Superintendent's Message
Welcome back to the 2024-25 school year! I know we are well rested and ready for another year of exciting and engaging educational experiences rooted in rigorous academic preparation and current instructional practice. Our administration and teachers remain focused on the social and emotional growth of our students, and continue to embed activities that foster a positive school culture.
This year we start off September with two new security guards. These new positions will replace our previous school safety monitor position and bring a heightened level of on-site safety and security to Parkview and Joyce Kilmer. This transition to the presence of armed security in the schools reflects the overwhelming trend in neighboring districts and nationally. Both security guards are retired police officers and are licensed to carry a concealed firearm on school property. Milltown Police Chief Johnson has partnered with us in the hiring process in order to assist us with selecting these individuals who are a perfect match to protect and build relationships with our staff and students. A meet and greet with both new security guards will be held at Parkview at 11am to noon on August 26th, and is open to all.
Student achievement remains at the forefront of teaching and learning in our district, especially as it relates to writing. Our ELA teachers have been developing new writing units this summer based in a new program for grades K-5, while our middle school ELA department has developed new writing research skills lessons. JK students will also have the opportunity to apply research writing within our school media center program with the addition of our new JK library media specialist teacher this year. Both our PV and JK school librarians will continue to foster a love for reading with regularly scheduled library periods, while also supporting research writing during students’ regular ELA class time.
We are pushing full STEM/STEAM ahead by further developing grade appropriate activities that incorporate science, technology, engineering and math, with art/music included as well. With the continued support of an educational expert in the STEM field, our students will become familiar with programming, coding, machines, the principles of science and the engineering that powers them through interactive fun that may spark interest in STEM careers. All students are encouraged to take advantage of our JK/PV STEM clubs after school and our JK STEM Lab during lunch club. A big thank you to the MEF for granting STEM kits to our third grade class and our tech department for their overhaul of the STEM Lab!
This school year we have expanded our cafeteria program to include breakfast. Breakfast is open to any student 10 minutes prior to the start of the school day. It will be a simple boxed breakfast and a teacher will be providing supervision along with our cafeteria staff. Payment will be the same student account as used for lunch. Please be on time, as the cafeteria closes for breakfast when the school day begins.
Milltown school district is embarking on the third year of our strategic plan. Both PV and JK were awarded Sustainable Jersey certification with the successful completion of our goals last year, in addition to being granted $10,000 from Sustainable Jersey for DEI teacher training. Last school year approximately 4,000 gallons of cafeteria waste was collected at PV, which equates to roughly 19+ tons not going to landfills. We will be continuing our cafeteria waste management program at PV and including JK this year. Our plan continues to emphasize activities that promote healthy food choices and physical activity. A community Earth Day event is being planned in our outdoor classroom space that was opened as part of our strategic plan last year. Our new JK library media specialist position, which is the result of a strategic plan goal, will support another DEI goal by expanding our library collection with ELL literacy materials. All strategic plan benchmark reports can be found on our website under District> Strategic Plan - Vision 2025.
We continue to work very hard to maintain transparent communication with all stakeholders. The Board of Ed. along with our Community Relations Committee will be hosting a 3-part District Discussion series to provide a virtual forum for open dialogue with parents and community members on the most current and relevant topics to district operations: teacher retention, emergency crisis plans, and residency and enrollment. More details will be shared in a separate communication.
Please remember, if you are uncomfortable with something you hear about your child’s school or daily interactions, consider the following recommendations made in The Washington Post article A school district takes on fake news –about itself:
-- Call the school and identify yourself, so that a productive two-way communication may be established.
-- Go first to the source of your concern, such as your child’s teacher before contacting the principal. Our teachers are very responsive and will do their best to address the issue first-hand.
-- Avoid expressing unsubstantiated or misrepresented information on social media.
-- Use appropriate committees and other key communicators, such as the PTO or Community Relation Committee parent liaisons to raise questions about a rumor and other information that was not received directly from the schools.
-- Take your child’s reporting of information with a healthy dose of skepticism, as kids often perceive things differently than adults.
A child’s belief in their teachers and their academic career is grounded in the attitudes that parents communicate about their local school and education in general. It is important to allow the administration to partner with you in resolving issues, and recognize that we are all together focused on the best educational experience for your child.
A strong partnership between home and school is what makes our district so strong. Our students are fortunate to attend school in a town where there is strong parental and community investment in their achievement, which allows us to provide a high quality education for all our Milltown students. I look forward to a purposeful, joyful, and extraordinary year!
Yours in education,
Dr. Stephanie Brown
Superintendent