Parents, the celebration can almost begin.
The children of Shamong are headed back to school Thursday, Sept. 4, and while they spent the last two and a half months vacationing, the district was preparing.
The biggest of those preparations? Readying for the introduction of the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers, or PARCC.
PARCC is a group of 20 states coming together to develop a common set of kindergarten through 12th grade assessments in English and math based on what it takes to be ready for college and careers. The assessment will be conducted online and is interactive for students and teachers. PARCC received a $186 million grant through the U.S. Department of Education to support the development and design of the next-generation assessment system. Superintendent Christine Vespe said the district benefitted from the middle school being a pilot school for PARCC last year.
“Our pilot program went very successfully at the middle school,” Vespe said. “Technology has been the challenge. The NJ-ASK was a traditional pencil and paper exam whereas PARCC is totally technology based.” Vespe said preparing the staff for administering PARCC would be a “big push” in the district’s professional development program.
Another focus for the district is continuing its teacher evaluation program. A year ago, the district fully implemented the teacher evaluation model, the Stronge Evaluation System, under AchieveNJ. The Stronge Evaluation System allows for the use of a common language and enhances professional growth. To fully implement the Stronge Evaluation System, the schools used the OASYS online appraisal and evaluation management system. To become familiar with OASYS, teachers were required to complete training on the system throughout the school year.
The district was not alone in its preparations for the new year.
The Home and School Association will host its inaugural “Back to School BBQ” for both Indian Mills Elementary School and Indian Mills Memorial Middle School on Sept. 5 and Sept. 12 respectively. The HSA, along with IMS principal Nicole Moore and IMMS principal Timothy Carroll, will kick off the school year with hot dogs, hamburgers, music and water ice while also revealing the new line of school spirit items. Vespe said the HSA’s new president, Scott Caloiaro, is focused on community outreach.
“We’re really excited about the HSA picnics. Scott has new ideas that will have a lot of community involvement,” Vespe said. “It’s exciting to work with the community. The Shamong Township Education Association is working on a 5K event as well. Now that the contract negotiations have ended, we can all move forward.”
