Tuesday, April 24, 2012
Supporters will be able to resubmit their request in the future.
The public turned out to pack the meeting room at Monday night's school board meeting where high school guidance counselor Ernest Hadrick and supporters had come to ask the district to consider naming the track and field portion of the high school's new athletic complex after former Norristown Area High School track star and Olympic medal-winner Joshua "Josh" Culbreath. The board denied the request in a 7-2 vote, but suggested they would reconsider the proposal at a later date. The district still needs to raise $1.5 million to finish paying for the complex and reportedly hoped to do so by offering naming rates for components of the complex – the scoreboard, bleachers, field, track, etc. Supporters of naming the track and field portions "…
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Norristown Area High School
1900 Eagle Dr, Norristown, PA
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Tuesday, March 27, 2012
The board voted Monday night to approve the team's travel plan.
According to The Times Herald, the Norristown Area School Board approved the travel plans for the four members of the Eisenhower Middle School Robotics Team and their two chaperones to attend the 2012 VEX Robotics World Competition in California in April. The team and their captain, School District Instructional Technology Directory Beth Roth, had spent last week frantically fundraising for the effort and given the publicity surrounding the team's initial hurdles in going to California. Parents, district employees and other supporters were eager to donate to the cause. Anne Marie Rohricht, the district's chief financial officer, told The Herald that school district employees and others in the community contributed $2,410 last week. …
Tuesday, March 20, 2012
The school board gave the students permission to travel to the 2012 Vex Robotics World Middle School Competition in California.
According to The Times Herald, the Norristown Area School Board gave three Eisenhower Middle School students permission to travel to California next month to compete in the 2012 Vex Robotics World Middle School Competition at last night's school board meeting, provided the students can raise the $8000 needed for the trip. Parents and supporters had expressed outrage last week after a blog post by a parent in a nearby school district outlined the plight of Norristown students Imer Vazquez, Francesco Fernandez and Tony Zevallos who were invited to the competition but denied permission by the school board, reportedly without explanaition. School board members and the district were inundated with calls and emails expressing support for the …
Friday, March 16, 2012
Norristown Councilmember Dr. Mary DeSouza offers her support of the Eisenhower students hoping to go to California for a world championship robotics competition.
By Dr. Mary (Mimi) DeSouza, MBA, PhD., Norristown Council First District I was dismayed and disheartened to have received an email about the NASD School Board not approving the application for the Eisenhower Middle School Students to attend the International Robotics Competition in California. As an educator, resident of Norristown and a local elected official, I find the position by the school board to be not only counter-intuitive but actively hostile toward children trying to improve their chances for their future. We need to encourage students in school and allow them as many opportunities to expand their horizons and reach for the stars. Children in Norristown see very few opportunities for themselves in their surroundings; as adults/…
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Eisenhower Middle School
1601 Markley St, Norristown, PA
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NASD Instructional Technology Director Beth Roth has submitted the application and the fee before the deadline and is optimistic the school board will grant official permission on Monday.
Beth Roth, Instructional Technology Director for the district and Robotics Team captain, has told Norristown Patch that although she hasn't received official word from the school board or the district, she has submitted the application and the $750 entrance fee to the 2012 Vex Robotics World Middle School Competition. Roth remains confident that the school board will be forthcoming with official permission soon. "We're moving forward," said Roth. "Now I have to raise the money." According to The Times Herald, the team will need to raise close to $8000 for travel and lodging expenses and the cost of shipping the robots to Anaheim, California where the competition is being held. Outraged parents and supporters had bombarded the school …
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Eisenhower Middle School
1601 Markley St, Norristown, PA
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1265565
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An open letter from a Norristown Area School District alumnus to the Norristown Area School Board.
