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<p>NANTICOKE &#8212; Greater Nanticoke Area School Board approved a string of hires and contracts for the start of the school year, but some of the biggest news may have been changes Superintendent Ron Grevera announced, including a first-ever kindergarten transition Aug. 28-30 and more help in math for the Elementary Center students.</p><p>Grevera has been implementing transition programs for students shifting from one school to the next, particularly since completion of the new Kennedy Early Childhood Center last year and the realignment of grades K-8 in each school (K-2, 3-5, 6-8). This is the first year for kindergarten transition, letting each student and their parents meet with the teacher for 30 minutes.</p><p>The new transition program means the first day of kindergarten will be Sept. 2, but the first day for all other grades is still Aug. 28.</p><p>The district is also shifting a Title I reading teacher to math in the Elementary Center (Grades 3-5). Title I is a federal program providing money for education in schools with high poverty rates. Grevera said the district gets a bit more than $1 million annually in Title I money and uses it to pay eight Title I teachers. There is no new money or new hires this year, he added, but student assessments suggest they will do better with more math help in the lower grades.</p><p>The district is also expanding remediation help paid for with Title IV grant money, from grades 1-5 to grades 1-8. Title IV is a much smaller federal program that nets Greater Nanticoke about $80,000 a year, Grevera said.</p><p>And the district is expanding the requirement for clear backpacks from the high school into the Education Center (grades 6-8).</p><p>The agenda included a vote to authorize Grevera to submit &#8220;intent to utilize flexible instructional days&#8221; to the state, but the motion was tabled. The option is new this year in Pennsylvania. Some have dubbed it &#8220;cyber snow days,&#8221; because it allows the district to fulfill up to five of the required 180 school days through alternative teaching methods including computer-based programs at home.</p><p>After the meeting, Grevera said he had decided against implementing the idea because there were still too many questions about how it would work and any potential downsides. He said he was particularly concerned about the impact on special education students who might need the in-person instruction and more help than regular students.</p><p>The deadline for submitting paperwork to the state is Sept. 1, and Grevera said he does not intend to pursue the idea further this year, though he is open to reconsidering it next year.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Greater Nanticoke Area School District Superintendent Ron Grevera shows one of the new second grade classrooms in the Kennedy Early Childhood Center.   Bill Tarutis | For Times Leader</div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/web1_TTL082518newschool-mg_2.cmyk_.jpg</photo0><caption0>Greater Nanticoke Area School District Superintendent Ron Grevera shows one of the new second grade classrooms in the Kennedy Early Childhood Center.   Bill Tarutis | For Times Leader</caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Mark Guydish</p><p>mguydish@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Mark Guydish at 570-991-6112 or on Twitter @TLMarkGuydish</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Greater Nanticoke introducing kindergarten transition, math help in early grades