UPDATE:
Harrisburg School District leaders and the Chief Recovery Officer got the ball rolling to bring the distressed school district back on the road to recovery.
Coming out of the meeting it's clear that the Harrisburg School District is suffering. Not enough money, not enough people are graduating, there's a lot of work to do. The committee has until March to figure it out.
Gene Veno started the first advisory committee meeting by giving members an apple pencil holder, reminding them of the basics they'll need to fall back on, in order to make a better grade financially and academically.
The consultant and educator was appointed last month to work with the new committee and draw up a recovery plan.
"In addition, I want to share with the community some of the issues that we have seen on a national trend as it relates to the Harrisburg community,” explained Chief Recovery Officer Gene Veno. “More importantly, I want the advisory committee to understand how important their role is here this evening."
In 2012, only 45 percent of students graduated. In the 2011 and 2012 school year, only 35 percent of students were proficient in math and only 34 percent were proficient in reading.
"It has been a tough time for us when you realize that over the last three years we lost 300 teachers and on top of that when you look at all of the programs that we've lost," stated Sherri Magnusson, Harrisburg Education Association President.
Veno says his plan will restore the district to a long-term financial solvency; it'll be a five year recovery plan.
Some of his goals include raising student achievement, developing high performance schools, making sure all students graduate, and getting them ready for college.
Ava Berg's daughter graduated from john Harris High School and is now a rocket scientist for NASA. She says she's excited about the talks of bettering technology in classrooms.
"Maybe the curriculum hasn't caught up with what these kids are interested in today or maybe we should have more computer stuff in the school," stated Berg.
You can follow the work that this committee is doing by checking out the attached link.
There will be two more advisory committee meetings, one on February 7 and another on March 7 at the Harrisburg School District meeting building.
___________________________________________
Wednesday night, the first advisory committee meeting for the Harrisburg School District under the new Chief Recovery Officer will be held.
Last month we told you that Gene Veno was appointed to the position to help the district recover financially and academically.
This is the first of many meetings to be held by Chief Recovery Officer Gene Veno for the Harrisburg School District. The school’s superintendent will be there along with many other school district leaders to get started on a recovery plan.
Last month, the Secretary of Education declared the Harrisburg School District in a moderate financial recovery status and appointed Gene Veno as Chief Recovery Officer.
Veno's job is to submit a plan by March 12, to put the district on a firm financial footing. The consultant and educator is also committed to improving the academic performance of the students.
Act 141, a state law passed last year to improve the financial status and academic performance of a select number of distressed school districts, required an advisory committee be formed.
Wednesday night that committee will meet for the first time and will include Superintendent Dr. Sybil Knight-Burney, a principal, district business manager as well as residents.
The meeting is taking place at the administration building at 2101 North Front Street in Harrisburg and starts at 6 p.m.
Harrisburg School District leaders and the Chief Recovery Officer got the ball rolling to bring the distressed school district back on the road to recovery.
Coming out of the meeting it's clear that the Harrisburg School District is suffering. Not enough money, not enough people are graduating, there's a lot of work to do. The committee has until March to figure it out.
Gene Veno started the first advisory committee meeting by giving members an apple pencil holder, reminding them of the basics they'll need to fall back on, in order to make a better grade financially and academically.
The consultant and educator was appointed last month to work with the new committee and draw up a recovery plan.
"In addition, I want to share with the community some of the issues that we have seen on a national trend as it relates to the Harrisburg community,” explained Chief Recovery Officer Gene Veno. “More importantly, I want the advisory committee to understand how important their role is here this evening."
In 2012, only 45 percent of students graduated. In the 2011 and 2012 school year, only 35 percent of students were proficient in math and only 34 percent were proficient in reading.
"It has been a tough time for us when you realize that over the last three years we lost 300 teachers and on top of that when you look at all of the programs that we've lost," stated Sherri Magnusson, Harrisburg Education Association President.
Veno says his plan will restore the district to a long-term financial solvency; it'll be a five year recovery plan.
Some of his goals include raising student achievement, developing high performance schools, making sure all students graduate, and getting them ready for college.
Ava Berg's daughter graduated from john Harris High School and is now a rocket scientist for NASA. She says she's excited about the talks of bettering technology in classrooms.
"Maybe the curriculum hasn't caught up with what these kids are interested in today or maybe we should have more computer stuff in the school," stated Berg.
You can follow the work that this committee is doing by checking out the attached link.
There will be two more advisory committee meetings, one on February 7 and another on March 7 at the Harrisburg School District meeting building.
___________________________________________
Wednesday night, the first advisory committee meeting for the Harrisburg School District under the new Chief Recovery Officer will be held.
Last month we told you that Gene Veno was appointed to the position to help the district recover financially and academically.
This is the first of many meetings to be held by Chief Recovery Officer Gene Veno for the Harrisburg School District. The school’s superintendent will be there along with many other school district leaders to get started on a recovery plan.
Last month, the Secretary of Education declared the Harrisburg School District in a moderate financial recovery status and appointed Gene Veno as Chief Recovery Officer.
Veno's job is to submit a plan by March 12, to put the district on a firm financial footing. The consultant and educator is also committed to improving the academic performance of the students.
Act 141, a state law passed last year to improve the financial status and academic performance of a select number of distressed school districts, required an advisory committee be formed.
Wednesday night that committee will meet for the first time and will include Superintendent Dr. Sybil Knight-Burney, a principal, district business manager as well as residents.
The meeting is taking place at the administration building at 2101 North Front Street in Harrisburg and starts at 6 p.m.