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Good Shepherd students study dinosaurs

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Our Opinion: Rescue plan for Wilkes-Barre Area high schools requires careful consideration

DALLAS &#8212; The Dallas School Board met Monday evening in their last school board meeting of summer vacation, gearing up with new initiatives and changes for the 2015-2016 school year.The meeting opened with Superintendent Thomas Duffy going over an extensive list of district updates, as well as this school year&#8217;s mission statement.&#8220;The first most important thing to us at the Dallas School District is always our students,&#8221; Duffy said. &#8220;We are a learning place with high academic standards, and they always come first.&#8221;One of the main topics of discussion was the impending score reports from this past year&#8217;s updated PSSAs, which were met with much apprehension due to the change toward the new PA Core Standards.&#8220;This is a simple case of having the same students, same curriculum, same teachers &#8211; all of high quality &#8212; yet not having the time to update every piece of this operation to reflect the new changes in Core Standards,&#8221; Duffy said. &#8220;This isn&#8217;t a district matter, this is a statewide issue. It&#8217;s a transitional year.&#8221;Duffy reminded parents as well to remind their children that if they received a score much different than they were academically used to, this is simply a period of flux and not a complete reflection on their intelligence or academic acuity.&#8220;This is a case where you may have a seventh-grader who has been historically advanced academically &#8211; straight A&#8217;s, national junior honor society, typically an &#8216;Advanced&#8217; or &#8216;Proficient&#8217; on all PSSAs &#8211; this is a scenario where this student might receive a &#8216;Basic&#8217; or &#8216;Below Basic&#8217; and this is not at all a reflection of their total academic achievements.&#8221;Duffy, as well as the board, stated that more information directly from the Pennsylvania Department of Education would be coming on the matter in the coming weeks. Scores will be officially reported sometime between September and October, and the Dallas School District will have a meeting Sept. 21 specifically to discuss the PSSA and Keystone Score Reports.The Dallas Foundation was also present at the meeting, announcing the last call for their upcoming golf tournament on Aug. 21. They are still seeking golfers, sponsors and attendees for the tournament.The foundation is also looking to fill a vacant spot on the board with a new member, as well.&#8220;This is a volunteer position, and the only requirement we really seek is time,&#8221; said Treasurer Kristin Gattuso. &#8220;We devote our time for this simply to benefit the kids, they&#8217;re why we do this.&#8221;Any interested parties can contact The Dallas Foundation by mail, or at their website at www.ourdallasfoundation.org<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta>By Rachel HollyFor Times Leader</bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta>The Times Leader newsroom may be reached at 570-829-7242 or on Twitter @TLnews.</shirttailMeta></div>

Dallas superintendent addresses test scores