Greetings neighbors, and thank you once again for taking a little time to find out what’s happening here in our North Penn schools and community! The remaining snow on the ground can make all of us a little extra eager for those promised warmer days ahead, but this time of year affords us truly special opportunities to celebrate and elevate our students, families, and the tremendous work of our District staff. 

First, this time of year comes with an important invitation to celebrate and mindfully observe Black History Month, especially as one of our favorite student events approaches - The Black History Oratorical Competition beginning at 6 PM on February 27th at NPHS. This insightful, moving, must-see event allows students of all ages to take center stage and cast a bright light upon this important pillar of our unique American story through the words of Black leaders themselves. If you’ve never seen this event, don’t miss your opportunity to see how our students radiate their words and grow as leaders themselves!

In addition, our calendars are filled with opportunities to support our students as they compete and create together. A long and competitive winter sports season is coming to a close and it’s playoff time for many of our high school athletes. Congratulations to all our sports teams and dedicated athletes who have fought hard to make their playoffs, or qualified for district and state competitions! Don’t forget to check our athletics calendar to find out how to support these teams as they close out their seasons. We also have plenty of creative teams finishing up their seasons, as our middle school musicals will open in a few short weeks. Don’t miss these spectacular family-friendly performances of Matilda, The Addams Family, and The Wizard of Oz, and to our students in the cast and crew: Break a leg!

While we celebrate and elevate our students in their endeavors, this past month also gave us an opportunity to support and thank key members of our educational community - our school counselors. During National School Counselors Week, we recognized the heroes who help students with sometimes silent but often difficult challenges to their mental health, including academic pressures, social anxieties, and other personal challenges. This work has never been more important and goes way beyond helping students just when they’re having a difficult day. Counselors are always collaborating behind the scenes with teachers and administrators to create a positive school environment, promote student mental health, and develop programs that meet the diverse needs of our students. Counselors, thank you for all you do! 

Finally, February is host to the beginning of an often unwelcome but vital conversation that impacts every one of our North Penn families. Following a Commonwealth Court ruling one year ago which deemed Pennsylvania’s lack of public education funding “unconstitutional,” Governor Shapiro called for a 14% increase to that funding, as part of his overall budget proposal. It would be the first step in a process that will take several budget cycles but would implement some of the suggestions of the Basic Education Funding Commission which traveled the state to extensively investigate the impacts of inadequate and inequitable funding last year. Most of the increase would come through a new “adequacy formula” which aims to assist the most underfunded districts and would increase state funding to North Penn School District by about $800,000. 

I know that what happens in Harrisburg can sometimes disappoint, feel out of reach, or fall to the bottom of our list of things to worry about as we work and take care of our families each day. But in our democracy, our representatives must listen when a community comes together to elevate a cause, and the adequate and equitable funding of our schools is one which we must all support - for students and taxpayers alike. There will be many opportunities to advocate in the coming months, but one of the easiest and most impactful ways to start is to call your State Representative and Senator to leave a message asking that they support adequate and equitable funding for public schools as the budget process gets underway. If you’re not sure who they are, or how to call and leave a message for them, you can easily find all that information here. I’m encouraged that neighbors are already raising this issue and organizing to support our students and community with persistence and patience. These efforts are worth our shared time and our diligence. Stay tuned in the months ahead!

With many thanks and best wishes for healthy and happy weeks ahead,