News

Teachers in the Parks (TIPs) Named National Finalist in Summer Learning

Today, Teachers in the Parks (TIPs) was named a finalist for the National Summer Learning Association’s Award for Summer Excellence--an honor bestowed upon only seven other summer learning programs in the nation! TIPs founder, Matt Hathaway was joined by the US Department of Education's Adam Schott, the National Summer Learning Association's Christi Kobus Rokicki, the Pennsylvania Department of Education's Eli Downie, Pennsylvania State Senator Judy Schwank and Exeter's Superintendent Christy Haller, as well as dozens of Exeter and Antietam students and teachers who are participating in TIPs this summer at the Antietam Pool.
 
TIPs, which is a learning program that provides learning opportunities for elementary-aged students to retain math and literacy skills over the summer, was founded by Hathaway, an Exeter Township School District teacher and administrator. As a new elementary teacher, Hathaway founded TIPs in 2004 as he sought a fun and community-based solution to help students prevent the “summer slide,” which is the tendency for students to lose academic skills over the summer when school is not in session. Since 2004, TIPs has grown from a handful of students meeting in Hathaway’s backyard to hundreds of enrolled students meeting during the summer at community pools and playgrounds around Berks County. Throughout its growth during the past 18 years, TIPs’ mission has remained the same: Provide high-quality instruction by certified teachers in low-pressure environments where kids would normally play and hang out during the summer.
 
Our students and community are so very fortunate and proud to have Mr. Hathaway and his team as a dedicated and visionary teacher, leader and partner in education! Our warmest and deepest congratulations to Mr. Hathaway and his TIPs team for this incredible honor and deserving recognition at the national level!

New Teachers, Administrators and Food Service Employees’ Collective Bargaining Agreements Approved

Together, the Exeter Township School District and the Exeter Township Education Association (ETEA) announced they have agreed to a new four-year teachers’ contract to begin on July 1, 2022 and end on June 30, 2026. The board and teachers’ union met numerous times to work together to raise a first-year teacher’s salary by $1,660 to $50,156, allowing Exeter to be more competitive with Berks County school districts. During the 2021-22 school year, on average, the 17 other Berks County districts offered their first-year teachers a starting salary of $49,722, while Exeter offered $48,496 (Source PSEA). Exeter Township Education Association President Lowell Keebler said that he believes the new contract will help provide teacher stability and retention over the next four years. “We value the relationship we have established with the Exeter Township School District Board and community, and we look forward to continuing to provide a high quality educational experience to the students of Exeter Township,” he said.

All teachers will receive a $1,660 yearly salary increase in addition to their annual years of service raise. The district will see an increase in the portion of the budget that is dedicated to teachers' salaries of 3.5% in the first year, 3.4% in the second year, 3.3% in the third year and 3.1% in the final year of the four-year contract if the current faculty all remained at status quo.  Exeter Township Board of School Directors’ President Ann Hearing said, “The board worked diligently on this new contract with taxpayers and teachers in mind and students at the heart of our negotiations. With the current teacher shortage, attracting and retaining high-quality teachers to work in Exeter and educate our students was just as important to us as minimizing the impact that salary increases have on the Exeter taxpayer.” 

The current teachers’ contract will expire on June 30, 2022. The new contract was passed by a 8-0 vote with one abstention during the June 28, 2022 Board of School Directors’ voting meeting. 

During the meeting, the board also approved a new three-year contract for Act 93 employees, providing a 3.25% annual raise for Exeter administrators. They also approved a new three-year contract for food service employees, increasing the starting rate for a general cafeteria worker from $12 to $15 per hour. Confidential secretaries will also see an increase of $1.25 per hour as their starting salary is raised to $21.50 per hour following the approval of their new three-year contract. 

All new contracts will go into effect on July 1, 2022 and will be posted on the district’s website at https://exetersd.org/hr/collective-bargaining-agreements.

Dr. Christy Haller Officially Appointed as Superintendent

dr. christy haller

During the June 28, 2022 voting meeting, the Exeter Township Board of School Directors voted unanimously to approve a four-year superintendent’s contract for Dr. Christy Haller. She will receive an annual salary of $167,500 in her first year, which will begin on July 1, 2022. 

