Schwank Applauds Bipartisan Safer Communities Act Grant Funding for the Reading School District

Reading March 15, 2024 − Today, the Pennsylvania Department of Education announced $39 million in the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act grant funding for 36 school districts, including $1,833,360 for the Reading School District.

The federal Bipartisan Safer Communities Act of 2022 provides funding to establish safe, healthy, and supportive learning environments in public elementary and secondary schools. PDE administers the program. Eligible uses for this funding include promoting the social, emotional, physical, and mental well-being of students and staff, addressing family and community engagement, and promoting equitable and inclusive practices.

Sen. Judy Schwank (D-Berks) welcomed the funding and said she believes this year’s state budget should build on these investments and drive mental health and safety resources to all Pennsylvania schools that need assistance.

“I’m grateful to see the Reading School District receive this vital assistance,” Schwank said. ” This investment reinforces our continued recognition that mental health is just as important as physical health, especially given the mental health struggles countless students across Pennsylvania are dealing with.”

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Schwank, Caltagirone, Rozzi: Reading School District and Berks IU Receive Funds   

READING, April 22, 2020 – Reading School District and the Berks County Intermediate Unit have been selected for Continuing of Education Equity Grants (CEEG) for the 2019-2020 academic year, State Sen. Judy Schwank (D-11th District), State Rep. Tom Caltagirone (D-127th District) and State Rep. Mark Rozzi (D-126th District) announced. 

CEEG grants are designed to help provide access and inclusion for all learners by bridging the gap for students who are currently limited in their ability to participate in continuity of education.

The grants may be used to purchase computer equipment, such as laptops, tablets and internet hot spots, or be used toward providing instructional materials, such as paper lessons and coursework. Schools with the highest percentages of students lacking access to resources were given priority in receiving CEEG grants.

The following organizations received a CEEG grant:

  • Berks County IU 14:  $11,300.00
  • Reading School District: $500,000.00

“In these difficult times it is imperative that we give students access to every resource available to ensure that they are able to continue learning, especially in districts like Reading where not every student has access to a computer or the internet,” Schwank said. “These funds will help our dedicated education professionals better reach their students.”

“Access to education is of paramount importance, and some of those connections have been lost while students have been out of school,” Caltagirone said. “I’m grateful to see these funds bridge that gap.”

“We know that students have been hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic,” Rozzi said. “These grants will help bring a little bit of normalcy back to their lives by getting them back in touch with their teachers.” 

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Legislators Announce Reading School District Receives School Violence Prevention Grant

READING, October 17, 2018 – The U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Justice Programs has awarded the Pennsylvania Department of Education $1 million to equip students and educators across the state with strategies to prevent school violence, State Sen. Judy Schwank (D-Berks), State Rep. Mark Rozzi (D-126th District) and State Rep. Tom Caltagirone (D-127th District) announced.

The following Reading School District schools will receive funds awarded through the STOP School Violence Prevention and Mental Health Training Program and authorized by the STOP School Violence Act enacted in March 2018:

  • Northeast Middle School
  • Northwest Middle School
  • Reading Intermediate High School
  • Reading Senior High School
  • Southern Middle School
  • Southwest Middle School

“This funding will help Reading School District better serve its students,” Schwank said. “Students need a safe environment to focus on their studies, and this money will help provide that setting.”

“Students, faculty and staff all deserve to learn and work in a safe environment, we must do everything we can to support them,” Rozzi said.

“In this day and age, we must do all we can to equip our students and educators with tools they can use to keep safe. This funding will go a long way toward achieving that goal,” Caltagirone said.

The Department of Education is working with Sandy Hook Promise (SHP), a national, nonprofit organization established following the mass shooting at a Sandy Hook Elementary School in 2012 to provide training to educators and students across the state.

The funding will be used to implement SHP’s Start With Hello and Say Something, which are among SHP’s Know the Signs programs aimed at empowering students. Start With Hello encourages and guides students in creating socially inclusive school communities, while Say Something trains students to recognize the signs and appropriately intervene when they identify someone as exhibiting behaviors that they may be a threat to themselves or others.

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BCIU to review Reading School District’s administrative capabilities

While it may have been drowned out by the bickering of board members, the Reading School Board approved a major move Monday night.

The board voted to have the Berks County Intermediate Unit perform an assessment of the district administration, reporting back on what the district needs to do to improve its academic and financial performance. Read more

By David Mekeel

The Reading Eagle

Schwank, Caltagirone, Rozzi Welcome AG’s Special Reading School District Audit

HARRISBURG, May 3, 2013 – Three of Berks County’s leading Democratic state lawmakers today welcomed Auditor General Eugene DePasquale’s findings of the operation of the Reading School District.

Sen. Judy Schwank and Reps. Tom Caltagirone and Mark Rozzi said the findings, troubling as they continue to be, show that substantial and meaningful change needs to happen now in Reading.

“Unfortunately, mismanagement continues to be as much a part of the Reading School District as reading, writing and arithmetic,” said Caltagirone (D-Reading). “Our kids – the students who walk the halls of every Reading School District elementary, middle, intermediate unit, and high school – must return to be the central focus of how this district performs beginning today.”

“The fact that the auditor general, who is Pennsylvania’s independent watchdog, is pointing to the further evidence of insufficient governance policies is more evidence that the Reading School District needs to get its act together and the board needs to get down to working for the best interests of the children,” Schwank (D-Ruscombmanor Twp.) said.

“Without immediate and lasting change, the Reading School District will cement a reputation that will last generations,” Rozzi (D-Muhlenberg Twp.) said. “That’s very bad news for our children. I strongly implore the school board and the administration to work together like they’ve never worked together before.”

DePasquale’s findings that Reading remains mired in an unending cycle of lapsed teacher certificates, insufficient internal controls and other problems are similar to an audit conducted a year ago by the auditor general’s office.

In January 2012, then-Auditor General Jack Wagner found 14 teachers had been working with improper certification; the district did not properly account or retain records for grant receipts and expenditures; and weaknesses in vendor computer databases could allow for unauthorized changes that could not be tracked.

The district is on the state’s “financial watch” list due to overwhelming deficits in 2012-’13 ($40 million) and in the upcoming fiscal year ($8 million).

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Schwank, Caltagirone: Reading School District Awarded Significant Federal Grant

READING, Jan. 19, 2012 — Reading School District has been awarded a $500,000 federal grant to help foster after-school educational programs, according to state Sen. Judy Schwank and state Rep. Tom Caltagirone.

Reading was one of 17 school districts across the state to receive the 21st Century Community Learning Center Challenge grant, which will be used to establish community learning centers that would provide educational services to students in struggling school districts.

“This is an innovative plan that will reinforce the lessons our students are learning in the classroom in a safe environment,” said Schwank (D-11th dist.). “We have so many bright and eager students in the Reading School District who want to learn, and thanks to this grant, they will be able to continue their studies after school dismissal.”

“Every child deserves an opportunity to succeed, and so many students can benefit from extra opportunities to learn and grow,” said Caltagirone (D-127th dist.). “This grant will help the Reading School District ensure that students are receiving a quality education.”

Reading was selected among 119 applicants from across the state. The Pennsylvania Department of Education distributed a total of $20.9 million in federal grant funding.

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