A look at the year ahead with Superintendent Brian McBride
Stephen Fin
The Sun
Looking ahead, 2019 is shaping up to be a year of growth for Palmyra schools with some big changes on the horizon.
In the new year, Superintendent Brian McBride hopes to carry on the four main areas outlined in the Strategic Plan for the Palmyra Public School District. These goals cover student achievement, public relationships and community partnerships, sustainability and educating the whole student.
“We use those as our anchor points each year as we plan,” said McBride.
A major project the district will see come to fruition in the new year will be the creation of a stand-alone middle school. Currently, Charles Street School serves children Pre-K through sixth grade, and Palmyra High School serves children seventh through 12th grade.
At a meeting last April 11, the board of education established a middle school exclusively for sixth through eighth graders on the second floor of Palmyra High School.
Student safety remains a priority for the district, and the high school will see added measures coinciding with the incoming sixth graders. In addition to an upgraded camera system, the school will be adding a new security vestibule entry system for September.
According to McBride the cost of the camera upgrades and vestibule will be covered by a safety grant from Burlington County freeholders the district is anticipating. The grant is expected to total $700,000.
Much of the new budget not covered by grants will be going toward infrastructure maintenance and improvement. The floor of the high school that will be dedicated to middle school grades will see refurbished classrooms and bathrooms.
According to McBride, the high school will also be adding a new multi-purpose science room for grades nine through 12.
“The idea is to make it multi-purpose so that it’s not solely a biology room or chemistry room, it can be used for STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art and math) activities,” said McBride.
The school is looking to encourage hands-on learning by creating makerspaces such as the new science room. The Clarence B. Jones Library could see some STEAM upgrades as well, like 3D printing capabilities.
Charles Street School will see refurbished bathrooms, new lighting and a number of vacated classrooms repurposed for special needs and gifted and talented classes. The school will also be dedicating one of its rooms solely to musical instruction.
Curriculum will see some upgrades at the high school level and a number of new electives will be available to students beginning in the new school year.
According to McBride, the high school will be holding an elective fair in the next few months where students will have a say as far as which electives would be of most interest to them. Selections will be added to the courses available to students based on the most popular options presented at the fair.
“Students are going to have a direct input as far as the types of classes they want,” said McBride. “Our goal is better preparing students for the post-secondary world, whether it’s choosing a job, choosing a branch in service or choosing a college.”
A recent initiative involving both adult and peer mentors for students at every grade level is something McBride would like to see more of going forward. According to McBride, the number of disciplinary actions throughout the district has been declining as a result of these mentoring programs. Over the past year, they have seen fewer write ups and HIB reports.
“It’s not just being a person that someone can go talk to, it’s also this person taking a look at their academics, their attendance, discipline, what their ideas are for future plans and making sure that they are oriented in a direction,” said McBride.
As far as challenges the school district faces, McBride would like to see overall state test scores improve.
“We’re making sure that we’re putting in programs, practices and educational opportunities that support closing those gaps,” said McBride.
As with many other small school districts, sustainability and funding make for additional hurdles.
“We’re a tiny district with a lot of opportunities for kids but funding all of that is a challenge,” said McBride. “We’ve got older buildings that need some tender love and care.”
McBride would like to thank the parents of his district for their support and involvement in their children’s education.
“The parents of this community don’t stop,” he said. “These children are involved in multiple sports, multiple activities, you see the parents taking their kids to games, school functions and extracurricular activities. All of that goes to supporting the school and their involvement and support of the district is a strong message to the staff and the board of education that education matters to them.”
