By Caroline Ponticelli Mr. Houseman is not just an ordinary teacher. His dedication to teaching and passion for his students makes him an exceptional educator. This is Mr. Houseman’s first year at the high school, but he taught for many years at Wheatland Middle School prior to coming to McCaskey. Before he got into teaching, he covered crime and politics in broadcast television. It gave … Continue reading Meet Mr. Houseman
Right as I stepped into Ms. Polanco’s quaint office she was absorbed in something else. She was moving in and out, going on her phone or one of her computers to do something and informing Mr. Reese of a visitor he was having. She’s been working here for seven years. She met her husband as students at McCaskey and graduated in 2001. Previous to this … Continue reading Attendance Matters: An Interview With Ms. Polanco
Cassidy Reddig is a 25 year old from Ephrata with a passion for pushing herself in all fields. This past year, she joined the teaching staff of McCaskey High School as an honors and IB history teacher. In high school, Reddig took every higher level class available to her, participating in swimming and soccer, but her main focus has always been teaching. “I wanted to … Continue reading Cassidy Reddig: Ephrata Athlete to McCaskey Teacher
On Tuesday, August 24, 2021, the entire McCaskey student body came back to school. The conditions were far from ideal: the Coronavirus pandemic, once thought by administrators, teachers and students alike to be a two-week stint, was far from gone. Cases of the virus had been steadily increasing amidst the new and more dangerous Delta variant, and a world that had been mostly maskless just … Continue reading September 2021: McCaskey Perseveres
School district superintendent Dr. Damaris Rau is a self-proclaimed advocate for equity. A child of the foster care system and a graduate of St. John’s University, Rau went from working as a teacher and administrator in the Bronx public school system during the Crack epidemic to working at a school in Greenwich, Connecticut, a town which is widely recognized as one of the richest places … Continue reading Dr. Rau: All About Equity
Edward Hand and James Buchanan were both notable historical figures- but for all the wrong reasons. Hand, an Irish soldier and plantation owner, and Buchanan, a former US president from Lancaster, have two things in common: they both owned slaves, and they’re both used as the names for schools in the Lancaster District. “The name Edward Hand Middle School represents all the wrong things,” city … Continue reading SDoL Grapples with the Problematic Pasts of Edward Hand and James Buchanan
On Tuesday January 12, the McCaskey swim team had our first meet of the season. As a freshman and a beginner in the sport, I was nervous. The idea of being on a swim team never crossed my mind until I was convinced to join, but it has been a truly great experience. Because this is my first year on the swim team, I have … Continue reading Swimming for McCaskey as a Freshman during COVID-19
The School district of Lancaster board meeting on Tuesday, January 12, lasted for nearly five hours. The overwhelming majority of public comments, from teachers, parents, and administrators, and students alike, voiced the opinion that kids need to be back in school for academic, social, and economic reasons. Many invoked the theme of equity: if other schools are in-person, what does it say about us if … Continue reading It’s Official: We’re Going Back
The 2020-21 McCaskey school year began with an all-virtual environment. At 8:00 on September 2, High school students across the city opened up their iPads and logged onto their homeroom classes. Teachers, some at home, some in front of their blackboards at school, worked to provide an experience which loosely resembled that of normal school. The district’s blend of synchronous zoom learning and asynchronous independent … Continue reading Coping with Covid: the Beginning of a New School Year at McCaskey
On the front lawn of King elementary school on Thursday, December 5, School District of Lancaster Superintendent Dr. Damaris Rau gathered a group of supporters around her in the blistering cold. “This is not about Dr. Rau,” she said. “This is about other people who care about this situation…The quality of a child’s education in this state is too often determined by their zip code, … Continue reading SDoL Holds Conference on Charter School Reform
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