FREEHOLD — The Freehold Borough K-8 School District will open the 2014-15 school year on Sept. 4 with initiatives that include a construction referendum, a new dress code, a new math program and several new administrators.
Residents will be asked by the Board of Education to approve a $32.9 million construction project on Sept. 30 that will provide additions and renovations at all three schools in the community.
Superintendent of Schools Rocco Tomazic said the construction project is needed to accommodate increasing student enrollment in the district.
“The school district has seen unprecedented growth in recent years,” he said.
The district has a functional capacity to accommodate about 1,150 students and will begin the new academic year with 1,630 students. Officials said about 150 of those 1,630 pupils will attend kindergarten in classrooms that Freehold Borough has rented in the neighboring Freehold Township K-8 School District.
According to Tomazic, the 2014-15 school year will also bring a new uniform standard of dress, who said all students in grades K-8 will conform to the standards set for their school regarding color and style of clothing. (The pupils attending kindergarten in Freehold Township will not be required to follow the uniform dress standards.)
Academically, the Freehold Intermediate School will now have a double period of mathematics instead of a single period.
Tomazic said all students will take a new course in technology.
“The course is designed to introduce students to the foundation of technology education aligned to the New Jersey Core Curriculum Content Standards,” he said.
“Students will learn to manipulate various technological tools including word processing, chart data, spreadsheets, desktop publishing and multimedia projects with animation and video segments.
“In addition, students will be exposed to a broad overview of the field of technology, including the design-to-creation of motorized robots using the web-based program ‘Lego Mindstorms.’ ”
The development of an extracurricular Robotics Club whose members would participate in competitions is in the works.
“STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) subjects are critical areas for our students to master,” Tomazic said. “We were most pleased to learn that 36 of our students scored a perfect 300 on the mathematics portion of the NJASK test last year, and we intend to bring them forward for special recognition.
“The new middle school technology course with an integrated robotics component should position our students at the forefront of this innovative area and, together with our other subjects, anchor their mastery of required STEM concepts.”
At the elementary level, Tomazic said all students will receive 6.6 percent more instructional time in mathematics and 7.6 percent more instructional time in language arts literacy. This includes a dedicated 90- minute per day uninterrupted block of instructional time for reading.
“The district will also be adjusting the format for student report cards to more accurately inform parents about student academic attainment related to standards, effort and behavior.
“Our vision is to provide borough students the needed opportunities to allow them to be competitive with their peers in high school and for college and the world of work beyond,” Tomazic said. “Our district has embraced its challenges and is pushing forward in all needed areas.”
A course description guide for 2014-15 has been developed for parents and is posted at www.freeholdboro.k12.nj.us.
Two new administrators will work in the district in the new school year.
Cheryl Young will serve as director of curriculum and instruction. Young previously worked as a department head in Neptune Township for grants, data initiatives and district test coordinator. Prior to that, she worked in Keansburg as the supervisor of special projects and information services.
Joseph Howe will become the district’s business administrator and board secretary in December. Howe is currently the assistant business administrator in the Piscataway Public Schools District.
Jim Strimple, the interim business administrator and board secretary, will end his time in the district upon the conclusion of his allowed two years.