Word Wall Tradition Promotes Student Engagement

In Andy Cunningham’s academic literacy class, students always get the final word. Proof lines one wall of his Park Forest Middle School room. A blackboard as colorful as a flower garden presents a vivid mosaic of dictionary heavyweights such as “miasmic” and “gossamer” — written, often in whimsical script, by students.

New Easterly Parkway Elementary Principal

Susan Lunsford is moving up in the district by moving across it. Lunsford became the new Easterly Parkway Elementary School principal on Sept. 13 after the State College Area School District Board of Directors approved her change of jobs.

Three New State High Administrators

On Sept. 13, the Board of Directors approved the filling of three State High administrative positions. Brett Wilson shifted from being an assistant principal to the associate principal role, and teachers Jackie Saylor and Danielle Ambrosia are now assistant principals.

A Salt Shaker Named Pepper

Park Forest Elementary’s Vivian Petrich has proved that, in the right hands, writing an award-winning children’s book can be child’s play. Her book, A Salt Shaker Named Pepper, topped the field in the WQED-sponsored PBS KIDS Writers Contest’s second-grade category.

The 2021-2022 School Year Begins!

On Aug. 24, the district welcomed nearly 7,000 students at 11 schools to kick off the year with smiles and high expectations. Recognizing that some students, after a year of learning altered by the pandemic, will need extra assistance, we added academic and social-emotional resources.