Haller, who has worked in the district for nearly 15 years, currently serves as the district’s Director of Human Resources. Prior to her role in central administration, she led Owatin Creek Elementary as its principal for a year and Lorane Elementary as its principal for eight years, leading Lorane to a Title I Distinguished Schools Award. She first came to Exeter schools in 2008 as the assistant principal at Reiffton School. Before becoming an administrator in Exeter, Haller served as an elementary and middle school teacher and a reading coach and administrator in the Reading School District for 11 years. 

Haller earned her doctorate in Educational Leadership and her Letter of Eligibility from Immaculata University, and her master’s and principal certification from Alvernia University, where she received the Founding Dean’s Award. She completed her undergraduate work in education at Kutztown University. Haller also serves on the board of the Exeter Community Education Foundation and is a former Exeter Community Library Board Trustee.

In addition to working in Exeter Township, Haller has lived in the township for 22 years and has three children: Riley and Jacob, who both recently graduated from Exeter, and Maggie, who will be in second grade at Owatin Creek in the fall. She is married to Dr. Christian Haller, an Exeter graduate and principal at Octorara Intermediate School.

In other administrative moves, the board approved:

Matt Hathaway’s appointment as Jacksonwald Elementary’s principal. Hathaway started his teaching career at Jacksonwald in 2004 as a third grade and fourth grade teacher, moving to Owatin Creek when it opened in 2011. He is a 2000 graduate of Exeter and is the founder of the nationally-recognized Teachers in the Parks (TIPs) program, which he developed in 2004 as he sought a fun and laid-back solution to help students retain math and literacy skills over the summer. Hathaway will replace Dr. Renee Mosser. He begins on August 15, 2022. 

Diane Scornavacchi’s appointment as the district’s new Director of Human Resources. Since 2016, Scornavacchi has worked as the Human Resources Supervisor, and is a 17-year employee of the district in other support and instructional roles. She earned her HR Generalist Certification from the University of Florida and her master’s in Psychology with a concentration in Industrial/Organization Leadership from Capella University. She will replace Dr. Christy Haller as she moves into the superintendency on July 1, 2022. 

Jessica Kaiser as the district’s secondary Special Education Supervisor. Kaiser comes to Exeter from the Wilson School District, where she served in the same role for nearly five years. Prior to that, she served as Twin Valley’s Student Services Supervisor for nearly 2 years. She holds certifications as a principal, reading specialist and in special education. She will replace Jillian Brodhead.

2022-23 Fiscal Year Budget Passed

pie chart of revenue
pie chart of expenditures
pie chart of expenditures

The Exeter Township Board of School Directors approved the 2022-23 fiscal year budget by a 7-2 vote during their monthly voting meeting on Tuesday, June 28, 2022 at the Exeter Township Administration Building. The $81.8 million budget establishes a millage rate of 34.7098, which is a 1.5% increase in property taxes, or a yearly increase of $55.53 for a home assessed at $108,247. It also includes nearly $1.7 million of tax relief for qualifying property owners through the Homestead Tax Exemption. Those exempt property owners will have $253.69 of tax relief applied to their bill, or an additional credit of $54.81 as compared to last year.

Exeter Township School District Business Administrator Brian Feick initially proposed a 2.5% increase to the board earlier this spring, but was able to lower the increase by financing three bus purchases, trimming expenses through new operational contracts and by moving a little more than $800,000 of the district’s reserves into the budget–a move he said he wanted to avoid, but felt was necessary given the economic climate. “With inflation at an all-time high, we knew it was important to our community to do everything we could to avoid another big jump in their expenses. I wish it would have been possible to avoid an increase all together, but expenses are up at the district, too.”

Although no single proposed or projected line item is responsible for the increased budget, more than half of the district’s expenses are salaries and benefits for its 600 employees. During the voting meeting, the board approved three renegotiated collective bargaining agreements with teachers, administrators and food service employees, all of which included small increases in salaries to improve employee retention. The contracts also include increased starting salaries for teachers and food service workers to allow the district to become more competitive with the current market.

