Annual Public Notices

Annual Public Notices
Federal Law, No Child Left Behind (NCLB) requires that all school districts report the professional teaching qualification of teachers to the public. The Ferndale Area School District’s professional personnel are all highly qualified teachers (100%). This means that every teacher has a college degree in the courses they teach and are certified by the Pennsylvania Department of Education with a teaching license. Additionally, all paraprofessionals (teacher aides) in the Ferndale Area School District are highly qualified (100%). This means that every teacher aide has a college degree and/or is certified by the Pennsylvania Department of Education with a Paraprofessional Credential of Competency certificate. All of our teachers and teacher aides receive professional development annually in their areas of study to continually update their knowledge and skills.  All instructional materials, including teachers’ manuals, audiovisuals, or other supplementary instructional material, used in the instructional program shall be available for inspection by the parents or students in accordance with Board policy. Instructional materials do not include tests or academic assessments. Parents and students (age 18 and over) have a right to access information about the curriculum, including expected student learning outcomes, instructional materials and assessment techniques. For more information and/or to see the full board policy on review of instructional materials, please refer to Policy No. 105.1 Review of Instructional Materials by Parents/Guardians and Students.

Attendance
The Board recognizes that attendance is an important factor in educational success, and supports a comprehensive approach to identify and address attendance issues. The Board requires the attendance of all students during the days and hours that school is in session, except that temporary student absences may be excused by authorized district staff in accordance with applicable laws and regulations, Board policy and administrative regulations. For more information and/or to see the full board policy on attendance, please refer to Policy No. 204 Attendance.

Enrollment of Students
The Board shall enroll school age students eligible to attend district schools, in accordance with applicable laws and regulations, Board policy and administrative regulations. School age shall be defined as the period from the earliest admission age for the district’s kindergarten program until graduation from high school or the end of the school term in which a student reaches the age of twenty-one (21) years, whichever occurs first. District of residence shall be defined as the school district in which a student's parents/guardians reside. For more information and/or to see the full board policy on enrollment of students, please refer to Policy No. 200 Enrollment of Students.

Homeless
Each year, more than 800,000 school age children in the United States experience homelessness. The Ferndale Area School District is required to provide activities for, and services to, homeless children, including preschool age homeless children and youths, enabling them to enroll in, attend, and succeed in school or preschool programs. The law states that, pending resolution of a dispute about school placement, a school district must immediately enroll a homeless student in the student’s school of origin or other school selected on the basis of the child’s best interest. Homeless students are defined as individuals lacking a fixed, regular and adequate nighttime residence, which include the following conditions: sharing the housing of other persons due to loss of housing, economic hardship, or similar reason; living in motels, hotels, or camping grounds due to lack of alternative adequate accommodations; living in emergency, transitional or domestic violence shelters; abandoned in hospitals; awaiting foster care placement; using public or private places not designed for or ordinarily used as regular sleeping accommodations for human beings, as a primary nighttime residence; living in cars, parks, public spaces, abandoned buildings, substandard housing, transportation stations or similar settings; living as migratory children in conditions described in previous examples; living as run-away children, abandoned or forced out of homes by parents/guardians or caretakers, or separated from parents/guardians for any other reason; and living as school age parents/guardians in houses for school age parents/guardians if they have no other living accommodations.  If you know of a child/student who may be homeless, please call any of the school offices and notify staff there who will follow up on your concern. For more information on homeless education and/or to see the full board policy on homeless students, please refer to the Homeless Education and Policy No. 251 Homeless Students.

Gifted Education
The Ferndale Area School District offers gifted support services in both of its buildings. This program focuses on enrichment and acceleration activities that supplement the regular education program. Instructional services are provided through direct instruction, teacher and student consultation, and classroom enrichment. The District conducts a screening process based upon review of all educational records and parent/teacher input to identify students who might qualify for gifted support services. When the data supports the need for a full evaluation, the District will seek parental consent. The evaluation includes observations from school personnel, performance on standardized assessments, review of the student’s academic records, as well as family and teacher input. If the results of the gifted evaluation indicate that the student meets the Chapter 16 criteria as an individual who is in need of gifted support services, the gifted support team meets and develops a Gifted Individualized Education Plan (GIEP). Parents who believe that their child might be in need of gifted support services should send a written request for evaluation to the building principal. Copies of parent rights and confidentiality issues are routinely provided to parents with the permission to evaluate and are also available to parents upon request. Parents who need more information about gifted educational programs and services or parental due process rights are encouraged to contact Ferndale Area School Psychologist, at 814-539-6168. For more information on gifted education and/or to see the full board policy, please refer to Gifted Education and Policy No. 114 Gifted Education.

Food Services
The Board recognizes that students require adequate, nourishing food and beverages in order to grow, learn and maintain good health. The food service program shall be operated in compliance with all applicable state and federal laws and regulations, as well as federal guidelines established by the Child Nutrition Division of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). The district shall ensure that, in the operation of the food service program, no student, staff member, or other individual shall be discriminated against on the basis of race, color, age, creed, religion, sex, sexual orientation, ancestry, national origin, marital status, pregnancy or handicap/disability. For more information on food services and/or to see the full board policy, please refer to Food Services and Policy No. 808 Food Services.

Food Allergy Management
The Board is committed to providing a safe and healthy environment for students with severe or life-threatening food allergies and shall establish policy to address food allergy management in district schools. For more information on food allergy management and/or to see the full board policy, please refer to Policy No. 209.1 Food Allergy Management.

