Suggestion Box EPSD: Branding & Yet Another Broken Promise

This year makes 42 years since the South building on the Dwight Morrow High School Campus was named Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Hall. It was the year I graduated from high school. We called it King Hall. Isn't it about time that those letters appeared on the outside of the building facing the street? Paint is quite reasonable these days. Another promise gone and drying  up by the wayside like a raisin in the sun.

You would not believe how much such a seemingly small thing can do to help healing begin. 

                               How are the children?

Suggestion Box: EPSD

In source the Public Relations position. Give the responsibility to someone who cares.

And the beat goes on...

13 NJ Students Honored by NJ State Board of Education

May 16, 2012

Our students ARE capable of
achieving as as well as those
from any other town in NJ.

Trenton, NJ – Thirteen students from high schools and a middle school were honored today for outstanding academic and community achievements by the New Jersey State Board of Education in Trenton. Accompanied by their Executive County Superintendent, the superintendent of their district, local school officials, family and friends, the students were formally recognized for academic success as well as leadership qualities and volunteerism both at school and within their communities.

Acting Commissioner Chris Cerf said the students represent some of the finest young people in the Garden State. “Through self-discipline and determination, kindness and conscientiousness, they have proven to themselves, their families and their teachers that they have the qualities necessary to achieve success in school and in life,” Acting Commissioner Cerf said.

State Board President Arcelio Aponte said students are selected on the basis of scholarship, stewardship and leadership. “The students honored today by the State Board of Education represent the best and brightest in New Jersey’s public schools,” said President Arcelio Aponte. “Their achievements in the classroom, on the athletic field and in their communities exemplify the level of dedication, talent and motivation that can be found in classrooms throughout the state.”
Students who received honors are listed below. To see the award presentation photos click here.

Atlantic County - Ceili Burdhimo, Egg Harbor Township High School
Bergen County - Alexandra Schulsinger and Scott Nolasco, Northern Highlands Regional High School
Cumberland County - Megan Hallquist and Steven Cirri, Cumberland Regional High School
Essex County - Tevan Denis, Essex County Vocational-Technical Schools, Bloomfield Tech Campus
Gloucester County  - Sarah McAlister, Delsea Regional High School
Hudson County - Mervy Michael and Christian Ugaz, Union City High School
Middlesex County - County Hansel Rodriguez, North Brunswick Township High School
Ocean County - Andrew Ruff, Point Pleasant Borough High School
Somerset County - Courtney Smith, Bedminster Township School
Sussex County - Brandi Braico and Brittany Vrindten, Glen Meadow Middle School

New Jersey Language Programs Honored by NJ Department of Education

Trenton, NJ - The NJ Department of Education today honored ten New Jersey districts for their outstanding second language programs. The districts, which were recognized at a ceremony in the Rutgers Student Center in New Brunswick, will serve as models of best practices in world languages programs and bilingual and English as a Second Language (ESL) programs for English language learners.

The department began this recognition program in 2004. "Helping English Language Learners master English proficiency skills and helping all of our students learn second languages is crucial to ensuring all of our students are ready for the demands of the 21st century," said Acting Commissioner of Education Christopher Cerf. "We are pleased to recognize these outstanding programs and educators, which will serve as exemplars for others to learn from and model."


The outstanding programs were selected based on criteria developed by the New Jersey Supervisors of World Languages and the Statewide Advisory Committee for Bilingual and ESL Education, with assistance from the New Jersey Department of Education. Programs were selected based on their demonstrated success in developing students' second language skills and their implementation of effective programs and instructional practices that led to student achievement in a second language.

These criteria included teacher instructional skills, use of standards-based curricula, and support for the program by the school leadership and the community. The model programs were selected from a field of applicants by panels of educators and department staff that reviewed applications and visited the programs. Each program will serve as a resource center for other districts over the next two years. Educators visiting the centers will have opportunities to observe exemplary practices in second language teaching, learning and assessment.

Administrators and teachers will also be able to discuss issues of mutual concern with staff from the centers, as well as the potential for collaboration on their second language programs. Plaques commemorating the selection of the districts as model programs were presented at today's ceremony.

The four districts receiving awards for world languages are:

• Englewood Public Schools, Bergen County- Elementary Immersion World Languages Programs 
• Fair Haven School District, Monmouth County- World Languages Program 
• Princeton Public Schools, Mercer County- K-12 World Languages Program 
• West Windsor-Plainsboro Public Schools, Mercer County- K-12 World Languages Program

The six districts receiving awards for bilingual and English as a Second Language (ESL) programs include: 

• Clifton Public Schools, Passaic County- K-12 ESL Program with Bilingual Support Program 
• Howell Township Public Schools, Monmouth County- K-8 ESL Program 
• Linden Public Schools, Union County- K-12 ESL Program 
• River Edge Public Schools, Bergen County- K ESL Program 
• Roselle Public Schools, Union County- 1-4 Bilingual Program in Harrison Elementary School
• West Windsor-Plainsboro Public Schools, Mercer County- 6-12 ESL Program  

Release: http://www.state.nj.us/education/news/2012/0515esl.htm