Our Mission: Nurture and challenge for success

A frequently asked question is “Why not build snow days into the calendar”?  The answer lies in our history.  In the past, snow days were actually built into the calendar; however that seemed to cause confusion and consternation for parents, and staff, when (for example) the district had a snow day to make-up with short notice.  With the snow days tacked on to the end of the school year, everyone knows well in advance the last day of school and can make plans accordingly.   Even in an extraordinary winter like this one, if the school year runs into scheduled vacations, it still provides plenty of opportunity for vacation plans to change.  Parents may also make the decision to continue with their plans.  However, the district still asks that parents follow procedure, as you would for any absence, and send a note to your building principal that your student(s) will miss the last days of school.

Another frequently asked question is, “Why call a 2-hour delay”?  There are several reasons for a 2-hour delay.  For our young drivers, it allows them to drive in the daylight and avoid rush hour traffic.  For our maintenance people, it gives them extra time to plow parking lots, clear sidewalks, and make sure each building’s heating system is working properly.  For all our students, it provides a safer commute in daylight, and gives extra time for roads and sidewalks to clear.  For our busing service, they may need additional time to dig out and clear the buses to begin their bus route.  For the state and local road crews, it allows extra time to clear the roads of snow and debris.  And for the administration, it provides us time to make sure all of the above has happened and students have a safe environment.  Sometimes the 2-hour delay also allows time to see if the weather forecast was correct as predicted, in which case, we then may make the call to close school.

The district does not operate a before and after school program.  However, Envisions runs  before school, after school, and camp programs located in many of our school buildings.  Envisions is a separate entity from the school district, although they have donated  funds to the district.  We partner with them for before and after school care in our buildings for the convenience of our parents.  If you have questions about the Envisions  program, please call their business office at (717) 569-0796 or check their website at http://www.envisionschildcare.com

Teaching assignment considerations include the needs of the students, the district, the needs of each building, and the needs of the teaching staff.

Changes in enrollments, class sizes, or class configuration (such as adding full day kindergarten), and retirements or resignations of teaching staff could all mean a reassignment of teaching staff.

Please know that a lot of time and consideration, by building principals and district office administrators, are put into all of the staffing decisions.  The district administration works  diligently to organize teaching staff to provide a quality, balanced staff in each building.

In addition, it is important to remember that staff members are employees of the district (not a specific building) and the district has the right of assignment each year.  Staff members will be given notice each spring if a change in staff assignments will affect them.   We do understand that change is hard, but at the same time, we must make decisions about the best use of personnel for all of our students across the district.  It is the responsibility of the administration to effectively and efficiently utilize our personnel for the benefit of the entire district.

The activity fee helps to defray the cost of such things as coach or adviser stipends, supplies, materials, uniform costs, utilities, and facility maintenance.  This allows more taxpayer dollars to be allocated for core curriculum subjects.

There are two criteria for determining which activities will require a fee.  The first criteria is – is the activity part of a student’s grade?  If so, there is no fee.  The second criteria is – does the advisor or coach for the activity receive a stipend for running the activity?  If the answer is yes, then there is an activity fee.  There will be a list posted on the website to identify which activities, based on the above criteria, will require activity fees.

Requests for transcripts can be made by downloading and submitting one of the forms below.  Please follow the instructions included on the form.

Transcripts for Alumni:

Alumni_Transcript_Form-1

Transcripts for current students:

Student_Transcript_Request_Form

You may certainly speak with the School Board, the Superintendent, and/or any  Administrator on any topic that concerns you.  You may email any of the administrators directly.  Email addresses for all staff members are provided on our website, www.mtwp.net.  The staff directory is on the left hand side of the front page under Quick Links.

The School Board can best be reached via email to the Board Secretary, Jennifer Davidson, davidsje@mtwp.net.  Her direct phone number is 717 560-3110.

Beginning with the 2013-2014 school year, the minutes and the attachments are posted to our website as a pdf document.  Prior to the 2013-2014 school year, just minutes and agendas are posted to our website.  For all Board meetings, the full minutes and all attachments are bound in the Board books (real paper) in the district office.  They are available for you to view during office hours, 8 AM – 4:00 PM on school days.  If there are particular attachments you are interested in, I will be happy to send those to you electronically.
Jennifer Davidson, School Board Secretary, 560-3110 or davidsje@mtwp.net

At the request of parents, Manheim Township School District does adhere to the PA “Twin Law”. Building administrators and staff members work as a team to develop well-balanced classes. Many factors are taken into account when classes are being developed (i.e, male/female ratio, academic needs, etc.). While requests are not always able to be honored (except in the case of the “Twin Law”, we do encourage parents to discuss specific requests with the building administrator.

The district does not operate a preschool program.  However, we partner with Owl Hill Learning Center.  Owl Hill Learning Center runs and is the contact for the 4-year old Pre-K program.  If you have specific questions about enrollment for the Pre-K program, please call  Mrs. Mathers,  Educational Director at Owl Hill Learning Center, 717 779-3104.

Since 2007, MTSD has partnered with Owl Hill Learning Center to offer a 4 year old Pre-K program. This program is funded through the PA Pre-K Counts Grant. The PA Pre-K Counts Grant has specific requirements that we must fulfill in order to receive continued funding. The state funding for this grant is on a year to year basis. We are hopeful that the funding will continue to be part of the state budget.

There are several ways to contact the School Board; you may write a letter and send it to the district address or to the Board Secretary, Jennifer Davidson, listed below.  You may attend a School Board meeting and speak during the citizens’ comments section.  Each meeting agenda has at least one section for citizens’ comments on any topic you wish.

The purpose of the citizens’ comments section of the school board agenda is for a citizen to state their opinion, and for the Board to hear the opinions and concerns of the taxpayers.  According to School Board Policy #903, “Each statement made by a participant shall be limited to five minutes duration.  No participant may speak more than once on the same topic, unless all others who which to speak on that topic have been heard”.  The Board will listen to your comments but will not engage in a discussion at the Board meeting.  The Board President will direct the appropriate administrator to follow up with your concerns and questions after the board meeting.

The meeting dates, and individual Board member contact information, are listed under the School Board tab on the home page.