The Tyrone Area School Board has approved an “educational” audit for its high school.
School board directors made the decision at their most recent meeting last week by authorizing the district to use the Center for Educational Policy Research from the University of Oregon for the audit.
The district will be using part of grant money it had been awarded through a state initiative to have the work completed. The overall initiative is designed for the district to participate in a program aimed at increasing the rigor of its high school curriculum.
The audit is officially called the Alignment and Challenge Audit. It will analyze eight English/language arts and 10 mathematics courses to determine the degree to which each content area aligns internally with the knowledge and skills necessary for success in college.
According to information from the district, standards applied have been adopted by the College Board as a foundational element in the development of the SAT, PSAT and A.P. tests.
The district said the findings would be reported in the form of specific recommendations for changes in the structure and content of the High School instructional program. A final report will be delivered in a public/school-wide presentation in Tyrone. The cost of the audit is $12,000. Grant money from the state’s Project 720 will be used to pay the costs.
Earlier this year, assistant superintendent Joann Lang and Tyrone area high school principal Rebecca Erb discussed the overall project goals with The Daily Herald.
“What it will do is give us an opportunity to look at our high school,” said Lang. “Through our grant, at least, (it allows us) to take a look at our course work, our vocational department, and see what we can do to help get these kids ready for career pathways to prepare them for the workplace.
“There’s a gamut of things we expect to do,” said Lang. “We will take a look at our math course. We have to add another math course. Part of our commitment is to increase our math classes we offer.”
Lang said the English department and other courses would be reviewed. The grant for the program is through the state’s department of education. Lang said the school district received $66,000 for the upcoming school year. She said the grant is for three years so the district is projected to receive the same amount for an additional two years, making the overall grant almost $200,000.
Erb said the project is designed to “enhance the post-secondary access for students who go on to a career or higher education.” She also said the project is designed to help students become “active and productive citizens.”
The Pennsylvania Department of Education said on its Project 720 website, a goal had been set to see all students in the state “graduate from high school prepared to enter college and the high-skills workforce.”
The Project 720 website noted its name is derived from the number of days a student spends in high school from the beginning of ninth grade to the end of 12th grade. The PDE said the program “will help transform Pennsylvania’s high schools so that every student can succeed.”
Forty-one school districts participated during the 2004-05 year, and the 2005-06 Budget provides $4.7 million to double the number of participating school districts to 80. With this expansion, nearly 20 percent of Pennsylvania school districts will be involved in Project 720. Tyrone was the only Blair County school chosen to participate in the initiative.
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For more information: www.project720.org
