Construction, safety and curriculum upgrades have been implemented.
A new school year introduces new improvements for Indian Mills School and Indian Mills Memorial School.
Students will have a smooth entrance into the next grade as the school year approaches, due to sidewalk repairs at both schools.
In addition, the middle school gymnasium underwent a full renovation of flooring upgrades, new paint, new padding to the walls and a switch from manual to electric bleachers — creating a safe environment for students to stay active.
Business administrator/board secretary Laura Archer expressed her eagerness for the upcoming school year, anticipating enthusiasm from the students about the newly revamped gymnasium.
“The energy levels are always higher when the students are back, seeing them walking through the halls excited about a game that night — you can sense a community feeling,” Archer said.
With the safety of the students throughout the district being a top priority, Superintendent Christine Vespe underwent training over the summer to become a certified school safety specialist. She has since held meetings with the officer of emergency management from Shamong, law enforcement, and the EMS and fire departments to review safety plans with them.
This year, safety regulations at the schools will be closely monitored and enforced, with cones being placed along the lines of the fire lane to ensure it remains clear in case of an emergency. There will be more structured drop-off and pick-up arrangements, which will allow the areas to be monitored more closely.
As far as curriculum changes, there will be a new math program called “GO Math!” by Houghton Mifflin that will be implemented for grades K-6. According to Director of Curriculum and Instruction Laura Hoffman, this will provide a different learning platform for students, giving them digital access to “math trainers” who can adapt to work on each students level.
Students of certain grade levels will also be able to scan pages of homework into the program, where a mini-tutorial of a similar problem will be shown, allowing students to comprehend lessons more thoroughly from home.
“It’s more support for the parent at home that way and it’s a high level of rigor, meaning it will push the kids, but I think it gives the needed support for them to do well,” Hoffman said.
Another enhancement to the elementary school is the addition of a makerspace in the school’s library. Modeled after the makerspace at IMMS, there will be all the tools necessary for students to participate in hands-on STEM activities.
The makerspace has been funded through the Shamong Foundation for Educational Excellence, along with funding from Title IV federal funding, which was used toward the makerspace at IMMS last year and at IMS this year.
As always, educators will be offered a mentoring plan, consisting of an assigned mentor to provide them with the support they need throughout the school year, as well as monthly meetings with the principal and the opportunity to attend after-school professional development programs.
Teachers who specialize in certain areas will be able to educate other teachers on those topics, and teachers will also be granted the opportunity to attend a series of six to eight lessons on the new math initiative for this year to stay informed.
This year there will be an addition of five new staff members, including Nicole Brewin and Olivia Johnson on the Child Study Team, Salvatore Petetti and Sabrina Futty will teach language arts at the middle school, and Katie DiCarlo will teach science at the middle school.
“The start of every school year is exciting, seeing the kids come back and the teachers come back — and the new ones coming in, it’s always exciting.” Vespe said. “I love the first days of school.”
