Sentinel file photo The Mifflin County Academy of Science and Technology held its Operating Committee meeting on Thursday.

LEWISTOWN — Not only is enrollment at the Mifflin County Academy of Science and Technology in Lewistown trending upward, but the majority of the school’s students are excelling in the classroom.

At the Academy’s monthly Operating Committee meeting on Thursday night, school Principal Mark Crosson shared statistics that 99.1% of students — 413 of 416 students — passed their classes during the first quarter marking period which ended on Oct. 24, 2025.

Grades for co-operative students are checked every Friday, and attendance checks are made quarterly.

Additionally, Crosson has started a president’s cabinet, selecting one representative from each of the Academy’s six programs to serve and meet monthly to discuss issues related to the school. School officials believe this forum will lead to better communication and the creation of ideas, so the school can better serve its students.

“There are six programs represented in the morning and six in the afternoon, so there is a very broad representation,” Crosson said. “It was a very, very productive meeting. We discussed relevant issues, and we had a lot of good ideas brought to the table.”

Crosson also said attendance for Academy students was very high at 94.2% during the current school year.

In other news:

Personnel

The committee approved the:

-Hiring Kenneth Kirkpatrick as a part-time custodian, at an hourly rate of $15.12, effective pending completion of new hire paperwork and clearances.

-Hiring Ronald Smith as a maintenance assistant, at an hourly rate of $18.86, effective pending completion of new hire paperwork and clearances.

-Adjustment of the salary scale for Jillian Wright, health professions instructor, effective Oct. 13, 2025, due to the completion of Master’s Plus 15 credits. She will move to a salary of $53,300, which will be prorated for the remainder of the 2025-26 school year.

-Memorandum of Understanding between the Mifflin County Academy of Science and Technology and the Association of Mifflin County Educators, assigning and appointing Practical Nursing Instructor Lisa Becker as interim practical nursing coordinator and defining her duties during the current coordinator’s leave of absence.

Field trips

On Thursday, the committee approved Academy instructor Shelly Waters to chaperone three Skills USA members to the Penn Harris Hotel, Camp Hill, for the SkillsUSA – Central Region Fall Leadership Conference. Staff and students will leave on Wednesday, Nov. 19 and return on Friday, Nov. 21. The cost of the trip will be $1,697, plus the price of a Van to be covered by the Academy’s Skills USA Career and Technical Student Organization. The three students will be attending leadership training throughout the conference. Academy Administrator Laura Hicks will be attending the event on Thursday, Nov. 20.

Additionally, the committee learned about the following field trips:

-On Nov. 25, 2025, Academy instructor Katlyn Kreider will chaperone Early Childhood Education students to the Hide and Seek Preschool to coordinate the Thanksgiving Day feast.

-On Jan. 20, 2026, Waters and Academy instructors Steve Hogle, Jennifer Dressler, Stacey Wertz-Mann will chaperone 30 to 35 students to the District 7 Skills USA Competition at the Blair County Convention Center in Altoona.

-On March 5, 2026, Academy instructors Jillian Wright and Shelly Royer will chaperone 40 students to Surgery Live! Viewing at the Whitaker Center as part of the curriculum.

Halloween Parade

CTSO students collaborated on the SS Crosson Pine Float at the Lewistown Halloween Parade and won first place for Best Student Group. CTSO students come from SkillsUSA, Construction Club, National Technical Honor Society, Advanced Manufacturing Club, Health Occupation Students of America and FFA. Members from each group participated in the float project.

Next meeting

The Operating Committee’s next meeting will be at 6 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 11.