OLD BRIDGE — Memorial Elementary School staff and students proved they are future-ready with a recent certification.
Memorial Elementary is the first school in Old Bridge to receive a Future Ready School New Jersey (FRS-NJ) bronze level certification.
“Completing our certification submission is an achievement to be celebrated, as it demonstrates our school and our district’s determination to fully prepare students for success in college, career, and as citizens in the digital age,” Memorial Principal Raymond Payton said.
FRS-NJ is a certification program designed to promote transformational change in schools and districts throughout New Jersey. The program, according to its website, is a coalition of New Jersey Institute of Technology’s Collaborative for Leadership, Education and Research; the New Jersey School Boards Association; and the New Jersey Department of Education. It provides the guidance, support, direction and resources schools need to achieve goals, while fostering inclusive collaboration within schools and districts, and between them, throughout the state.
Memorial Elementary School represents one of 192 schools from 54 districts across New Jersey that had undertaken the endeavor of self-assessment and planning in the 2018 certification cycle.
A representative from Memorial School will celebrate the achievement with the FRS-NJ community at an awards ceremony, Workshop 2018, on Oct. 23 at the Atlantic City Convention Center.
The certification will be valid for three years.
Assistant Superintendent Kathleen Hoeker said the dedication and determination of the Memorial team, as well as others who assisted on the future ready journey, is “top notch.”
“Their efforts set a high standard as we continue the climb together,” she said.
Executive Director of Academics J. Scott Cascone commended Payton and his staff for “taking on this voluntary and rigorous undertaking.”
“This is obviously a tremendous achievement for Memorial School. As importantly, however, the school and process will now serve as a model for the district’s other schools, as they work toward their own Future Ready certifications,” he said.