BY JENNIFER KOHLHEPP
Staff Writer
MIGUEL JUAREZ staff North Brunswick’s Linwood Middle School principal, Pete Clark, leads a group of students through the hallways during a school orientation program. NORTH BRUNSWICK — School bells ring in some of the changes at Linwood Middle School.
The re-implementation of bells that summon students when classes begin and end is just one of the many structural adjustments the middle school will undergo this year, according to Principal Pete Clark.
“A lot of good things are going on here and will continue to go on here that will give the kids more structure,” Clark said.
Besides reviving the alarms that hadn’t been used by the school in two years, Clark instituted stricter hallway pass guidelines and provided for harsher punishments in an effort to get the 1,350 sixth-, seventh- and eighth-graders to their classes on time.
Clark said disciplinary problems tend to arise when students languish in the halls between classes too long.
“Overall, if we set good structure, kids don’t have time in the hallways to hang and get into trouble,” Clark said. “It all seems to be working well.”
Students who don’t adhere to the bells or break other school policies will fall subject to consequences such as detention, Saturday detention and in-school suspension, Clark said.
Students who excel in the school environment this year will receive more honors and awards, Clark said. Rewards for those found doing something positive include gift certificates to local restaurants and businesses, and tickets to township sporting events, Clark said.
In an effort to promote the development of good character in students, Linwood provides behavioral lessons each Friday during eighth period.
During the Read and Review class, Clark speaks to students over the school’s public announcement system about a different positive characteristic. After the announcement, students complete work in their student planner about the behavior and play out scenarios involving it.
“This week we went over respectful, and next week we’ll go over responsible,” Clark said. “The lessons make students think about their behavior at school and at home.”
To promote better reading habits, one day a week the Read and Review class consists of silent reading. Every other day, Read and Review provides time for students to study or to complete homework, Clark said.
Changes have also taken place within the school that provide for better student and staff safety, Clark said.
Since last year, the school has worked with the township’s police department to finalize a comprehensive plan for students and faculty in the event of emergencies, Clark said.
Other security advancements include a code of conduct specific to each grade level, decals in student lockers declaring them school property, and more building aides, Clark said.
“We now have five building aides to help supervise hallway activities,” Clark said. “The aides tour the hallways and school perimeter, check passes and escort visitors.”
Besides having an additional three building aides for heightened security, the school also currently employs two student resource officers.
“Having two township police officers visible to students throughout the year is a big help,” Clark said. “Not only do they tour the hallways, but they teach the drug and gang resistance programs in the classroom.”
Another newly implemented safety measure includes staff having to wear visible identification tags during school hours, Clark said.
Based on a school consortium Linwood joined this year, Clark said faculty did not see the need for student ID’s.
“The consortium is comprised of benchmark schools from around New Jersey that provide Linwood with standards and goals in curriculum and overall school policy and structure,” Clark said.
The consortium provided advice on how to better test scores, implement a summer study program, and improve life skills courses such as music, physical education and computers, Clark said.
“What we’re trying to do with all of these changes is to reach out to our students,” Clark said. “We’re trying to be more proactive than reactive.”
Clark took the helm of Linwood in July after the board promoted former Principal Vincent DeLucia as the district’s director of staff development and communications. DeLucia served as the school’s principal for three years.
Prior to taking the principal’s position at Linwood, Clark worked in the Cranford School District as the director of the social studies department. Clark worked in Cranford since July 2003, when he resigned as the North Brunswick Township High School’s assistant principal.