Jeffrey McVey officially took the oath of office as the new member of the Kennett School Board at the Feb. 10 meeting.

McVey, 57, of New Garden Township, took the oath administered by school board president Joe Meola. He will fill the vacancy created by the resignation of Paola Rosas-Weed, who moved out of Region B.

The vacancy was publicly advertised, and applications were accepted until Jan. 27. Interviews were held at a public meeting on Feb. 3.

McVey has three children, two of them already graduates of Kennett and one a senior at the high school. He is an employee of AstraZeneca.

McVey previously lived in Kennett Township, but more recently moved to New Garden.

“I am thrilled with the Kennett School District, and I’m passionate about public education. When I saw there was an opening, I decided to apply,” he said.

Later in the meeting, Dan Maguire, the district’s supervisor of technology, and Jake Moore, the middle school assistant principal, reported on a project to create a personalized learning environment. The study involves 18 teachers from the Kennett Middle School, and it aims to bring about a personalized learning framework for students. The next step, they reported, is to conduct a survey of 400 students to determine the impact on those who had been part of the personalization program compared with those who had not.

In other business, school board member Ann Parry, who chairs the curriculum committee, reported that there were overall increases in student achievement and academic growth for fifth, eighth and 11th grades, as evidenced by results on the PSSA, Keystone and PVAAS state tests. Sixth grade did not meet achievement and growth expectations in math and ELA and has had a history of under-performance in achievement and growth goals.

She added that there are many potential factors for this happening in sixth grade. The transition from fifth to sixth grade includes changing buildings, forming new social groups, and generally there is a jump in the complexity of content. That being said, the board and the district are aware that sixth grade is an area of focus.

“This is important information and a priority as we consider curriculum moving forward,” Parry said. “At our next meeting, we will be looking at a standards-aligned K-6 ELA program the district is considering, which will help address this issue.”