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Sentinel Morning Update: Shippensburg faces challenges to reverse failing test scores
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Article RatingShippensburg Area School District educators say much work needs to be done to reverse failing test scores that prompted the state Department of Education to place the district on "warning" status.
The state released its 2006-07 Academic Achievement Report Wednesday and Shippensburg is the only school district in Cumberland County that did not achieve Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) as required by the federal No Child Left Behind Act.
The news is not all bad, insists Al Moyer, SASD's assistant superintendent who began his duties in mid-August.
"We have some good news," Moyer said Wednesday afternoon, "but we also have some challenges. The sub-groups are where we have challenges, and we'll be addressing that right away."
Moyer points to overall math and reading scores higher than the required standard as the district's achievement.
"Overall, our students are roughly 25 percent ahead in math, and about 9 percent ahead in reading," Moyer points out. "We're pretty happy about that."
Statewide, the number of public schools meeting Pennsylvania's academic performance targets declined slightly in the 2006-07 school year.
Along with more on this story from The Sentinel staff, here's what else to look for in today's print and on-line editions:
DUI deaths holding steady here -- Pennsylvania is heading in the right direction when it comes to driving under the influence, but the same can't be said for Cumberland County.
"We don't have a lot of DUI deaths in any given year," said Cumberland County District Attorney David Freed. But, he said, the rates have remained steady, and his office prosecutes about three charges of homicide by vehicle each year. Freed also noted that doesn't take into account crashes in which no one is charged.
Cumberland County Coroner Michael Norris agreed, listing figures from the last several years. In 2004, he said, there were 21 traffic fatalities, five of which were alcohol-related. In 2005 the numbers were 29 and nine, respectively, and in 2006 they were 21 and eight. And in the first six months of 2007, they were 14 and five.
"We don't really see any significant change," Norris said.
Still, Freed said, "There are still far too many impaired drivers on the road, and we have been fortunate to have so few deaths."
Enforcement of DUIs is an ongoing battle in the county, Freed said, noting that it requested and received more PennDOT grant funds to continue to fight the problem this year.
Those reports provide a more sobering foil to an Associated Press report that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration found Pennsylvania among the top three states in decreases in drunken driving deaths last year. Nationwide, drunken driving fatalities in 2006 increased in 22 states and fell in 28 states, the report said.
West Pennsboro schedules zoning plan meeting -- Residents of West Pennsboro Township who haven't yet weighed in on a controversial new zoning plan will have at least one more chance to do so before the board of supervisors votes on the matter.
The West Pennsboro supervisors are scheduled to meet Sept. 5 to continue discussion on the plan, which requires land to be set aside for open space and promotes "clustering" of new homes.
No vote is expected to be taken on the issue, according to Supervisor Dave Twining.
The ordinance sets aside mandatory open space in many zones. For example, a 20-acre parcel in the agriculture zone would be required to include 12 acres of open space, with a maximum of 10 dwelling units. In the residential 2 zone, that same parcel would yield a maximum of 120 homes, with five acres set aside as open space.
An entirely new zone -- termed "rural residential" -- is proposed for areas with a mix of agriculture and residential. As written, the ordinance would permit 1.5 houses per acre in the rural residential zone.
Wild mustangs from the west are up for adoption in Harrisburg this weekend -- Less than a year ago, mustangs Jasmine and Cristy wandered the hills of Utah with their herd.
Within a short time, they were transported across the nation to Lorton, Va., where Stanley and Denise Smith of Gardners in Adams County peered at them through the fence.
"We walked around holding pens, near enough to pet. Even though you're not supposed to put your hands in, everyone does it," Denise Smith said. "We saw the two mustangs and thought they were really friendly."
Though the couple had never owned a horse before, they had decided earlier that it was something they both wanted to do.
"My friend in Dillsburg has about eight of them, and they're really nice," Stanley Smith said. "It's better to give them a home than to be out in the wild starving."
Jasmine and Cristy were a part of the national Wild Horse & Burro Program from the U.S. Department of the Interior's Bureau of Land Management.
Yesterday's most-viewed stories on www.cumberlink.com
1. Afghan raid kills Perry native
2. Homeowners could get a heavier tax burden
3. Carlisle state trooper killed in Afghanistan
4. Police seek Camp Hill robbery suspect (breaking news)
5. Penn State Football: Shuler set for first start
Yesterday's most-emailed stories on www.cumberlink.com
1. Afghan raid kills Perry native
2. Sentinel Morning Update: Friends remember state trooper killed in Iraq
3. Homeowners could get a heavier tax burden
4. Carlisle state trooper killed in Afghanistan
5. Fireworks display on Sunday
