New personnel will begin working in the Montgomery Township School District for the upcoming school year. During the fall, the Montgomery Township Board of Education (BOE) will participate in strategic planning. In November, voters will decide who will fill three seats on the Board. Over the summer, some of the referendum-approved construction projects were completed.
The District will also offer four presentations and a book group for parents this school year. The District has hired 77 new staff members, including two new administrators. Montgomery High School (MHS) Guidance Counselor Heather Pino is now a Vice Principal, filling the position vacated by Keith Land. A new hire will take her old position. Fifty new teachers joined the faculty. Of these, 19 replace teachers on leave and one is part-time. In addition, 12 paraprofessionals (teacher’s aides) were added; two-thirds of these are part-time. Two members were added to the Child Study Teams. Seven secretaries or clerks and three bus drivers were also hired.
Superintendent of Schools Nancy Gartenberg explains that the strategic planning process “will be in the form of focus groups of approximately eight to ten people that will inform three different surveys – one for students, one for staff, and one for the community. The district plans to engage all of the stakeholders in the school and broader community.”
For the first time this September, parents will not have to fill out several paper forms for each student. This process, repeated annually, has finally gone digital. In August, parents could enter the information obtained from these forms through Genesis, the online system which shows students’ attendance, assignments, and grades.
Three individuals registered their intention to run in November’s BOE election. Incumbent Dr. Dharmesh Doshi, Shreesh Tiwari (who held a seat in the fall of 2015) and parent Phyllis Bursh have submitted applications for the election to the Somerset County Clerk’s office. Current members Sandra Donnay and Nicholas Hladick will finish their terms in December of this year.
Three projects approved by last year’s referendum were completed this summer. At the Upper Middle School, the gym’s wood floor has been restored. At Orchard Hill Elementary School, the carpet in the Media Center has been replaced with multicolor carpet tiles. And at Village Elementary School, an additional exit for the parking lot in the rear of the school was added.
The District will host a Parent Education Series. Four presentations on topics of interest to parents will be offered. “This is in addition to our many College Series offerings at the high school,” Gartenberg adds. “Some of the topics will be grade-level specific and others will address topics appropriate for grades K-12. We will also have a Parent Book Group this year, reading and discussing a different book each marking period. The first book is Raising an Adult by Julie Lythcott-Haims.”
For updated information on the District’s referendum construction projects, visit www.mtsd.k12.nj.us/referendum2016.