Did you know that the Lower Moreland Township School District, along with all other public school districts in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, provides nursing services to the non-public schools within the borders of the district, St. Albert the Great School and Valley Christian School?

In 1962, the legislature passed the School Nurse Act. This act was considered revolutionary at the time because it required equitable services be provided to students, whether they attended public or non-public schools. This law remains in effect today as Section 1402(a.1) of the Pennsylvania Public School Code.

The Department of Health regulations state in Section 23.51 "A child in private, parochial and public schools shall be provided with school nurse services in the school which the child attends;" and Section 23.52 "The school nurse services shall be provided through the public school system and the administration of this service shall be the responsibility of the public school administrator in consultation, as needed, with the private or parochial school administrator.

School nurse services are considered to be one of the mandated services (same as examinations and screens) and include the same nursing functions as those provided to students in public school buildings, such as assessment of student health care needs, development of appropriate plans of care, medication administration, first aid and emergency care, etc. Our school nurses work closely with our two non-public schools to ensure all needs are met on a daily basis.

The district receives federal funds that supplement the local budget based on criteria such as enrollment and socioeconomic status. The consolidated application is completed annually and consists of four sub-grants. Here is a description of each grant and what the funds are being used for this school year.

• Title I: Title I, Part A provides additional funds to districts to help struggling students meet state standards. Lower Moreland focuses on Pine Road School as the recipient of the funds. Through this grant, Instructional Assistants are hired to meet the needs of students in the Title I program for reading and math. Students in Title I are identified using multiple criteria. A summer program that focuses on reading and math skills is also funded for students in the Title I program.
• Title II: Title II, Part A provides additional funds to districts to enhance the skills of teachers and principals in order to increase the quality of instruction. Annually funds are designated for professional development for faculty and administration. An additional use of funds for Title II is for class size reduction. Some of the funds are used to maintain smaller class sizes by funding the partial salary of an additional Pine Road teacher in a grade level where enrollment increased unexpectedly.
• Title III: Title III, Part A funds are provided for the language instruction of English Learners and Immigrant Students. Additional adult support is provided for English Learners at Pine Road School through this grant. An after-school program provides assistance to students who are newcomers and have beginning English language skills. Money is also allocated for professional development that focuses on instructional and assessment strategies for English learners.
• Title IV: These funds are used for student support and academic achievement. Funds have been designated for summer enrichment opportunities for LM students and professional development for faculty, staff and administrators on trauma-informed instruction.

In addition to the consolidated application, funds have been provided for COVID-19 recovery and relief. Multiple grant applications, named ESSER, have been submitted and are currently in use. A summary of the allocation of these funds can be found here.

The Technology Department supports information technology systems and instructional technology programs and practices in the district. Each month, we highlight how our students and teachers engage in 21st Century learning activities. We also share updates on new initiatives and tips and tricks related to devices and technology tools used in the district.

Students in John Haldeman and Tom Church’s World Studies Cultures course toured over a dozen exhibits that highlighted economic, social and political aspects of Tudor Society. Technology highlights included the use of barcode scanners to link to Kahoot, Quizizz, and Google Forms, a Minecraft tour of Tudor architectural styles, digital fortune-telling, virtual tour guides, and a (semi) working printing press.

Murray Avenue students work with Mr. Horrell and Mr. Kelly to produce daily MA News broadcasts in the TV Studio. Students work in teams to create each episode using a variety of technology. First the student teams work with Gmail and Google Docs to draft and submit scripts and communicate with one another during the process. Once the scripts are polished, they are played on teleprompters using Flip-Q for student anchors to read the news. On the production side, the students use Open Broadcaster Software (OBS) in the studio to record the announcement segments. Next the clips are arranged and edited using iMovie, and finally published in Youtube. Check out this month's Tech Tidbit to get a behind the scenes look at the process: https://youtu.be/76kaztrZ_Bo

The Office of Student Services is pleased to announce that the annual Montco Lip Sync Show presented by Lower Moreland High School will take place on Friday, February 4th from 7:00-8:30. This year the event returns in-person with a live audience in the Lower Moreland High School auditorium. Please join the students in Mrs. McCaffrey’s and Mrs. Coleman’s classrooms at the High School, and Mrs. Cohen, Mrs. Juliano, and Mrs. Mattioli’s classrooms at Pine Road, as well as students from Hatboro-Horsham School District, as they perform their routines for which they have been practicing excitedly. Admission is free and all are welcome (utilizing health and safety precautions of course)!