Northern Lehigh School District continues to stack up well with its contemporaries in the classroom.

Karen Nicholas, assistant to the superintendent, reviewed the Pennsylvania Value-added Assessment System data with the school board on Monday."I'm very proud to announce every one of our schools in the school district is in the green band," said Nicholas.Referred to as PVAAS, the data shows information on growth in the past, as well as projections to the future, Nicholas said.She said a score of zero is acceptable, and that anything zero or above shows growth and is favorable.Several school principals then gave overviews on the scores their respective students earned in mathematics and reading.Linda Marcincin, principal of Slatington Elementary, said she's very proud with the teachers and students."The data shows we're doing something right," Marcincin said. "We've made AYP (Adequate Yearly Progress) ever since its inception."Marcincin said the school's average growth index in math is 7.5, while its average growth index in reading is 3.4."Our teachers work hard to make sure this happens," Marcincin said. "We're all proud of them."Jill Chamberlain, principal of Northern Lehigh Middle School, said the school's average growth index in math is 4.0, while its average growth index is reading is 2.8."We are as competitive as anybody else in the Valley, if not more so," Chamberlain said. "Our students come here and they're ready to learn."Aileen Yadush, principal of the high school, said the school's average growth index in math is 2.4."I'm very, very proud of their success," Yadush said. "I was just giddy when I found out where the district fell."Nicholas said there were many factors that played a role in the district's success."I attribute our success to a combination that starts with our school board, which has been very supportive; a very strong administrative team that works very well together; we have extremely hard-working teachers in the district; our staff is extremely strong and dedicated; and are students are absolutely wonderful," Nicholas said. "Kudos to you; we are successful and doing really well."Board President Edward Hartman praised everyone involved."I'd like to thank you, Mrs. Nicholas, and the principals," Hartman said. "You are doing a very good job."Superintendent Michael Michaels thanked Nicholas for the nice presentation."I tell our teachers and administration, we don't want to hear what Northern Lehigh can't do; that's been outlawed," Michaels said. "We talk about how can we make Northern Lehigh most successful; I wish the auditorium would be filled to see how well we're doing."Michaels continued to extol praise on the district."We're doing extremely well for a very small school district with very difficult financial constraints," he said. "I tell everyone Northern Lehigh is getting their bang for their dollars."Michaels also thanked the nine members of the board of education, and added "we could not be successful if not for them giving us the tools."The information can be reviewed at

http://pvaas.sas.com.In other business, the board:- Approved the submission of PlanCon Part H: Project Financing to the Pennsylvania Department of Education for the additions and alterations to Slatington Elementary School.- Adopted the 2011-12 Carbon Lehigh Intermediate Unit Facilities Plan Committee Report that was unanimously adopted by the CLIU Facilities Plan Committee on Jan. 28, 2011. In addition, the board reaffirms its commitment to the original construct of the Facilities Planning, approved Nov. 1, 1989, which consists of a series of prioritized inquires to be considered in determining future locations of the CLIU and school district special education classes.- Approved an agreement between the district and OAA Orthopedic Specialists of Allentown for the purpose of providing the services of a qualified athletic trainer for the 2011-12 through the 2015-16 school years.The costs for the services will be $28,800 for the 2011-12 school year (zero-percent increase)' $29,090 for 2012-13 (1-percent increase); $29,380 for 2013-14 (1-percent increase); $29,970 for 2014-15 (2-percent increase); and $30,570 for 2015-16 (2-percent increase). In addition, addendum B in the contract includes a rider for athletic trainer services for middle school sports at a fixed cost of $1,800 per year over the duration of the contract.- Entered into an agreement with Carbon Lehigh Intermediate Unit #21 to continue serving the district's student information system needs with Pearson (formerly Apple) PowerSchool. The effective data of this agreement is July 1, 2010, and will be in effect for five years and thereafter will automatically renew for successive one-year terms. First year usage fee is $26,138, and is based on 2,050 students at a cost of $12.75 annually per student. Usage fees are subject to increase based on current prices with the guarantee that the usage fee will not increase more than 5-percent from the previous year.- Approved a three-year contract renewal for local and long-distance telephone service with Level 3 Communications at a monthly recurring cost of $1,103.62 per month, $0.0266 per minute for intrastate calls and $0.0170 per minute for interstate calls.- Approved the renewal of the district's cellular phone service with Verizon Wireless for the two phones used by the district's maintenance department for $61.13 per month. This is a month-to-month agreement.- Approved a conference request for Susan Bahnick to attend Child Nutrition Directors Retreat April 3-4 in State College, PA; registration is $125; lodging, $65; and travel, $171,36, for a total approximate cost of $361.35. Funding for the retreat will come from the cafeteria budget.- Approved Lauren Tatusko, English, and Shawn Borger, emergency permit nurse, as substitute teachers for the 2010-11 school year at the 2010-11 substitute teacher rates as approved on the supplementary personnel salary schedule, pending verification of missing documents.- Approved Patricia Jones as a game worker for the 2010-11 school year. Game workers consist of ticket sellers and takers, game announcers, scoreboard operators, timers, field judges, and scorekeepers. The rate of pay is consistent with the rates approved on the 2010-11 supplementary personnel salary schedule.- Approved the request of employee #6822 to take a family medical leave for maternity beginning on or about May 13, 2011. The employee will be using accumulated sick days and personal days in conjunction with the family medical leave. The employee plans to return to current teaching position upon release from their attending physician on or about June 13, 2011.- Granted homebound instruction for an 8th grade student, student no. 1547800, for five hours per week, effective March 9, 2011, and continuing until April 9, 2011.- Approved the audit response to the Auditor General's Performance Audit Report for the fiscal years ending June 30, 2007 and 2008.- Announced there will be a CLIU 2001 School Board Conference March 30 at the Holiday Inn Conference Center. Board members are to RSVP to Sherri Molitoris by March 16.