High School North Earns
Sustainable Jersey Certification
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School North was recognized by Sustainable Jersey, a non-profit organization supporting community efforts across the state to reduce waste, greenhouse gas emissions and improve environmental equity.
The Lions were awarded Bronze Certification as part of a group of 147 schools to be certified in 2020.
Sustainable Jersey for Schools is a voluntary certification program for pre-kindergarten through Grade 12 public schools in New Jersey. Each school that is certified at the bronze level must submit documentation to show it has completed a balanced portfolio of sustainability actions.
This is the second time High School North has attained Bronze Certification, a journey the school’s Principal, Patricia Vari-Cartier, Ed. D., said began in 2015 with the formation of a community Green Team dedicated to organizing and implementing sustainable initiatives on and around campus.
The installation of water bottle refilling stations in high traffic areas throughout the building, as well a community gardening partnership with the nearby Westminster Presbyterian Church were initial actions toward certification. Additional steps included initiatives established through participation in the Future Ready program, as well as participation in the School Culture Transformation Project, in partnership with Rutgers University.
However, High School North’s flagship enterprise was the launch of its on-campus Horticulture Center, a site managed mainly by students enrolled in the school’s visions program and dedicated staff.
Located at the heart of the High School North community, this cultivation center features a greenhouse and gardening beds, and will soon be accented by chicken coops that will serve as an educational tool for students interested in animal care, as well as a means to supply culinary students with farm fresh eggs.
“This is an opportunity to take things to the next level and positively impact students with different interests,” Dr. Cartier said of the horticulture center. “Everyone hopes they leave behind a legacy, and I hope this will be the legacy of our school community. The students and staff have shown incredible dedication, and I believe these efforts will benefit future generations of High School North students.”
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MTPS Accepting Applications for Substitute & Leave Replacement Teachers
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The Middletown Township Public School District is now accepting applications for Substitute and Anticipated Leave Replacement Teachers for all Pre-K to 12 positions. To apply, please visit middletownk12.org/employment and follow the prompts for Contracted and Substitute openings.
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Update on School Enrollment
and Demographic Study
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During the Sept. 23rd Board of Education Workshop/Voting meeting, the district received a presentation from Millone and MacBroom regarding an update on school enrollment and a demographic study.
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Two New Appointments to
District Administrative Team
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Marc Seigal was appointed Director of of Science, Health and Physical Education
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Patrick Rinella was appointed Assistant Superintendent for Student Activities
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During the Sept. 23 Board of Education Workshop/Voting Meeting, district administrator Patrick Rinella was appointed to serve as Assistant Superintendent for Student Activities and Services.
The role was previously held by current Superintendent of Schools, Mary Ellen Walker.
"Mr. Rinella has a wealth of administrative experience as a former Middletown High School South Principal and District Director. He is highly respected by teachers, administrators and parents for his character, knowledge, and commitment to our students. We look forward to his leadership in the role of Assistant Superintendent," said Mrs. Walker.
Rinella steps into the position at a critical and unprecedented time for public education in the age of COVID-19.
“There is always a little anxiety when taking on a new role, and introducing COVID-19 to that scenario certainly heightens things a little bit. But the experiences I’ve had and the relationships I’ve built over the last 20 years in the district will certainly help navigate us through successfully. We have a great team in place, and I look forward to continuing to work with district leadership to move our district in a positive direction,” said Rinella.
Rinella joined the district in 2002 as a mathematics teacher at Thompson Middle School, and served as a wrestling coach at nearby High School South. He would later serve as High School South principal for six years, ahead of a three-plus year stint as the District Director of Student Support Services.
High School South science teacher and education technology specialist, Marc Seigal, was also appointed Wednesday evening to serve as the Director of Science, Health and Physical Education.
Seigal has served as a chemistry teacher at High School South, as well as a curricular coach for the science department. He was also instrumental in assisting staff with the integration of technology into classrooms during the district’s one-to-one initiative, in which Middletown students and teachers were supplied with and trained to use internet capable devices. This initiative and Seigal's contributions have proved pivotal during the district's transition to virtual home instruction in March, as well as its adaptation to a hybrid model of education during the 2020-21 academic year. Seigal also performs in a leadership role for the Middletown chapter of Relay for Life.
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District Receives $375K
Allocation in State COVID-19 Relief
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During the Sept. 23 Board of Education Workshop/Voting Meeting, Business Administrator Amy Doherty announced that the district has been allocated more than $375,000 by the state of New Jersey in Coronavirus relief funding. On Aug. 26, Governor Murphy announced an allocation of $100 million from the federal Coronavirus Relief Fund.
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The allocation was to assist public schools, charter schools and renaissance school projects with defraying costs associated with reopening for the 2020-21 year.
