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Kira Marr Named National Merit Scholarship Finalist

exeter's kira marr named national merit scholarship finalist

Our warmest congratulations to senior Kira Marr who was named a National Merit Scholarship Finalist--an honor achieved by fewer than 1% of US high school seniors.

Kira, the daughter of Drs. Paul and Kathryn Marr, earned this distinction by earning an exemplary score on the PSAT and SAT, achieving academic excellence in her schoolwork, receiving the endorsement of Principal Tom Campbell, and completing an application and essay. Kira, who plans to attend college for mechanical engineering to focus on environmental and climate change issues, has involved herself in technology-based extracurriculars throughout high school, including Science Olympiad, PA Governor's STEM Team and TSA. She's also involved in orchestra, Mini-THON and National Honor Society, and recently began a college essay peer-editing service for high school students through NHS. An accomplished runner, Kira's also been a member of the cross county, track and winter track teams and has qualified for district and state competitions in relay events. She's also volunteered her time during summers at Teachers in the Parks and Exeter Elite Track Club.

Kira said her involvement in academics and sports and her dedication to both have helped her become more confident and overcome insecurity as she's grown up, a theme that she wrote about in her National Merit essay. "Self-esteem and image issues have kept me, and many other people I am sure, from doing the things I wanted to do. I want people to know that we are given one chance to grow up and live our lives. I don't want to live my life pretending to be someone I am not, so I think it's important for people to be true to themselves and to be proud of who they are."

"Kira's a remarkable student. She's humble and such a support and giving to others around her," said Tom Campbell, principal of the senior high. "She's deserving of this honor, and we are so proud to have her represent Exeter in this national competition." Kira's advancement to the finalist round of the prestigious National Merit Scholarship Program will have her compete against 15,000 finalists to be selected for one of 7,500 scholarships, which will be announced later this spring and early summer. The academic competition launched in 1995 with approximately 1.5 million high school students entering the program each year.

Related: https://exetersd.org/blog/news/senior-high-national-merit-scholarship-students-recognized

15 Art Students Display Work at County-Wide Exhibit

senior high students pose with their art

Fifteen Exeter Township Senior High art students had their work juried into the Wyomissing Art Institute's Yocum Gallery during a county-wide exhibit that ran from the end of January through February. A special congratulations to Joanna Knepper, who won the Berks County Art Alliance Award, and the rest of our artists, including:

  • Mckenna Barker
  • Olivia Biancone
  • Ivanise Benjamin
  • Tyler Casiano
  • Alizarin Copeland
  • Ella Gerhart
  • Julianna Henrie
  • Morgan Herb
  • Mia Herner
  • Emelie Hoffman
  • Alexa Mihaita
  • Brynn Patchell
  • Brittany Truong
  • Kaelyn Vandenbree

School Community Survey & Superintendent Application Now Open

exeter township school district fancy header with logo

The Exeter Township Board of School Directors is seeking a dynamic individual with integrity, visionary leadership, superior communication skills and outstanding administrative ability to lead a district of over 3,900 students and is seeking your opinion on the qualities you'd like to see in the next Superintendent of the Exeter Township School District. The desired candidate must possess experience in achieving high academic performance, creating academic equity, and sound school finance and business management; excellent verbal and written communication and leadership skills; a proven track record of staff accountability; experience with development and implementation of curriculum; knowledge of educational and technological best practices; and success in community engagement and involvement. Minimum of 10 years in education; building administrative or central office experience required. Superintendent experience preferred.

Your opinion matters and is an important part of the Board's selection process! Members of the community are invited and encouraged to participate in a survey to share their thoughts about qualities that are important to them in the next superintendent. Please click on the button below to complete an anonymous school community survey by April 11, 2022. We hope to hear from you!

To take the survey or apply for the Superintendent position, please visit https://exetersd.org/search.

ETSD Board of School Directors Looks to Fill Open Seat

exeter township school district fancy header with logo
The Exeter Township School Board has a vacancy for a school board director. The term of this vacancy runs through the December 2023 Reorganization Meeting of the School Board. Interviews for this position will be held on Tuesday, March 29th starting at 6PM in the Lausch Administration Building. The selected candidate will be appointed by the board by a majority vote as outlined in Policy #004.
Interested candidates should send a letter of interest and resume to Board President, Dr. Ann Hearing, at amhearing@nullexetersd.org by Friday, March 25th.

Exeter Celebrates National School Social Work Week

photo of exeter's social worker

When we found out that the theme for this year's National School Social Work Week was "Time to Shine," we immediately thought there was no more perfect time to put a spotlight on our district's own social worker and ray of sunshine, Mrs. Ashley Rinehart. Ashley dedicates her professional life to helping our most vulnerable students and their families by providing a link to school and community resources during times of crises. When you first meet Ashley, you immediately sense her inner calmness, gentleness and peace--a trait that immediately puts so many of the students and their families at ease who are going through periods of instability, such as homelessness. Even though schools have been employing social workers for decades, many people don't know that the services that Ashley provides are here--until they may need her. We hope you'll take a moment to get to know more about her, her work, and what makes her shine:

Q: For someone who doesn't know, what does your job encompass? What does a typical day look like for you?

