Anne's Arts & Activities Blog

Bradford Area High School’s new principal wants to cultivate a high-performing school climate that emphasizes college and career readiness. David Ray gave a presentation during Monday’s Bradford Area School Board meeting on the school’s “Getting Results Plan,” which is required by the state Department of Education. He said, “Each member of the school community will promote, enhance and sustain shared vision of a positive school climate.” Ray said one of his goals for this year is to have a much more focused look at putting students into career pathways by having increased enrollment in career and technical education schools and an increased number of students in advancement placement courses. He said the staff will also more closely monitor student attendance and participation. The key is “a consistent effort to identify struggling students and to implement plans to help those students succeed,” Ray said. He said the school administration has “developed a customized system of academic ...

David Ray is new BAHS principal; Coffman named Dean of Students By ANNE HOLLIDAY WESB/WBRR News Director Current Bradford Area High School assistant principal David Ray will be the school’s new principal and current principal Ken Coffman will hold the newly created position of Dean of Students at the school. The moves were made during Monday’s Bradford Area School Board meeting are effective July 1. Both positions have an annual salary of $85,662. Also during Monday’s meeting the board officially approved the 2012-13 general fund budget. “This is our 11th year without a tax increase,” said business manager Kathy Boyd. “I think that’s pretty nice.” She said putting the budget together did not come without its challenges from the state because the basic instruction subsidy is the equal to the amount the district received in 2008-09; this is the second year there is no reimbursement for charter school students (the district has 51); this is the fifth year special education has been level...

Two state police drug detection dogs were at Bradford Area High School this morning doing a search that had been planned by school officials and police. Principal Ken Coffman tells WESB and The HERO that the search was “part of an ongoing effort to keep our students safe from illegal drug activity.” Coffman, along with School Resource Officer Butch Bartlett and state police coordinated the search. Coffman said no one but the planners knew about it until a few minutes before the dogs arrived. The dogs – with their handlers Trooper Brett Hanlin of Clearfield and Trooper Reed Grenci of Mercer – arrived at the school at 8:20 a.m. and left at about 9:30 a.m. The school was on security lockdown while the dogs searched. Coffman said he couldn’t say if the dogs found anything.