lucy Heitmann starred as Clara in the Victor Yeliohin International Ballet Academy’s production of “The Nutcracker” in December with sophomore Lydia Corvino as her brother Fritz. Other SDoL students in the production were Fiona Atlee, Alice Dillon, Jaydaliz Flores, Eloise Merrell, Maggie O’Connor, Marley Padgett, Era Pema, and Gabriela and Yanielis Rodriguez.
The McCaskey Alumni Association inducted five new graduates as Distinguished Alumni as part of the high school’s annual homecoming festivities. They are: Evita Colon, Class of 2009, Maian Ly McCauley, ’05, Richard Mendez, ’93, Kenneth Myers, ’89, and Blanding Watson, ’90.
Martin eighth-grader Kyleah Leaman won first place in the Junior Individual Exhibit category at the Regional National History Day competition for her project, “China’s One-Child Policy: A turning point in history.” She and five other place winners–Danija Dixon Talton, Sophia Eaton, Austin Manuel Booc, Sophia Miranda, and Daevianny Rodriguez-Ruiz–advance to the state competition in April.
McCaskey juniors Sophie Thompson, America Rodriguez de la Cruz, Adeline Potter Girvin, and Ian Santos were part of Lancaster’s State of the City program in January, participating in a question-and-answer session with Mayor Sorace about the challenges Lancaster is facing and what makes the city and school district special.
Innovative Education
U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona visited Washington Elementary in March to learn about its full-service community school model and its innovative strategies for supporting student mental health. Secretary Cardona said he applauds Washington’s “dedication to bringing the community together to make students feel welcomed, cared for, and ready to learn.”
Pennsylvania Secretary of Education Khalid Mumin visited several of McCaskey’s Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs in December, including the Educators Rising program, a partnership between SDoL and the Lancaster Education Association that provides McCaskey students up to 24 credits toward a bachelor’s degree in teaching before they graduate from high school.
Price Elementary School is celebrating its second consecutive year of earning a Fidelity Award from the Center of Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports for its implementation of the PBIS framework. Price is the only school in SDoL to achieve fidelity at the Tier 3, or most intensive, level. The school celebrated with “Priceapalooza” in February.
More than 450 sixth-grade students from all five middle schools spent a week at NorthBay in October and November. The immersive, hands-on science experience has become a signature SDoL program, focusing on environmental education and character development.
McCaskey high school students are mentoring some middle school peers through a program of Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Capital Region. The “HS Bigs” program, which kicked off in December at Lincoln Middle School, is based on the American School Counselor Association Student Standards.
McCaskey’s robotics program hosted a region state-qualifying competition in January in which three McCaskey teams competed against 21 teams from across Pennsylvania. Two McCaskey teams reached the final round but came up just short of advancing to the state championships.
Lincoln Middle School welcomed a speaker from Precision Cobotics, a robotics company based in Lititz, to talk about the future of technical manufacturing and careers in the field.
Jackson Middle School hosted visits from Filmmaker/Director Eli Jacobs-Fantauzzi, Producer Kahlil Jacobs-Fantauzzi, and activist Mariangeli Ortiz, who collaborated with student leaders to learn more about leadership.
Classes at Wharton Elementary and Wheatland Middle School are raising trout from eggs to fingerlings, thanks to a program of Lancaster-based Donegal Trout Unlimited. Students study issues like watershed management through daily water testing and other observations until the trout are released into streams in the spring.
The lead plaintiff in a lawsuit challenging controversial new education laws in the state of Florida, law professor LeRoy Pernell, visited McCaskey in December to talk about the role of law in addressing racial disparities with a group of students who are part of the Buddy Glover Public Service Project.
All SDoL middle schools recently opened state-of-the-art recording studios where students can collaborate, compose, and record vocal, instrumental and electronic music an spoken word. The studios were featured on local news channels in February.
New York Times bestselling author Kate Clifford Larson visited McCaskey in November to talk about her biography of Harriet Tubman, “Bound for the Promised Land.” She also attended a screening of the film “Harriet,” a biopic of Tubman, on which she consulted.
Strong Community
Reynolds Middle School students and staff raised more than $1,000 for breast cancer awareness during the month of October.
McCaskey students collected several tons of food and other goods for the Water Street Mission during its annual Holiday Homeroom Challenge.
Assistant Superintendent Matthew Przywara received the prestigious Gary E. Reeser Memorial Award, which is the highest honor given annually by the Pennsylvania Association of School Business Officials.
McCaskey’s future health professionals club, HOSA, collected menstrual hygiene products for an organization called For the Love of Women (FLOW), which provides free hygiene products to vulnerable individuals around the world and works to promote healthy behaviors and menstrual health.
McCaskey’s football team in March visited GiGi’s Playhouse in Lancaster to volunteer and take the GiGi’s Playhouse pledge. GiGi’s provides programming and support for people with Down Syndrome and their families. The pledge is to be accepting, generous and kind in every possible way every day.
In November, the football team helped to serve a Thanksgiving breakfast at Crispus Attucks Community Center, featuring cuisine from Patricia Soto, owner of the Ph’usion Mobile Cuisine food truck.
Many thanks to First National Bank, which made a $10,000 donation to the Lancaster Education Foundation. LEF is a 501c3 nonprofit organization with a mission to foster teaching excellence and ensure the success of every student in the School District of Lancaster.
Tornado Time
Congratulations to McCaskey’s latest state champion: senior wrestler Journie Rodriguez, who took gold at 112 pounds. Rodriguez becomes a part of Pennsylvania sports history, and she won the title in the first year PIAA held girls wrestling championships. McCaskey’s Jurelys Peguero del Rosario finished fifth in the 190 pound weight class.
Congratulations to McCaskey’s indoor track and field girls 4×200 relay team, made up of Asly De Leon, Corrine Miller, Isabel Roman, and Damani Crosson, who brought home the silver medal at the state meet with a school-record time of 1:42.47. The time qualified them for the New Balance Indoor National Championships in Boston, where they placed 16th overall. Commendations also to Aasly De Leon, who finished eighth in states in the 60-meter dash.
Congratulations to three Red Tornado cross country runners who qualified to compete in the PIAA state championships: Gabby Thiry, who took bronze at the Lancaster-Lebanon League meet (11th District 3, 44th state), Ruby Garner-Valle (5th LL League, 8th District 3, 51st state) and Isabella Shertzer (11th LL League, 10th District 3, 50th state).
Commendations to the boys soccer team, which qualified for the District 3 playoffs and won a first round game for the first time in decades, before falling in overtime to eventual champion Cumberland Valley, 1-0, in the quarterfinals.
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