Panther Valley Elementary School wants to hear honest opinions from parents and community members about the school’s performance.

School officials are planning four open house events, led by parents, around the school district early next week to discuss the strengths and needs of the district.

Input from the meetings will be used to develop a state-mandated school improvement plan.

Two focus groups will take place at 6:30 p.m. Monday at the Panther Valley Library, 117 E Bertsch St., Lansford, and at Hilltop Community Center, 40 W. Amidon St., Summit Hill.

Another will take place at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at Panther Valley Elementary School, 1 Mermon Ave, Nesquehoning,

The final focus group is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday at the Coaldale Complex, 150 W. Phillips St., Coaldale.

If parents can’t leave their children at home, members of the student council at Panther Valley High School will be on hand to do activities with school-aged children while their parents attend the meeting.

The conversations will be led by parents, with no representation from the school district.

“We want to make sure that parents feel that they can speak openly and honestly about the strengths and needs that they see as important,” said Robert Palazzo, Panther Valley Elementary School principal.

The school decided to hold four events so families don’t have to travel. Because they want to facilitate a discussion, the school is only accepting input from people who attend a meeting and participate in the discussion. No written comments will be accepted.

The parent facilitator in charge of the meeting will ask a list of questions to those in attendance. The 11 questions revolve around academic achievement, community involvement and parent engagement.

“They’re going to be parent-led focus groups that will discuss the strengths and needs of the elementary school. They are part of the mandated school improvement efforts set forth by the Every Student Succeeds act and (Pennsylvania Department of Education),” Palazzo said.

The state department of education recently identified 289 schools across the state which are in need of improvement.

The state judged schools based on PSSA scores, attendance figures and other data.

Panther Valley Elementary was targeted by the state for “comprehensive support and improvement” because it ranked in the bottom 5 percent of all schools in the state which receive Title I federal funding. A school is Title I-eligible if more than 40 percent of its students come from low-income families.

Tamaqua Area High School and Panther Valley Junior-Senior High School were also targeted for comprehensive support and improvement.

CSI schools must submit a three-year school improvement plan by June 30.

At the end of the 2021-22 school year the state will determine whether the schools need to complete another improvement plan or if they are eligible to exit the program.

Palazzo said Panther Valley Elementary’s report will focus on improving academic achievement and regular student attendance.

He said the school is looking at the improvement plan as an opportunity to get better, not just go through the process.

“Our hope is that we can learn from this process. We’re looking at it through a positive lens, a growth lens,” he said.

CORRECTION: The focus group hosted by Panther Valley Elementary at the Coaldale Complex is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Wednesday. An article in Friday’s Times News included the wrong date for that focus group.