Superintendent Christine Vespe, in cooperation with the Shamong Board of Education, presented the district’s goals for the 2013–14 school year.
“These goals ensure that every year the education of our students will remain at a high level and continue to improve,” board president Melissa Ciliberti said.
The first goal discussed by Vespe was that, by June 30, the Shamong Township School District will have fully implemented the Stronge Evaluation System, an instrument to evaluate staff, which allows for the use of a common language and enhances professional growth. To fully implement the Stronge Evaluation System the schools will be using the OASYS online appraisal and evaluation management system. To become familiar with OASYS, teachers will be required to complete trainings on the system throughout the school year.
Also by June 30, the district will develop and address various aspects of its technology plan, including hardware and software enhancement, as well as utilizing technology as an integrated tool. Vespe said that the schools will provide staff technology training throughout the 2013–2014 school year as well as continue the implementation of new hardware and software, such as smart boards and tables as well as tablets. Ongoing staff development will continue in integrating technology into daily instruction. This training will occur on teacher in-service days and during release time. The district also hopes to install an enhanced wireless network.
Vespe said another goal for the district is to improve the ability of measuring student achievement. The administration will analyze standardized test score data and use the results to make curriculum and staffing adjustments as needed.
Teacher and administrator professional development will continue to focus on student learning needs. The development and implementation of Student Growth Objectives will be the target. Staff will complete SGO’s for tested and non-tested grades and subjects. Staff will work during in-service days and release time to revise and align curriculum to NJCCCS and the Common Core Standards. Vespe said that curriculum committees will be formed and work on revising curriculum in areas identified by the curriculum and planning coordinator.
In other news:
• The board recognized the 48 students from grades three through eight who achieved a perfect 300 score on either the science or mathematics portion of the NJASK exam. All the district’s teachers and administrators were in attendance to express their respect and admiration to the students for their remarkable achievement.
• No progress was reported on contract negotiations between the board and the Shamong Township Education Association. After discussions failed during a third and final session with a state appointed mediator on Sept. 19, the two sides entered into
fact finding. Fact-finding is a mechanism for helping parties settle their contract negotiations by having the parties submit their disputes to a fact-finding panel. The meeting with the fact-finding panel is currently scheduled for Nov. 4 but both sides
had previously expressed a willingness to negotiate before that time.
