MAHANOY CITY - For the second month in a row, the senior physics course was a topic of discussion during the public portion of Thursday's Mahanoy Area Board of Education meeting.
At the September meeting, parents asked the school board about returning the physics course to being taught during regular school hours, but they were told that the course, for the time being, would remain as an after-school course taught two days per week in late afternoon.
The course had been taught five-days per week, but according to Secondary Principal Thomas Smith, the physics instructor, Joseph Stofko, retired after more than 25 years in teaching and was not replaced. For seniors, physics is an optional course, and currently there are only five students in the class. Since the school district has been unable to find a part-time teacher who is certified to teach physics, the after-school course is taught by Stofko, who returned to help the district.
District resident Stacey Bennett spoke at last month's meeting and was the only parent to return to ask the board if there are any changes in the course's status.
"I'm here to tell you that it is still not working," said Bennett, whose daughter is taking the course. "As recently as this afternoon, I got a call from my daughter to pick her up because there was no physics class."
Bennett said while physics may be an course option for most seniors, there are students like her daughter who need to take the course for higher education opportunities.
"It needs to be taught during the day and taught to those who need it to get into college, and she (daughter) is one of them," Bennett said. "My daughter wants to go to school and tries her best at everything she does. She wants to be a doctor and she needs physics."
Bennett said trying to get the physics course scheduled after school when the five students have different extra-curricular activities, including jobs, is extremely difficult.
"I don't know what kind of solution we're going to come up with," Bennett said.
"We need an certified physics teacher," Smith said.
"Then advertise for one," Bennett said.
"Why should we pay for a full-time physics teacher to teach five kids?" said district Superintendent Joie Green.
"It's my understanding that the kids are working with Mr. Stofko to set the times up (for the classes)," said board President Thomas Bashinsky.
"It's not working. They all have different schedules," Bennett said. "It's not their (students) fault. It's not Mr. Stofko's fault. It's not your fault, but it needs to be addressed. They need to be taught in school."
Green said the district did advertise for a part-time physics teacher, but no one certified was interested to work part-time.
"The administration will look into it and we will get back to you," said Bashinsky.
District resident Cindy Loughlin asked if a cooperative agreement with another school district could be found to solve the problem.
"Isn't there a way to share with another district a physics teacher?" Loughlin said. "As a board of education, it is your responsibility to get the students ready for college. When I was in school, physics was an academic course and you took it whether you like it or not."
District technology supervisor Paul Babinsky introduced a possible option of arranging a live video-conferencing link with another school district so students could take the course when it is taught at the other location.
"So we have that capability?"asked Green, to which Babinsky said "Yes."
"I've done that," Green said. "I sat her to teach a course, but my class was in Philadelphia."
Board member Sharon Trusky said to arrange having students at Mahanoy Area receive instruction by a teacher in another district will require rescheduling for the Mahanoy Area students to fit into when the course is taught elsewhere.
"There is going to be a lot of logistics involved here," Trusky said.
Speaking to Bennett, Green said, "You'll have an answer by the middle of next week about what we're doing."