Dear Butler Area School District Community: 

Butler Area School District has a very successful athletic program. Many of our teams make the playoffs every year.   

2016-2017 -- 16 varsity teams made the  playoffs
2017-2018 -- 18 varsity teams made the playoffs (broke our school record)
2018-2019 -- 15 varsity teams made the playoffs

Over that three year span, we have had 101 athletes go on to play a sport in college.
 
However, our football program has not thrived. The program has had 7 coaches in 21 years and has an extremely low participation rate. I have spent time looking at data related to the program, including analyzing the game stats, comparing youth football rosters to varsity rosters and reviewing participation rates in multiple sports. I have also assessed the funding of the football program as well as conducted an economic comparison of the other schools in our section. In addition, I have had informal discussions about our football program with many people. 

Dear Butler Area School District Parents and Students:

As you know, Wednesday, November 27 was a Flexible Instructional Day (FID) for Butler Area School District. Since this was our first time implementing FIDS, we would like your feedback regarding the day. 

Please take a few minutes to complete the survey that applies to you.

Parents/Guardians: https://forms.gle/XhXAJTcAVHDeyhe46

Students: https://forms.gle/dQByvrTEXMCsTkEW8

For more information about Flexible Instructional Days, please visit: https://www.basdk12.org/Content/fid.

Thank you!

Center Avenue Community School students, parents, faculty and staff enjoyed a Thanksgiving feast! View photos on Flickr>

Dear Center Avenue Community School Parents/Guardians:

The district is currently considering how our schools are organized.  To help guide us through the process, the district convened a Community Committee for School Organization that was composed of many stakeholders, including a parent from Center Avenue.  

One of the recommendations made by this committee was for the district to research and develop more detailed plans of possibly making the district’s elementary school grades K-5.  As part of this proposal, Center Avenue’s current building would become a traditional K-5 elementary school and the existing Center Avenue Community School programs would move to a new location.  

We still have a lot of work, consideration and deliberation that needs to occur before any final decision can be made and changes can take effect. However, as we work through this process, we want to reassure you that the district is committed to continuing the unique programming that Center Avenue Community School currently offers. 

Three local businesses have made generous contributions to the Golden Tornado Scholastic Foundation, Inc. through the Educational Improvement Tax Credit  (EITC) Program. Nextier Bank donated $20,000, First National Bank donated $5,000, and UPMC donated $1,000.

The donations will be used to support STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, mathematics) education at Butler Area School District.

Please visit the Scholastic Foundation Website at https://www.goldentornadoscholasticfoundation.org/ to learn more about EITC and STEAM.

Dr. Brian White, Superintendent of the Butler Area School District, shared the recommendation of our Community Committee for School Organization at the School Board meeting on November 18.

The Community Committee for School Organization met four times before making a recommendation.

The report details Butler Area School District’s school organization process to date as well as a recommendation from the Community Committee for School Organization.

Click to view the report>

In recognition of School Psychology Awareness Week, Center Avenue faculty, staff and students had the opportunity to "find their focus" by writing one of three things: a short term and a long term goal, an aspect of PBIS that has helped them, or three positive messages. 

Need some information about your student's school and program?

We have created a "FIDS" page on our website to help keep everybody informed of what to expect for our upcoming Flexible Instructional Day on November 27. Click to visit that page>

Dear Butler Area School District Parents/Guardians: 

Butler Area School District has designated Wednesday, November 27 as a Flexible Instruction Day. Students will not report to school, but will have assignments to complete at home.

Flexible Instructional Days (FID) is a new initiative for schools launched by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Students will receive instructional materials from each of their normally scheduled classes for this day to take home. It is expected that all students complete the assigned learning activities and actively participate in the assigned activities. Students will submit work within 10 days (by December 9) to receive attendance credit for this day. Parents of secondary students (grades 7-12) will receive a Verification of Student Attendance form that will need to be signed and returned to designate that their child participated in the assigned student activities. Students with Special Needs will receive Flexible Instructional Day (FID) lessons designed in accordance to their needs as identified in their individualized education plans.

Vision To Learn is a non-profit organization that provides free eye exams and glasses to children in need. Vision To Learn will bring their mobile eye clinic to our schools and provide free eye exams to students within the next few weeks. In addition to the exam, students may also receive glasses. 

View the Vision to Learn letter to parents/guardians>

View the Vision to Learn flyer>

View the Vision to Learn consent form>

On Friday, October 25th, Center Avenue Jr./Sr. High School students were treated to a Motivational Speaker and Magician. This event was a lot of fun for both staff and students. Our students were able to let loose and laugh a little bit. A big thanks goes out to Michael Liebler, Connecting2Tomorrow Founder, for helping to organize and provide this event!