Mendham Schools Recognized as 'Reward Schools'

Mendham Borough's Hilltop and Mountainview Schools and Mendham Township Middle School have been named a high-performing "Reward School" by the state Department of Education.

The schools were included in a list of 57 Reward Schools throughout the state released this month. Last year, 112 schools were selected as Reward Schools.

"A Reward School is a school with outstanding student achievement or growth over the past three years," according to a description provided by the state DOE.

The two types of Reward Schools include high-performing, which indicates the school has a high level of schoolwide proficiency and graduation rates, and high-progress, which indicates the school has a high level of student growth, as measured by their median Student Growth Percentiles.

"Mendham Township Middle School was one of nine middle schools to earn a spot on the list. As there are 2,500 schools in the State of New Jersey, this is an incredible accomplishment for our students, their families, our School Board, our school community, and our exceptional teachers," said Mendham Township Middle School Principal PJ Ciccone. "Even more impressively, MTMS earned a spot on this list of the State's highest achieving schools for a second year in a row."

In calculating which schools are Reward Schools, the state takes into account data from the 2008-09, 2009-10 and 2010-11 school years, including NJASK, HSPA and APA exams.

"As if these achievements are incredible enough, despite being on the list of highest achievers last year, this year MTMS earned additional kudos from the State as a, 'High Growth School!' Only 8 other elementary schools, middle schools, and/or high schools produced such growth," Ciccone said. "In sum, MTMS students have experienced more academic improvement year over year than 99.64 percent of the schools throughout the entire state of New Jersey.

According to Ciccone, the honor is indicative of a school community's commitment to carrying out a very simple, yet extraordinary vision, mission, and purpose of Every Student, Every Day. 

"I would like to offer my congratulations to the entire Mendham Township Middle School community for providing superior quality programs for our students," Ciccone said. "A special thanks to our highly talented and exceptionally diligent teachers for their commitment to continuous improvement and ensuring that every student has ample opportunity and support to meet or exceed his/her greatest potential every day."

Mendham Borough did not return messages for comment.