These funds must be used to address health and safety measures necessary to support reopening for in-person instruction and to support students during periods of remote learning.
Examples of eligible expenses are cleaning and sanitizing supplies, personal protective equipment (such as masks, hand soap, sanitizer and gloves), HVAC filters, and technology for staff to continue instruction during remote learning or to help schools reopen.
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Workout Wednesday at Hit at Harmony Elementary School
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Workout Wednesday has become a virtual staple for students at Harmony Elementary School, thanks to the innovation and creativity displayed by physical education teachers Justin McGhee and Kristen DeSavino.
The seeds of this initiative were planted in the spring, following the district’s March 15 transition to virtual home instruction. Over the months that followed, these digital workouts have been honed to impact students and families in a bigger way.
“This isn’t just an activity we do with students once a week during class. We design it so these families can bring these fun workouts into their homes and do them anywhere where there’s enough space,” said McGhee.
This educational partnership between McGhee and DeSavino has developed in the opening weeks of the 2020-21 academic year, as the pair has displayed complimentary skill sets that have enhanced the engagement and experience of their students.
“I’ve received a lot of positive feedback,” said Harmony Principal Erik Paulson. “[McGhee and DeSavino] are improving upon the tradition we’ve established [at Harmony] over the years of keeping our kids moving through our Fit Club and physical education classes. The District has placed a premium on physical education with an influx of new teachers, and I’d say at just about every one of our buildings, we’re seeing incredible collaborative work that is capturing the attention of our students.”
According to DeSavino, the pair’s themed workouts have been the most effective and fun for students, including those featuring superheroes and animals, and a new routine coming this winter centered around the beloved Disney film franchise Frozen.
“It’s all about being creative, and developing fun ways to get kids excited about working out. And our goal is to have that excitement extend beyond school,” said DeSavino. “That’s why our workouts come with visuals and powerpoint presentations, all of which we share with our students and families. We can’t wait to see what the rest of the year brings.”
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Watch the Sept. 23rd BOE Meeting
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On Sept. 23rd the Board of Education conducted it virtual workshop/voting meeting via the district's Zoom platform. You may review the meeting in full by following the associated video link.
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Phase 3 of Reopening Plan
Underway After First Week of School
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The Middletown Township Public School community entered Phase 3 of its Reopening of Schools Plan when Cohort A and B students were welcomed back to campuses earlier this week on Sept. 14th and 17th, respectively.
Students received two days of in-person on campus instruction and three days of remote virtual instruction. It was the first time in six months that district classrooms were utilized by students.
For those receiving remote virtual instruction, district staff delivered combinations of synchronous (a live streamed delivery of lessons via Google Meet) and asynchronous instruction (project based learning and/or individual work as well as pre-recorded instruction).
When on campus, students received four hours and 15 minutes of in-person instruction per day, before returning to their remote location to continue with the school day virtually.
The district approximates that Oct. 12 could mark the beginning of Phase 4 of its reopening plan. At this time, if community health conditions improve or remain stable, then cohort sizes may increase at a reasonable rate.
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District Illustrates
Face Covering Policies
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Please be advised: At this time, Gaiters are not permitted to be worn on campuses, and anyone opting to wear a face shield must do so in addition to wearing a mask.
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School Meals: High School South Added as Pickup Location
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The district recently announced that free school meals will be available to all students through Dec. 31st, as well as a preorder and distribution plan for these meals.
On Thursday, Sept. 17th, the district announced that in addition to Door #22 at High School North and Door #10 at Ocean Avenue Elementary School, Door #29 at High School South would also be used as a distribution location moving forward.
During the initial announcement, the district noted that distributions on Mondays would consist of meals for Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, while Thursdays distribution would include meals for Friday and Monday.
On the 17th, it was revealed that future Thursday distributions would now include four days worth of meals, for Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday.
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District Adds "Latest Updates" Page to Reopening of Schools Website
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On Friday, August 13th the district launched its MTPS Reopening of Schools Website, an information hub complete with Frequently Asked Questions and additional resources regarding the district’s reopening of schools plan.
As a follow up measure, the District recently developed a page on its Reopening of Schools Website dedicated to documenting a timeline of new updates and resources for our phased reopening plan.
As the Reopening of School's website is updated, the "Latest Updates" page will offer parents, guardians, staff and students easier access to this information.
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You can review the Board of Education's Sept. 9th Special Meeting by following the link to the right.
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District Provides
New Staffing Update
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During the Sept. 9 Board of Education Special Meeting, Assistant Superintendent for Human Resources and Instruction, Kimberly Pickus, discussed the district’s staffing challenges leading up to the new school year.
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As of that evening, “all teacher vacancies that are due to begin (on Sept. 14) have been staffed, and the number of paraprofessional vacancies has been reduced to eight unfilled positions,” said Mrs. Pickus. “This is a true testament to the dedication and resourcefulness of our administrative and human resources team.”
