The goal is success during new school year.
By: Lacey Korevec
"Ensuring Student Success: Using what we know to determine what we do."
This is the South Brunswick School District’s theme for the 2006-2007 school year, and while it sounds simple, Superintendent Gary McCartney spoke about it at length Tuesday, making references to famous minds like Charles Dickens, Mohammed Ghandi and Albert Einstein.
"Knowing is very important," he said during the opening of a staff event at the high school. "But the use of what we know is crucial to our success."
The theme, along with the district’s goals for the year, will be driving factors in what takes place this school year. Goals for the upcoming year focus on curriculum, technology, facilities, cost and safety.
Revised math and health curriculums will be implemented this year.
The kindergarten to fifth-grade-level math extension program will begin working on a concept called Math for All Kinds of Minds.
"On one day out of every six days in the cycle, students will be grouped by ability for challenging, problem-based projects," Ms. Kerekes said Wednesday. "That program will begin in mid to late October."
In addition, parents will have more say in the K-5 accelerated math program’s entrance criteria.
The revised K-12 health program will be piloted this year, as well. The program will allow younger students to focus on simpler aspects of health, like basic hygiene, personal safety and bandaging a cut, while older students will study progressively more complex aspects of the same topics.
"It sort of shows the progression on, ‘I know how to take care of myself,’ " she said. "It’s developmentally appropriate."
The programs that will be either revised or rewritten to better meet mandated state and federal standards include the world language and social studies curriculums and the library media program. The science, art, English language learners curriculums and James Kimple Center for Alternative Education (a center in the high school where approximately 40 10th-, 11th- and 12th-grade students go for alternative educational services) will be evaluated and the district will determine whether or not they need revision," Ms. Kerekes said.
"They’re under review this year and under review means that you take a look at what the current practice is and you do some research and you make some recommendations for how your program needs to change," she said. "So you don’t revise anything, all you do is review and determine if change is needed and, if it is needed, where it is needed."
The district will also look for new ways to integrate technology, differentiation and character development into classroom lessons and activities. In addition, it will create a master list of all the national, state and district mandated training that staff members are supposed to complete, including training in bullying, affirmative action and human dignity, to determine where the school stands and where there might be gaps in training.
In terms of technology, the district will develop a plan for disaster recovery of major information systems, pilot what is being called Parent Connect, which will allow parents to review their childrens’ grades online and create an eighth-grade technology proficiency checklist, Director of Technology Aaron Bryan said.
Assistant Superintendent for Business Anthony Tonzini presented the facilities goals. The district plans to begin construction at Crossroads North, which he said should be completed in time for next fall. The project is the final phase of a $46.4 million referendum that was passed in December 2003. The administration also plans to discuss whether security cameras are needed in all the schools to keep the buildings secure.
"We’ve received a number of requests form particular schools," he said. "This item was not budgeted for but we’ve agreed to explore the need for these cameras."
Mr. Tonzini also explained ways that the district plans to save money. It will explore different shared-service options in hopes of consolidating with the township. It will also work with an energy consultant to discuss ways to save energy.
George Scott, director of student services, spoke about school safety. One of the district’s major plans is the distribution of information to principals and administrators that would address procedures in the possible event of the avian influenza spreading. Also, the district will team up with the South Brunswick Police Department to bring the S.A.F.E. (Specify, Assess, Formulate, Evaluate) program to sixth graders in the middle school, which will replace the D.A.R.E. (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) program. The district will also have completed training for staff on recognizing warning signs of suicide and depression in students.
Each school also will have to complete two lockdown practice drills and the district expects to create a foods/biohazard procedure to protect students’ food supply.
"We can either impact the future by planning for it, or the future will impact us as a result of not having taken the initiative," Dr. McCartney said.