More than two dozen elementary students honored
By Kathleen Brady Shea, Managing Editor, The Times
Some of the elementary-school math winners show off their certificates after the presentation at the school board meeting.
Elementary students dubbed “future scientists and engineers” by the Kennett Consolidated School District superintendent generated applause Monday night at the school board’s May meeting, which was held at Kennett Middle School.
“This is always the most highly attended meeting,” said Board President Heather Schaen as she surveyed the crowd of more than l00, many of whom were elementary school students.
“This is one of my favorite meetings of the year,” added Superintendent Barry Tomasetti, explaining that the opportunity to recognize future leaders in science and math was a pleasure.
More than 20 beaming students received recognition for their participation in the Math Olympiad and Math 24 Club as proud parents snapped photos. When the presentation ended, the room emptied to a more typical audience of about 15.
Rosa Quintana, a 2004 Kennett High graduate, tells the board and audience about the upcoming 50th birthday celebration for Tick Tock Early Learning Center on May 31.
In other business, the board heard a short but equally enthusiastic presentation from Rosa Quintana, a 2004 Kennett High graduate who now serves on the board of Tick Tock, an early childhood learning center that is celebrating its 50th birthday. Quintana said both her daughter and her younger brother, who is now 20, attended the center, and she previously worked there – experiences that have heightened her appreciation of the pivotal role it plays in early education.
On May 31, Tick Tock is hosting “Party in the Preserve,” a casual celebration and fund-raiser at the Ches-Len Preserve in Newlin Township. Quintana said she hoped the community would support the event, which will help finance a needed expansion. She said the center has been serving low-income workers in southern Chester County since 1964 when a group of Quaker women started it.
District resident Jim DiLuzio repeated concerns raised at a previous meeting that the board should not consider outsourcing the food services staff, as it did with the paraprofessionals more than a year ago. He said the food service operation earns a profit and is an asset to the district. He said he feared the board is “stuck in a tax and an outsource mode.”
Schaen responded that “none of these decisions are easy.” She pointed out that the board has to balance what’s good for students with what’s financially responsible. “I understand your position, but we’re looking out for everyone’s interests,” she said.
Reporting on legislative issues, Board Member Douglas B. Stirling warned the board that up to $800 million could still be cut from the governor’s education budget. He also said that a bill to make special education funding to charter schools more equitable might not gain traction. Under current law, the school district pays a lower cost for special education than the amount it must pay charter schools for the same services. Stirling said charter school lobbies are exerting pressure on lawmakers to “sit on the bill.”
Board Member Dominic F. Perigo Jr., who chairs the Facilities and Operations Committee, said about 30 projects are scheduled for the summer. They include removing asbestos from Greenwood Elementary, a procedure that will allow for the safe installation of cables for security cameras as well as LED lights; a new cooling tower for Greenwood Elementary to replace the one damaged during the ice storm; a cafeteria facelift at New Garden Elementary; and pressure-washing the limestone on the high school building.
The board unanimously re-elected Board Member Michael H. Finnegan as its treasurer and voted to continue using John R. Merrick as district solicitor. It also unanimously approved two international high school student trips for 2015 and adopted four science textbooks.
According to Mary Ella Verdes, the gifted coordinator for the elementary schools, the winners of the district-wide Math 24 competition included third-graders Grant Urie (first place); Darya Pebly (second); and Cooper Seele, Emma Davies, and Jasmine Gavina, who all tied for third place. In fourth grade, Pierce Chapman took first, followed by Maya Ranganath (second) and Luke Silverstein and Curie Cha, who tied for third. The fifth-grade honorees were Gavin Maxwell (first place), Octavio Tapia (second) and third-place finishers Steven Dempsey, Mario Berardi, and Hayden Kohl.
For Math Olympiad, a world-wide competition that was done at each school, the Bancroft Elementary winners were Emma Schmidt (first); Joe Bertz (second); and Grace Flanigan and David Diokno, who tied for third. At Greenwood Elementary, Adam Luo took the top spot followed by Katherine Markoko (second) and Caden Bariglio (third). And at New Garden Elementary, the winners were Colin Huff (first), Grant Kalscheur (second) and Sara Pizzini (third).