As of Aug. 27 the district faced approximately 100 staffing vacancies, including about 40 certificated teaching positions, and about 60 non-certified staff positions.
To ensure the resumption of in-person on campus instruction, the administrative team has accommodated over 100 staff members with documented medical and/or childcare needs.
As an additional, proactive measure, the district has hired dedicated building substitute staff members, referred to as “floaters subs,” and recruited additional substitute personnel to effectively and efficiently manage accommodations and any coverage needs that may arise. Recruitment of additional substitute personnel will continue.
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The Middletown Township Public School District requires that a daily health screening form must be completed each day before your student(s) enters the building. Please visit the home page of your school's website to access your school's unique screening form, or follow the links below.
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The USDA and NJ Department of Agriculture have extended the Federal Emergency Feeding waiver through December 31, 2020. This means that all school meals are FREE to ALL STUDENTS.
Middletown Township Public Schools will provide breakfast and lunch distribution on Mondays and Thursdays from 7:30-9 a.m. and 11:45-1:30 p.m. at Ocean Avenue Elementary School and High School North. This schedule will change as the school schedule changes during the academic year and/or in response to participation.
Parents/Guardians will pre-order meals one (1) week in advance. Monday’s distribution will include meals for three days (Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday), and Thursday’s distribution will include meals for two days (Friday and Monday).
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Follow Along for District News and Announcements
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State Report Shows District Schools Continued Growth
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Last week, local media outlets published the ranking of 2,088 New Jersey schools recently released by the State Department of Education. More than four hundred New Jersey schools were not included in the rankings as they did not have enough of the required data available to calculate a summative score--for example, special services schools, alternative high schools, and schools serving only grades K-3.
The recently released rankings were based on data from the 2018-2019 school year which, as a result of the pandemic, was the last year the state assessments, the NJ Student Learning Assessments or NSLA, were administered. A comparison of the current ranking compared to the 2017-18 data showed that 12 of our district schools scored higher that they did the previous year, including Fairview Elementary School.
Fairview Principal Michael Melando credits the district's growth to our faculty and staff's increasing proficiency in using student data to differentiate and personalize instruction.
“Fueled by genuine care for our students and armed with the best professional practices, we blend the science of instruction and the art of teaching and are precise in our use of data to understand each learner,” said Mr. Melando. "Congratulations to our teaching staff, our administrators, our support staff that assist them each day, and--most especially--to our students on their achievements."
Prior to the current ranking system, schools were often judged solely on how students did on the prior year’s standardized state test in English Language Arts and Mathematics. Solely utilizing this criteria to dictate growth raised several concerns, including districts not being properly credited for student growth prior to testing, as well as the resulting “apples” to “oranges” comparisons of schools with varying demographics and historical student performance. The state ranking system in place over the past two years, in compliance with the federal Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), attempts to address these concerns.
However, these state rankings have also caused some controversy for their frequent misinterpretations. Therefore, it is important to be aware of what factors are included in the calculation of these scores. The components, and their corresponding weights, used in calculating the scores that determine the current rankings are:
- English Language Arts Proficiency (17.5%)
- Mathematics Proficiency (17.5%)
- English Language Arts Growth (25% for elementary and middle school, 0% for high school)
- Mathematics Growth (25% for elementary and middle school, 0% for high school)
- 4-Year Graduation Rate (25% for high school, 0% for elementary and middle school)
- 5-Year Graduation Rate (25% for high school, 0% for elementary and middle school)
- English Language Proficiency Progress (0%*)
- Non-Chronic Absenteeism Rate (15%)
* If a school has sufficient data for this component then it is weighted 20% and each of the other weights is reduced between 2.5% and 5%.
Prior to weighting and totalling these performance components, a complex statistical formula is used to convert each of them into “indicator” scores that reflect each school’s performance on that indicator, relative to other schools with the same school configuration, and that are based on both overall school performance and average student group performance on that indicator.
As a result of this method used to calculate school summative scores and the subsequent rankings, a school that is ranked relatively high is not necessarily a school in which students perform at a higher level than a school that has a lower ranking. Since growth is 50% of the score, a school in which students typically perform at a high level and therefore does not have much room for growth may rank lower than a school that has grown significantly from the prior year.
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NJ Public Schools Once
Again Ranked Best in U.S.
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According to the publication, compared to the 2019 report, New Jersey widened the gap between itself and Massachusetts, which once again finished second to the Garden State.
Only New Jersey (87.3) and Massachusetts (86.7) received B+ scores.
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NEW MTPS Technology Support Form Implemented
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Interested In Employment
Opportunities with the District?
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Throughout the year new employment opportunities arise for educators, paraprofessionals, and more.
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