A Young Man's Art

Cameron County High School's Red Raider Marching Band hopes to keep its streak alive at Saturday's Flaming Foliage Festival. Our band has brought home the first place trophy for music and appearance in that parade for 14 straight years!

Whether it's a football game, seasonal concerts, parades, patriotic events or other activities, the band is always there to provide its special touch. None of that would be possible without the band staff, as well as parents and other community members.

Band Director Dan Sensenig not only ensures students learn music and marching routines, he also encourages a supportive, healthy and fun atmosphere. Barb Ryan and Maggie Sensenig do their part by making sure the members of the band front know their routines.

Many others help out behind the scenes. Several parents volunteer their time to care for the new uniforms, which give our band a great new look. Parents also donate their time operating the concession stand to support the band.

Students themselves help out with fund-raising. Among the results was the recent trip by the entire band to Walt Disney World in Florida. Students build strong relationships among themselves and with the instructors.

Those of us who are in the band are very grateful to those adults who allow us the opportunity to perform, and to the community for its generous support.

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My last column discussed test scores by students at Cameron County Area School District. It created a stir with the administration and others, as I expected it would.

I still say there's something wrong when half of the students in any class fail a test.

I do want to elaborate on another part of my column, where I discussed CCHS students' scores on the Pa. System of School Assessment (PSSA) testing.

Cameron County's scores are actually on the upswing after being very low at the start of the century. We've gone from having some of the lowest scores in Intermediate Unit 9 to coming in fourth and third, respectively, in 11th graders' math and reading scores.

And while one could argue that having only half of this year's seniors proficient in math is not very good, the No Child Left Behind Act requires only that 45 percent of our students hit the math goals. In reading, the national standard is 54 percent, and this year's seniors at CCHS came in at more than 70 percent.

Finally, the State Education Department monitors each school district's "average yearly progress" in all categories, and CCHS has met those standards.

PSSA testing and the No Child Left Behind Act are complex topics. I realize now that I should have done more homework to gain a better historical perspective. I'm sorry if I misled anyone by writing from the perspective that "the glass is half empty."

Regardless of the spin that anyone puts on the numbers, we can still do better. That's something for everyone- students, parents, teachers and administrators- to shoot for.