SAL VERRASTRO - EAST PENN SCHOOL DISTRICT EDUCATION FOUNDATION - AUGUST 18, 2016
Sal Verrastro was the speaker at the August 18, 2016 meeting of Emmaus Rotary Club. Professionally, Sal is an architect with Spillman Farmer in Bethlehem. But, he was speaking at our club in his capacity as President of the East Penn School District Education Foundation.
Sal began his talk with a brief history of public education in the United States. In 1900, only 3% of the population could read and write. In an effort to increase literacy rates, more resources were dedicated to public education. The impact has been substantial as over 98% of people over the age of 14 can now read and write. Sal also related his experiences as an adjunct faculty member where he could easily discern which students came from strong school districts.
Today’s employment environment is much more demanding than even 20 years ago. College attendance has increased dramatically and many schools are expecting students to arrive with significant competency levels. Companies expect new employees to perform immediately and are not doing as much “on-the-job” training. In addition, many manufacturing jobs have moved offshore. So, education requirements for the positions available today have evolved, as well.
With all of this as background, Sal explained the need for the EPSD Education Foundation is largely to fill in gaps in funding and other resources with an emphasis on “STEAM” subjects (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics). The Foundation intends to fund teacher grants, new programs and other educational resources. As the Foundation’s brochure states: “Programs in these areas develop critical thinking, creativity, innovation and problem-solving skills – the tolls our students will need to live well and successfully in a complex and changing world.” Sal said his goal is to build the Foundation’s funding levels such that no deserving program will suffer from inadequate resources.