Threat Assessment
The Board is committed to protecting the health, safety and welfare of its students and the school community and providing the resources and support to address identified student needs. The Board adopts this policy to address student behavior that may indicate a threat to the safety of the student, other students, school employees, school facilities, the community and others. The Board directs the Superintendent or designee, in consultation with the School Safety and Security Coordinator, to establish a threat assessment team and develop procedures for assessing and intervening with students whose behavior may indicate a threat to the safety of the student, other students, school employees, school facilities, the community and others.  For more information and/or to see the full board policy on Policy No. 236.1 Threat Assessment.

Ferndale Area School District's Threat Assessment Team

• Mr. Jeffrey Boyer - Superintendent
• Dr. William Brotz - Assistant Superintendent/JSHS Principal/School Safety and Security Coordinator
• Mr. Bernard Conway - Junior-Senior High School Assistant Principal
• Mrs. Amy Mykut - Elementary Principal
• Mrs. Sutton Barron, Director of Special Education
• Mr. Adam Barbe - School Psychologist
• Mrs. Alexandra Shugars - Elementary School Counselor
• Mrs. Molly Steiner - JSHS School Counselor
• Mrs. Judith Virgin - School Nurse

School Wellness
Ferndale Area School District recognizes that student wellness and proper nutrition are related to students' physical well-being, growth, development and readiness to learn. The Board is committed to providing a school environment that promotes student wellness, proper nutrition, nutrition education and promotion, and regular physical activity as part of the total learning experience. In a healthy school environment, students will learn about and participate in positive dietary and lifestyle practices that can improve student achievement. For more information on the school wellness policy; the most recent triennial assessment; how to participate in the development, implementation and periodic review and update of the School Wellness policy; and how to contact Wellness Committee leadership, please refer to School Wellness and Policy No. 246 School Wellness.

Tobacco and Vaping Products
The Board recognizes that tobacco and vaping products, including the product marketed as Juul and other electronic cigarettes, present a health and safety hazard that can have serious consequences for users, nonusers and the school environment. The Board prohibits possession, use, purchase or sale of tobacco and vaping products, including the product marketed as Juul and other e-cigarettes, regardless of whether such products contain tobacco or nicotine, by or to students, by district employees and contracted personnel at any time in a school building; on school buses or other vehicles that are owned, leased or controlled by the school district; on property owned, leased or controlled by the school district; or at school-sponsored activities that are held off school property. The Board prohibits student possession or use of products marketed and sold as tobacco cessation products or for other therapeutic purposes, except as authorized in the Board’s Medication policy. The Board prohibits student possession of any form of medical marijuana at any time in a school building; on school buses or other vehicles that are owned, leased or controlled by the school district; on property owned, leased or controlled by the school district; or at school-sponsored activities that are held off school property. Ferndale Area School District is a Smoke-Free District. It is the policy of the Ferndale Area School District that all buildings, property (including sidewalks and parking areas), outdoor fixed seating areas, vehicles owned or contracted and other designated areas of the Ferndale Area School District are designated to be tobacco free environments. For more information and/or to see the full board policies on tobacco and vaping products, please refer to Policies No. 222 and No. 323 Tobacco and Vaping Products.

Discrimination/Title IX Harassment Affecting Students
The Board declares it to be the policy of this district to provide an equal opportunity for all students to achieve their maximum potential through the programs and activities offered in the schools without discrimination on the basis of race, color, age, creed, religion, sex, sexual orientation, ancestry, national origin, marital status, pregnancy or handicap/disability. The district does not discriminate in any manner, including Title IX sexual harassment, in any district education program or activity. Inquiries regarding the application of Title IX to the district may be referred to the Title IX Coordinator, to the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights of the U.S. Department of Education, or both. The Board designates the Business Manager, David Gates, as the district’s Compliance Officer and Title IX Coordinator. The Compliance Officer/Title IX Coordinator can be contacted at 100 Dartmouth Avenue, Johnstown, PA 15905; Phone: 814-535-1507; Email: David Gates.  For more information and/or to see the full board policy on discrimination/Title IX harassment affecting students, please refer to Policy No. 103 Discrimination/Title IX Harassment Affecting Students under the Board Policies.

Nondiscrimination - Qualified Students with Disabilities
The Board declares it to be the policy of this district to ensure that all district programs and practices are free from discrimination against all qualified students with disabilities. The Board recognizes its responsibility to provide academic and nonacademic services and programs equally to students with and without disabilities. The district shall provide to each qualified student with a disability enrolled in the district, without cost to the student or parent/guardian, a free and appropriate public education (FAPE). For more information and/or to see the full board policy on nondiscrimination/ discriminatory harassment - school and classroom practices, please refer to Policy No. 103.1 Nondiscrimination - Qualified Students with Disabilities.

Discrimination/Title IX Harassment Affecting Staff
The Board declares it to be the policy of this district to provide to all persons equal access to all categories of employment in this district, regardless of race, color, age, creed, religion, sex, sexual orientation, ancestry, national origin, marital status, genetic information, pregnancy or handicap/disability. The district shall make reasonable accommodations for identified physical and mental impairments that constitute disabilities, consistent with the requirements of federal and state laws and regulations. The Board also declares it to be the policy of this district to comply with federal law and regulations under Title IX prohibiting sexual harassment, which is a form of unlawful discrimination on the basis of sex. Such discrimination shall be referred to as Title IX sexual harassment. Inquiries regarding the application of Title IX to the district may be referred to the Title IX Coordinator, to the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights of the U.S. Department of Education, or both. The Board designates the Business Manager, David Gates, as the district’s Compliance Officer and Title IX Coordinator. The Compliance Officer/Title IX Coordinator can be contacted at 100 Dartmouth Avenue, Johnstown, PA 15905; Email:  David Gates  Phone: 814-535-1507. For more information and/or to see the full board policy on discrimination/Title IX harassment affecting staff, please refer to Policy No. 104 Discrimination/Title IX Harassment Affecting Staff.