This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Schools

CV Baseball Boosters Want Better Field

Boosters for the Chartiers Valley baseball team said the high school field needs better maintenance.

Two booster members for the said the high school field needs to be better maintained.

The two boosters on Tuesday night told the that there are a laundry list of improvements needed.

Some of them included a better maintenance of the outfield, overhanging trees and leaves; renovations to the bathrooms and concession stand; someone who can activate the score board; a better policy regarding sharing the field with the soccer team and the ; in short, assurance that seniors will be able to play their home games at home.

“Safety, obviously, is an issue,” said booster Kim Walters.

Nick Morelli, who serves as the board’s secretary and finance director, said the district has already repaired the backstop and infield, and is working on a drainage problem in left field.

“I’m working to get us playing on those fields as soon as we can,” Morelli said.

But projects that require more capital, such as bathroom renovations, will likely have to wait, district Superintendent Brian White said.

“School districts are now under tremendous pressure from state budget cuts,” White said.

According to booster Megan Castello, sharing the field with soccer teams causes problems with the turf, but most of that can be lessened with more attentive care. As an example, she noted soccer goals that were left out through the winter and dug deep ruts in the soil.

Morelli said the school may have to limit the number of soccer games held there. It’s also early in the season, he said, and the field typically shapes up later toward winter’s end.

“Now, this is March,” he said. “We usually don’t play until April.”


Also during the meeting...

Find out what's happening in Chartiers Valleywith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Chartiers Valley has become one of the first Pennsylvania schools to implement a computer-based career planning program in its high school.

The program—My Action Plan for Success, or MAPS—was developed by the McKeesport-based Consortium for Public Education and features a web-based system designed to get students thinking about life after graduation.

Composed of four parts, the program is interactive and can be accessed from any computer with internet capabilities. Students can list their visions for the future, as well as current skills, activities and academic achievements.

The program can also serve as a hub of information useful in college application process, when teachers have to write recommendation letters.

During a Consortium for Public Education presentation at Tuesday’s meeting, school board director Robert Kearney said the program would be valuable in getting students to plan early.

“Seems like they wait until their junior or senior year to get involved in the guidance department,” Kearney said.

The Heinz Foundation provided grants for the program. At Chartiers Valley, freshmen attended a session on Feb. 22, with another planned for April 25. The district plans to use the program in grades 8-12 next year.

Like our Facebook page or sign up for our Daily E-mail Newsletter!

Find out what's happening in Chartiers Valleywith free, real-time updates from Patch.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?

More from Chartiers Valley