Rotary District 7430's Gala Committee for The Rotary Foundation's 100th anniversary has been busy planning an evening of dinner and dancing on Saturday, March 11, 2017, from 6 -10 p.m. at the PineCrest Country Club, 101 Country Club Drive, Lansdale, PA
Our club has donated a Musikfest themed basket of goodies to help the Annual Fund. Thank you to the club for its generosity.
I’m hoping you will join Jean and me for a fun-filled evening of fellowship in celebration of 100 Years of our Rotary Foundation. In addition to fine dining and dancing, we will have a wonderful celebration of Rotary fellowship.
We are seeking a 3rd host family for our exchange student Francisco, from Chile. This hosting will be from March - June, 2017.
His current host family, Tom & Landa Mohr will begin traveling during the month of March and we must move Francisco as soon as possible.
If you are interested or know of family or friends that might consider this wonderful opportunity, contact Janet Kolepp, 484-241-1252 or jkolepp@gmail.com.
As with many things in Rotary, you receive more in return than you ever expected.
Thank you to our wonderful hosts at Traditions of Hanover. Jennifer Murphy,Marketing Director welcomed MSR and shared with us the lifestyle offered at Traditions.
No worrying about maintaining a home, cooking or cleaning. Jennifer and the staff at Traditions are available to arrange a personal tour for anyone interested in Independent Living.
Cheryl Baker, President-Elect, introduced our Strategic Plan for 2017-2018.
We are friends, neighbors and people of action engaged in creating lasting humanitarian change locally and globally.
Our 4 Goal Areas are:
Community Awareness,
Community Involvement,
Impactful Projects and
Engaged Members.
Please click on the Strategic Plan Presentation in Downloads on our homepage and share with the Board your thoughts and comments.
First Thursday, March 2nd, we will be meeting at the Artisan Wine Bar. See you there!
AnInternational Women’s Day will be conducted at Cedar Crest College on Wednesday, March 8, 2017 in an effort to recruit more women to Rotary.
The event will start with round table discussions from 3:00-5:00 pm, followed by a celebration of women with networking, drinks, snacks, and entertainment from 5:00-7:00 pm.
Our District Governor, Linda Young, will speak in support of the effort. The invitation is to all area Rotary Clubs. Despite it being geared toward women Rotarians, men are invited as well!
Please join women from throughout the Lehigh Valley to celebrate International Women's Day on Wednesday, March 8, 2017 from 5:00-7:00pm at Cedar Crest College. Tickets $25 in advance / $30 at door.
Dr. Joseph J. Roy, Superintendent of Schools at the Bethlehem Area School District (BASD), was the guest speaker for the Downtown Bethlehem Rotary meeting on February 15th. He received his undergraduate degree from Franklin and Marshall College, his master’s degree from Bucknell University and his doctoral degree from Lehigh University. A lifelong educator, Dr. Roy held positions as a social studies teacher, principal, and assistant superintendent in several Pennsylvania school districts until the start of his tenure as BASD Superintendent in 2010. The Pennsylvania Association of School Administrators honored Dr. Roy as the 2017 "Superintendent of the Year."
Quick facts about BASD:
6th largest school district in Pennsylvania
5th largest employer in Northampton County
22 schools with almost 14,000 students
Largest district to first implement full-day kindergarten in 2015-16
Non-homestead properties generated $82.1 Million (51%) of BASD tax base.
Top 20+ Bethlehem properties paid $18+million in property taxes
The highest Bethlehem property paid $24,600 in taxes; the median paid $3,200.
Dr. Roy has 10,200 Twitter followers and actively uses Twitter as a direct form of communication with students and their families.
BASD continues to implement a number of key initiatives to benefit students and our community.
Roadmap to Educational Excellence is a framework for establishing goals for school improvement based on core learning, stretch learning, student engagement, and personal skill development.
Building early literacy skills lays the foundation for future educational success, yet many students enter kindergarten already behind. The Reading by Grade 3/Literacy Initiative along with universal full day kindergarten has produced student growth in literacy. The goal is to have all students become proficient readers by grade 3. Dr. Roy used a statistic from Lincoln Elementary School where they reduced the achievement gap. At the start of the year, only 38% of beginning students reached appropriate proficiency levels. By the end of the year, 90% reached appropriate proficiency levels. Children deemed proficient by third grade have more successful future outcomes, such as fewer special education needs and higher graduation rates.
Based on The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, The Leader in Me program focuses on character development and builds leadership skills to decrease discipline problems and increase engagement among teachers and parents.
United Way Community Schools help level the playing field for schools with a high poverty rate. BASD has 6 schools designated as community schools.
BASD has a number of common budget themes.
Controlled growth of local expenditures
Lack of adequate state funding
Charter school funding reform
BASD sends over $25 million per year to charter schools.
Charter school expenses continue to increase, while state funding has not.
Pennsylvania Public School Employees' Retirement System (PSERS) reform – pensions are high
Special thanks to MSR Shawn Deiter who was able to attend the meeting and provide a concise report for all.
Special thanks to Downtown Bethlehem President Gail Evans for extending an invitation to all MSR to attend.
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