MANALAPAN – The Clark Mills School in the Manalapan-Englishtown Regional School District has been awarded certification by Future Ready Schools-New Jersey (FRS-NJ) for implementing effective digital learning policies and practices.
According to a press release from the New Jersey Department of Education, 63 schools in the Garden State have earned the certification.
The FRS-NJ certification program is designed to promote digital learning throughout New Jersey’s elementary and secondary public schools through the national Future Ready Framework, as well as to engage students in developing 21st century skills by encouraging the best use of digital learning tools by educators, according to the press release.
Nicole Santora, the assistant superintendent for curriculum and human resources in the Manalapan-Englishtown Regional School District, said, “Our administrators and teachers have been working collaboratively to prepare our students to be strategic thinkers in the digital world that awaits them.
“Last year, as a district, we made the Future Ready commitment. Ms. Jayme Orlando, principal of Clark Mills School, and Ms. Rebecca Seery, supervisor of instruction, then took the next step in completing the Future Ready certification process for Clark Mills. We are so proud and excited to see our efforts being recognized and we plan on having all of our schools Future Ready certified,” Santora said.
New Jersey Commissioner of Education Kimberley Harrington said, “It is our mission to ensure that each and every student across the state is ready for his or her future; a future that requires technological knowledge and skills.
“We launched the FRS-NJ program as a road map for schools to help students meet the demands of today’s technology-based economy and I am excited that so many schools achieved certification in the first year of the program,” Harrington said.
FRS-NJ is a partnership of the New Jersey Department of Education, the New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) and the New Jersey School Boards Association.
Joel S. Bloom, the president of NJIT, said, “NJIT is proud to be part of the Future Ready Schools program and takes great pride in its work to build and diversify the pipeline of future STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) students and graduates who will fuel our economy and improve quality of life in numerous ways.”