MCSD official announces up to $853,352 grant contract

Potential funds for literacy supports

LEWISTOWN -- Chief Academic Officer Steven DeArment said Thursday that his office received a grant contract worth up to $853,352 to support structured literacy from kindergarten through third grade in the Mifflin County School District.

During the Mifflin County School District Board of Directors meeting, DeArment said that the grant the district applied for is a mobile science, mathematics and literacy education grant. He said the district didn't receive an approval notice for the application but recently received a grant contract.

DeArment said the district wrote the grant to include core reading resources.

"As the board knows, we’re going through a pilot now, so those resources can be included: intervention materials, universal screening, assessment and professional development," DeArment said.

DeArment said the funding could help cover the cost of the district's eventual selection of a new reading resource and believes the contract allows the district to move forward with this process.

Director of Buildings and Grounds Tom White shared that the district plans to add a sidewalk connecting the upper and lower junior high parking lots at Mifflin County Junior High School. The connection is intended to give students a way to walk to the lower property and field without walking in the street, including students who might park at a nearby church.

White said a sidewalk on the Marcal Paper Field side was not feasible because of drainage swales and pipes in the area.

In other news, directors approved the following drivers for the district:

• Ann H. Clark, of BGJ Enterprise LLC, effective Sept. 28;

• Larry J. Yoder, of Krise Transportation, effective Sept. 30;

• Jerry L. Wagner, of BGJ Enterprise LLC, effective Oct. 23;

• Kimbra L. Fisher, of BGJ Enterprise LLC, effective Oct. 23;

• Merijane R. Vanderhoof, of Krise Transportation, effective Oct. 8;

• Mark W. Qualiotto, of Krise Transportation, effective Oct. 14.

Further information from the Mifflin County School District Board of Directors’ Thursday meeting will be available in a future edition of The Sentinel.