“We all know that investing in people is crucial for creating a thriving school environment, and when you have a mix of experienced and new talent, it will lead to a dynamic and innovative atmosphere,” said Dr. Don Bell on Monday as he exited his year-long position as interim school superintendent for the Littlestown Area School District.
Bell was hired in November 2023 to replace the outgoing Superintendent. In the spring of this year, the board approved Dr. Timothy Mitzel as the new Superintendent for a five-year term. Judith Berryman, former LASD high school principal, was named Assistant Superintendent.
In his farewell speech, Bell thanked the community, staff, and students for their support and praised their many personnel, financial, curriculum, and communication initiatives.
Among those were increasing the longevity of personnel contracts from three to five years, controlling budgetary expenditures and supporting the Adams County Technical Institute with no tax increase, securing grants to cover mental health and school safety needs, implementing a new summer program for preschoolers, implementing a new diagnostic assessment tool for more personalized instruction and striving to create a “students first” mentality in the daily decision-making process.
“Together, we built a governance process based upon student enrichment—our challenge is to follow it,” he said.
Former board president Dee Nestor thanked Bell for his service. “I don’t think the community truly knows how valuable you have been for this district,” she said.
In other business, two board members opposed hiring a new School Security Officer. Duane Sullivan said he supported the candidate but had a problem with the district’s hiring process. “So, I’m a no-vote for sure,” he said.
During public comment, Susanne Johnson questioned why the new hire’s contract does not specify that he be armed. She said the new officer will be paid $64 per hour, more than twice the current pay of the district’s unarmed security officer. “At that significantly higher rate, if the intention is for the officer to be armed, then that must be specified.”
The board approved the minutes from the Aug. 19 board meeting, the Sept. 3 Finance and Curriculum committee meetings, and the Sept. 9 board work session. Minutes from those meetings can be viewed by visiting lasd.k12.pa.us, and live feeds are available on Facebook.com/ltownsd/.
Building Reports
Former Principal Judith Berryman praised the Littlestown High School upper-level students for setting good examples as the new school year began. “Our seniors and juniors this year have done a really nice job of modeling the expectations for our underclassmen.”
Middle School Assistant Principal Kara Glass announced that the positive behavior initiative is underway, focusing on respect, caring, inclusiveness, integrity, responsibility, and courage. These themes will be spread throughout the year and introduced in social studies classes. “We believe that by consistently focusing on these values and providing structured lessons, students will improve in these areas, resulting in better behavior, increased respect, and a stronger sense of pride in our school community.”
Joel Moran, Alloway Creek Elementary School (ACES) principal, reported that students are currently involved in diagnostic testing designed to foster individual learning. He also thanked the school board for supporting the district’s early childhood summer academy, which prepares students for kindergarten by focusing on interpersonal relationships among students and teachers and academic readiness. Students are selected for the summer academy from the data compiled during kindergarten enrollment in May. “It’s important for students to be able to play with other students, draw pictures, and write their names,” he said.
Thunderbolt Foundation director Beth Becker said that nearly 150 children are registered with the Dolly Parton Imagination Library. The program provides free books, and the Thunderbolt Foundation covers shipping costs. Interested residents can register online using the link found at https://thunderbolteducationfoundation.org/community-aid-partnership/
Becker announced that as a preview for the November giving spree, the Littlestown Library will host area nonprofits from noon to 1 p.m. on Oct. 17. “As an added bonus, we can have lunch because the fifth graders are currently growing lettuce for us.” She was referring to the hydroponic growing system that is part of the elementary school’s Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) program.
A Conewago Enterprises donation of $1,500 has been received to support student welders and will help cover the cost of the $450 welding kits. Other donations received by the district include 160 pocket-size copies of the US Constitution for 8th graders and a financial gift from the Littlestown Eagles Auxiliary.
Featured image caption: From left, LASD welcomed new Superintendent Dr. Timothy Mitzel at Monday’s board meeting and said farewell to interim Superintendent Dr. Don Bell, Sr.
Judith Cameron Seniura is a freelance reporter. She began her journalism career in the early ‘70s and has written for newspapers, magazines, and other media in Ontario, Canada, Alaska, Michigan, Nebraska, San Antonio, Maryland, and Pennsylvania.
Corrections:
– Dr Bell said there was no tax increase to cover operating expenses. However, they did approve a 1% tax increase for ACTI investment.
– The summer preschool program wasn’t new. It has been implemented for several years now with positive feedback
– Susanne Johnson’s statement referred to the Substitute School Security Officer (SSO) contract not specifying the officer be armed. This contractor will be called upon to provide a substitute in the event that LASD’S new SSO is out for the day. The regular, school-employed SSO (John Lorenz) will be armed, as specified in that job description.