A: A typical day can be organized chaos most of the time and it varies day to day based on the needs of the district. Often it's filling out homeless status intakes, taking out resources to students/families, referring students to various community programs, and working on distributing mental health surveys.

Q: How long have you been a social worker? How long have you worked at Exeter?

A: I have been a social worker since January of 2015, so seven total years. This is my third year at Exeter. Prior to Exeter I worked in schools, in mental health, at children & youth services, and in case management.

Q: Did you do anything prior to becoming a social worker? If so, what? Why did you change your career?
A: I had part time jobs in college as a tour guide. As soon as I graduated from college I started my social work career. I have always known though that I wanted to be a school social worker.

Q: What's your favorite part of your job?

A: My favorite part of my job is getting to know the students and families in our community. I love helping people and this job allows me to do that.

Q: What's the most challenging part of your job?

A: The most challenging part of my job is finding the appropriate resources for families and students when COVID has caused a lot of agencies to downsize or close. There are so many great services in our community but they have struggled through the pandemic as well. It can be really difficult to address specific needs when there aren't as many resources as there usually are.

Q: If you were talking to someone who knew nothing about your work, how would you complete this sentence? “People are surprised to learn that I….”

A: They may be surprised to learn that there are a lot of stressful and very hard days that come with school social work. However there are good days too, like when you have helped someone and those days make all the difficult days worth it.

Q: The theme for this year’s National School Social Workers Week is "Time to Shine.” What does that mean to you?
A: Time to Shine to me means making the best out of something and shining through the hard times. This year has been tough for everyone and if it has taught me anything it's how resilient people are and how resilient our students are. They are truly growing and learning from the pandemic and trying to shine themselves.

Q: Is there anything else you'd like to share?
A: I appreciate the staff in Exeter so much. I am so grateful to work with such amazing people.

Pair of Exeter Bus Transportation Professionals Earns Recognition

photo of ben bernhart and kaisha mcculley

Benjamin Bernhart, Director of Transportation for the Exeter Township School District, has been approved for initial status as a Pennsylvania Certified School Transportation Professional by the Board of Directors of the Pennsylvania Association of School Business Officials (PASBO). Mr. Bernhart has been employed by the district since 2018, initially as the Assistant Transportation Supervisor, and then taking over as the Director of Transportation in August of 2021. 

In order to be granted the professional certification status by PASBO, a school business official must meet high personal, ethical and professional standards established for the certification program. These include formal education, experience and continuing education. Once attained, the certification must be renewed every four years through a program of professional development. 

A published author of more than 75 publications and magazine articles about transportation and railroads, including the training manual, "The Complex Relationship between School Buses and Highway-Railroad Grade Crossing," Mr. Bernhart’s truly inspired by both the history and modern-day methods of getting people from point A to point B. Moreover, he's a true advocate for his drivers, mechanics and staff, and driven by a desire to always learn more and become better at his career, which is evident by the numerous certifications and awards he's received, including being one of the top four contestants in the Berks County School Bus Safety Competition in 2017 and 2019 and earning a Special Needs Transportation certificate from the National Association for Pupil Transportation that only 32 people in the US have been so honored to have earned. 

During their meeting earlier this month, the Exeter Township School District Board of Directors recognized Mr. Bernhart by saying, “We are grateful for Ben's commitment to the students of the district. His training and experience go well above what’s required by the state because of his passion to provide the absolute best, safest transportation for them as they are transported to and from school, and because he deeply believes that parents deserve peace of mind that their children are in the best possible hands as they are on their way to learn.” 

*****

Kaisha D.J. McCulley, a permanent substitute bus driver for the Exeter Township School District, recently completed the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation CDL school bus instructor training course. Those who complete this course are able to instruct and teach all aspects of CDL B licenses for school buses and trucks. Through this certification, Ms. McCulley is also able to provide training that meets the new extensive United Stated Department of Transportation/Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration's CDL training guidelines. To be accepted to the program, Ms. McCulley had to be recommended by a school administration and have a spotless driver's license record for the past three years. 

Ms. McCulley’s supervisor, Benjamin Bernhart, Director of Transportation, said that she’s an invaluable asset to the district. “As a substitute driver, she has to know every road within the entire district and all 207 different run routes Exeter operates on a daily basis. This is an extremely difficult challenge and can be very nerve racking; however, she approaches this matter with a cheerful positive attitude. Parents love her as she always had the best interest of students at heart.” Mr. Bernhart added, “She is an exceptional school bus driver and should be recognized as such.”