Comments for Stephanie Conlon's Blog

Comment on Some Great Q and A regarding Daniel Boone School District Taxes and Teacher’s Contracts by Tax payer

Tax payer — Sun, 09 Jan 2011 23:26:30 +0000

I moved to this town 3 years ago because I believed it to be on the rise. Doesn’t seem that way today. We should be more concerned with the rising cost of gas and utilities compared to teachers getting a guarantee of a 4% salary increase. We continue to cut programs and positions in this school system. Before you know it, we will be Norristown. Invest more in the schools and youth. We should build a better school system to attract new residents that will buy into all of the undeveloped land, so that the taxes can possibly go down in the future. YOU ARE BORROWING YOUR FUTURE FROM TODAY’S YOUTH. THE BEST INVESTMENT YOU CAN MAKE IS IN THEIR EDUCATION. Less cutting and more spending in our own community to make it grow.

Comment on 100 Best Nonfiction Books by 2010 in review « Stephanie Conlon's Blog

2010 in review « Stephanie Conlon's Blog — Mon, 03 Jan 2011 04:40:14 +0000

[...] 100 Best Nonfiction Books March 2010 [...]

Comment on Daniel Boone High School Great Schools’ Rating by Shannon

Shannon — Mon, 15 Nov 2010 05:07:39 +0000

Daniel Boone High School shows a rating of C+ at http://www.homefacts.com/schools/Pennsylvania/Berks-County/Birdsboro/Daniel-Boone-Area-Hs.html

Comment on Boone seeks OK to make kindergarten half day by Brian

Brian — Thu, 30 Sep 2010 10:22:57 +0000

Can someone point to a few things the school board has done to enhance our school district’s education for our children? Test scores are lousy, the districts ranking is in the bottom half of the state and the board wants to take away opportunities to improve our children’s education at the youngest level. I have a child in first grade who has benefited from the full day program. I don’t believe he would be doing as well as he is if he only went to a half day kindergarten program.

Sometimes you have to take a step back and think of the future. Getting kids engaged and excited about learning starts at the earliest ages. A half day kindergarten program is barely enough time for the kids to come in to school, take off their jackets, get settled and learn where to sit. If we are really worried about fiscal problems in this town, continue to reduce education and see where that puts this district in 20 years when these kids can’t get jobs that pay well or they are not being accepted to better colleges.

Comment on Whitfield Elementary teacher makes house calls by Tiffany Batzel

Tiffany Batzel — Sat, 28 Aug 2010 19:33:12 +0000

Great Blog Steph!

I personally think this should be manatory for all teachers. As a parent of a child w/autism, this has always been a part of her education. As my daughter attends school in Hershey, a good hour and some away, we still benefit from her teachers and therapists that come to our home in the beginning of the school year. We are looking forward to having her new teacher, her new Behavoir Consultant and her in home classroom teacher/therapist coming out Wednesday.
To effectively educate our children, the teachers need a better understanding of the child’s home life. This truly is a blessing and I only hope that more teachers/educators jump on board with this.

Comment on Naming rights for facilities offered by stephanieconlon

stephanieconlon — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 12:15:07 +0000

I spoke to two different school board members who both seemed genuinely surprised by this information and both stated unequovically that this is the first time they had ever heard this rumor and that nothing was ever present to the board. They also stated that they would welcome a partnership with any community or business member who was willing to assist with the stadium project.

Comment on Naming rights for facilities offered by Jamie

Jamie — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 12:55:38 +0000

I do not know if this is accurate info but I heard that Mr. Mascaro offered to pay a large portion of the new stadium at Daniel Boone in exchange for having his name on it. Can anyone confirm if this is true and if so why did the board not jump on that offer?

Comment on The Case for $320,000 Kindergarten Teachers by stephanieconlon

stephanieconlon — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 04:30:13 +0000

I totally see your point. I was a mom who protested the full-day kindergarten 4-5 years ago; and when my oldest was ready to go to kindergarten, I was one of the moms’ who signed up that year requesting half day…..which did not get approved. Since it seemed that there would no longer be any choice in half-day vs full-day, I carefully monitored how my child was doing in the full-day program at Boone by volunteering in the classroom twice a week and communicating with the teacher. He was an autumn birthday and was one of the older children in his class and did very well. As a result of the full-, very active day the kindergartners receive at Daniel Boone, and in an effort to do the very best for each of my children, I decided to keep my next two July-birthday children back a year instead of pushing them through the full day as one of the younger ones in the class. In fact, we are really fortunate in Douglassville to have a Kindergarten Prep program at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church that is specifically targeted for children who are held back or just miss the school cut-off and are 5 before the deadline of October 31st. Both my children that were held back attended this prep-program and I am very grateful and pleased they had an extra year at home with me and that they had a challenging and fun year that went beyond just a preschool curriculum, and did not go to kindergarten just because they were “5″.

Sorry for the long-winded reply, but I wanted to let you know I hear you loud and clear regarding your message of being an involved parent and the importance of teaching your child at home, but I will say that from what I have witnessed by going into the kindergarten classroom twice a week, that the kindergarten program and the kindergarten teachers at Daniel Boone School District are one of the big pluses the district has going for them and that the quality kindergarten program in place will positively impact the standarized test scores that begin in 2nd & 3rd grade. In the past, DB has performed below the state average in several areas at the high school level and I believe that, in general, the full day kindergarten program will eventually make a difference when these children reach high school age (hopefully sooner than that).
Keep up the good work being a concerned and involved parent and thank you so much for your comments! We need to be sharing ideas and opinions to get this district to it’s full potential! Thank you!

Comment on The Case for $320,000 Kindergarten Teachers by Teresa

Teresa — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 15:05:21 +0000

What of those children who have stay-at-home moms who work on ABC’s and 123′s ? I do believe half day K would be fine for those children and we could save some tax dollars !

Comment on Michelle Obama Targets Summer Learning Loss by Alexis Avila

Alexis Avila — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 16:00:28 +0000

I agree that reading is definitely a way to prevent summer learning loss. Educational Excursions to field museums will also preserve a child’s natural curiosity. Here is my take:

http://preppedandpolished.com/how-to-prevent-the-summer-brain-slide/

Alexis Avila
Founder/President
Prepped & Polished
Tutoring, College Counseling, Test Prep