Barring any unforeseen expenses or surprises in the coming years, Feick said the current budget is aligned with his goal of continuing to reduce reserves spending and eliminating district debt by 2029, which accounts for more than 10% of the budget.

Both the budget and the debt report can be found on Exeter’s website at https://exetersd.org/business.

Senior overcomes the odds to graduate

photo of austin wilinsky

Austin Wilinsky wasn’t recognized at graduation for being the brightest or the most athletic student in the Class of 2022. 

But he could have been recognized as the most determined.

While many seniors this past year were deciding where they wanted to go to college, Austin was deciding where he was going to spend the night. Homeless, Austin slept in shelters and on friends’ couches throughout his senior year, determined to finish school and graduate with his classmates–some of whom he remembers from kindergarten, or the year that his mom passed away from cancer. Since that fateful day in kindergarten, Austin’s journey throughout school was anything but predictable or traditional as his relationship with his remaining parent deteriorated as he was moved from home to home and dropped off regularly at friends and family members’ houses to sleep. 

By the time he started his senior year, Austin knew if he wanted to graduate, he had to drop into a homeless shelter to live or drop out of school to find a job. Austin reluctantly decided to move into the shelter: “I did it because I needed a diploma. I also want a family one day, and I need a diploma for them. That’s what kept me coming to school.”

At school, Austin says he was so grateful for the support he received from counselors, social workers and teachers, who helped him with everyday needs such as deodorant, to lifelong needs such as helping him stay on track with his schoolwork and complete the extra credits that he needed to graduate on time. “Mrs. Rinehart (the district’s social worker) heckled me to come to school,” he says with a laugh. “But she also helped me find the shelter and gave me clothes. She literally gave me everything I needed. She was there for me all of the time. I would have never gotten through school without people like her helping me. I know that for a fact. They made me see what I could do for myself.”

Austin says he’s also fortunate to be supported by close friends who are always willing to lend him a place to sleep or a ride to school–including a friend he’s had since second grade, who is now helping him find a job so that he can eventually move into his own home. Despite his childhood experiences, he says it’s the support that he received at Exeter and from his friends that allows him to have hope about his future. “I’m glad so many people believed in me and made me see what was possible for myself.”

Students Build Sheds, Tables and Lifelong Skills

photo of students in residential systems
photo of students in residential systems

As he pulled out a tape measure to give a student reassurance he had marked the proper cut line, Mr. Jonathan Rugg, a senior high Technology teacher, reminded his student of the age-old adage, "Measure twice, cut once." If you thought that perfecting measuring and cutting were just skills taught in kindergarten, we'd like to take a moment to introduce you to Residential Systems, a class taught by Mr. Rugg usually every spring that he says is perfect for "anyone who wants to live in a home." During the semester-long block course, Mr. Rugg's students, who he says are usually academically-focused, learn how to do common household construction and repairs, such as electrical wiring, plumbing, framing, and how to measure and cut construction materials with tools. The semester is then capped off with the ground-up construction of a shed, which brings together many of the skills they've learned--while also helping save Exeter taxpayers money. "Our sheds are around the district," he says proudly, as he explains that the grounds crews and athletic teams eagerly snap up the shed his class constructs each year to store equipment conveniently near their fields. Now that his classes have satisfied most of the district's demand for outdoor storage over the years, if all goes well, Mr. Rugg hopes that eventually he can start selling the sheds to interested teachers, staff or community members at cost.

While his projects are usually well planned out for the semester, Mr. Rugg says that the secret of his students' skills and abilities are no longer a well-kept secret, and now it's not uncommon for a construction request to come in from elsewhere in the district. This week, Lorane Principal Mrs. Karen Hodge will take delivery of six handmade picnic benches that she requested for her school to allow elementary kids to sit and eat outside for special events and for the community to use outside of school hours. "It's so special to know they were made by our students and not just bought in a store," she says.

Students seem equally appreciative of the unique opportunity provided to them through the class. Jason Rodriguez, a sophomore who eventually wants to start his own construction company, said, "As soon as I heard about this class, I wanted to get into it," he says. "It's been so much fun, and it's going to help me in the future for sure."