By Hakim K. Jones, Norristown Area School District alumnus I truly hope that something can be done regarding the Eisenhower students and staff who earned the opportunity of a lifetime. The community, alumni and total strangers have been learning about the situation and are behind these students 100%. They now have support from outside of the district as you will see in the blog below. As a community member and public servant first, I'm curious as to why this can't happen for our youth who've earned it? In being a former Eisenhower Middle School and NAHS student athlete and musician, its very important that our youth have any and every opportunity to succeed. Its definitely a long term investment for everyone! The Robotic Club is …
An open letter from a Norristown Area School District alumna to the Norristown Area School Board.
By Tiffany Pottinger-Sutton, Norristown Area School District Alumna I must express the disappointment and shock I felt when I learned that your board denied the Eisenhower Middle School Robotics Team request to participate in the academic-based VEX Robotics Competition. As an Eisenhower and NAHS Alum and a masters level STEM discipline professional working in the local biotech community, I recognize the importance of giving our youth opportunities to take pride in their endeavors, particularly those that have such extraordinary implications for next generations entering the workforce. Federal and State policy initiatives are often aimed at improving STEM education (U.S. Department of Education, April 2011) and we are doing our country a …
Thursday, March 15, 2012
According to parents and supporters, three Eisenhower students on the school's robotics team who were invited to a world championship competition in California are being denied the opportunity by the school board without explanation.
Norristown Patch reported earlier this week on a great triumph by members of the Eisenhower Middle School's robotics team. Three students – Imer Vazquez, Francesco Fernandez and Tony Zevallos – were invited to compete in the 2012 Vex Robotics World Middle School Competition in Anaheim next month. The budding engineers would be competing against middle schoolers from across the globe, designing functional robots and putting them through their paces. Now that good news has turned sour and parents and supporters of the kids are blaming the Norristown Area School District. According to a blog post by Kelly Whalen, a parent in the Downigntown School District who is involved in that area's robotics teams, the Norristown Area School Board on …
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Eisenhower Middle School
1601 Markley St, Norristown, PA
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Monday, March 12, 2012
The district is worried it won't get reimbursed from the state for work at the high school and students from Eisenhower Middle School score a top spot at a world robotics competition in California.
The Times Herald has the good news and the bad from the Norristown Area School District (NASD). In the bad, The Times Herald says the district is worried that a proposed 5% cut in Gov. Corbett's budget for state reimbursements to local districts will mean that not all of the $1.62 million dollars the district was expecting for air conditioning and heating upgrades to Norristown Area High School will come in. NASD Chief Financial Officer Anne Marie Rohricht said the district is expecting clarification on the situation from the Department of Education sometime in the next few weeks. You can read more about NASD and other area districts' finances here. In much nicer news, some students at Eisenhower Middle School are also in need of some …
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Eisenhower Middle School
1601 Markley St, Norristown, PA
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1265565
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40.144454
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Norristown Area High School
1900 Eagle Dr, Norristown, PA
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Tuesday, February 14, 2012
There's another public forum for the mural project planned for Lafayette and DeKalb and the high school is hosting an evening of the arts.
The folks behind are having another public forum on Thursday, Feb. 16, at 7 p.m. at . This time project manager Deborah Zuchman from the Philadelphia Mural Art Project will have Matthew Bush, the artist chosen to create the mural, on hand to meet the with residents. The forum will give everyone an opportunity to hear his vision for the project based on the input he's received do far. Residents and their families are invited to attend the meeting and be part of the process. The artist is looking for input and ideas straight from Norristown, so go to the meeting and make your voice heard. If you're more interested in seeing art than making it, across town at , the district is hosting an featuring a variety of works in watercolor, oils, …
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Norristown Municipal Hall
235 E Airy St, Norristown, PA
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40.144454
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Norristown Area High School
1900 Eagle Dr, Norristown, PA
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1878793
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Marybeth Monaghan
10:20 am on Tuesday, March 27, 2012
They are going and I am so grateful to the Times Herald for keeping this need "out there" and to all the folks who donated and cared. Thank you to all and good luck to our robotics team...we are proud of you. mB~ more ›