A PREVIEW OF THE NEW SCHOOL YEAR
By: Courtney Gross
After conquering construction projects, battling busing disputes and solidifying several changes within school cafeterias, it seems the West Windsor-Plainsboro Regional School District is sharpening its pencils in preparation for the first day of school Thursday.
Despite being challenged by transportation issues, particularly the district’s inability to provide busing to private school children, members of the administration and the district’s Board of Education have said all of the 10 schools are awaiting their expanding student body and staff.
"I look forward to seeing teachers and students engaged in the practice of teaching and learning," said Superintendent Robert L. Loretan.
"I believe WW-P is a district that continues to challenge itself as it serves the needs of all students," he added.
The district has 65 new teachers, and the student body has increased 1.7 percent to 9,458 students from 9,304 students, Director of Communications Gerri Hutner said.
"It is larger than we anticipated, but certainly workable," Ms. Hutner said of the increase. "And we’re all ready for them," she added.
At Grover Middle School there is a new assistant principal, Sam Hendrickson; and there is a new math supervisor, Christopher Herte, for both High School North and South, Ms. Hutner said. The district also has a new cable station manager, Jamie Watson.
Besides the additions of administration, staff and students, the district is bringing more nutritious food into school cafeterias and changing the way it is sold.
Beginning this week in High School North, students will no longer need cash to pay for meals and snacks. A computerized system, MealTime, will allow them to use a keypad instead of fumbling for dollar bills and change to purchase food.
Students will enter their student ID number near the cafeteria’s cash registers and the total will be deducted from a cash account, Ms. Hutner explained. Parents can replenish accounts online at the district’s Web site.
Also, since the Board of Education passed the school’s new nutrition policy, those meals will be much healthier. And MealTime allows parents to see what their children are purchasing in monthly statements, Ms. Hutner said.
The system will be rolled out throughout the entire district during the year, Ms. Hutner said.
Over the summer months, the district also finished parts of the first phase of construction projects earmarked in the facilities referendum passed earlier this year.
From new flooring at elementary schools to ventilation upgrades, all of the projects were completed except for the open partitions at High School South. The district, Ms. Hutner said, could not find an appropriate material that was also soundproof for the project.
"The first of the referendum projects are completed successfully, thanks to the administration, in spite of some challenging weather," Board of Education President Hemant Marathe said.
And more projects are to come. In October, construction will begin at the six-classroom addition to Dutch Neck Elementary School and construction at High School North’s proposed science classroom.
The district has also added an integrated preschool program at Wicoff Elementary School for children ages 3 to 4, Ms. Hutner said. The program will have eight special-needs children and eight regular education students.
Throughout the school year, the Board of Education, administration, teachers, students, parents and staff will be working together to review the current mathematics program, world language program and middle level’s exceptionality, school officials said.

