Principal Palazzo kneels beside students building with Legos so they can show him their progress during recess in a first grade classroom.
Kindergarten enrollment has grown. Student to teacher ratios are higher than ever and the facility is straining to welcome the surge of incoming students. This boy’s bathroom is struggling to accommodate about 80 kindergarteners.
Superintendent David McAndrew came to Panther Valley School District after working almost twenty years in Jim Thorpe Area School District. He had a strong desire to work in the school district where he lived to serve his own community but without funding he’s still struggling not to cut things like gym, art, music, etc. from the budget.
The main street through Nesquehoning, Route 209, loops up through the mountain to Lansford, Summit Hill, and Coaldale. The four towns make up the Panther Valley School District. PTO President Amber Zuber described the area as having ”coal region culture.”
Sarah Smith became houseless in July. With the help of a new program called Family Promise, she found temporary housing for herself and her five children outside of the district. But she is determined to find permanent housing here in the district so that her kids can continue to attend school in Panther Valley School District. The district has provided her family with support through the elementary school’s Family Development Specialist, securing transportation to and from their temporary housing, and her children’s educational experience is much better here than in other districts where she reports they were bullied.
Teachers are only given $100 for classroom materials and so Kara Krajnak spends her own money to decorate her first grade classroom. ”I’m single and I have no kids, so these are my kids. So when I spend money to put something in here, that’s like what I’m made to do.”
Maria Szczecina stands behind the desk chair in her classroom adorned with brightly colored educational tools. She is one of two Title 1 Reading teachers at the school. She used the word ”triage” to describe coping with inadequate funding and the state of the facility.
On the outside of the building, Principal Palazzo gestures at the wall to show water levels when the courtyard floods.
Kara Krajnak brings books and magazines to fill this reading nook with plenty of material for students to enjoy.
Principal Rob Palazzo also serves as Panther Valley Elementary’s school psychologist and the district’s grant writer. He’s wearing multiple hats in an underfunded school in disrepair. But he loves his job and he’s dedicated to the youngsters in his school.