Middletown Schools Earn Future-Ready Silver Status

MIDDLETOWN, NJ — This past Tuesday, Sept. 18 Middletown Township public schools learned that all 17 of the district's schools have earned silver-level certification under the Future Ready Schools NJ (FRS-NJ) Certification Program.

FRS-NJ, a coalition of the NJSBA, New Jersey Institute of Technology, and the New Jersey Department of Education, is designed to best prepare our students for success in the digital age by promoting skills, abilities, and capacities essential for success in college, career, and citizenship. Additionally, The FRS-NJ program enables and fosters collaboration both within and between schools and districts throughout the State of New Jersey. FRS- NJ is based on the national Future Ready Framework, developed by the Alliance for Excellent Education.

As you may recall, all Middletown Township Public Schools K-12 exceeded the established requirements for first level certification in the 2017-18 school year and represented 17 of only 64 schools to achieve the initial honor. After reflecting on the evidence submitted during that certification cycle, the MTPS Future Ready NJ Team set goals for the year that directly related to the three FRS-NJ themes: Leadership, Education and Classroom Practice, and Technology Support and Services.

In May-June of 2018, district leaders, educational technology specialists, teacher leaders, and technology staff submitted evidence for silver-level certification for each school. This evidence was reviewed by the Future Ready New Jersey Awards Committees that were made up of educators and school/district leaders from around the state, as well as representatives from the New Jersey Department of Education.

Middletown Township Public Schools once again exceeded the established requirements for certification in all three themes, earning us the prestigious silver-evel certification. While all levels of FRS-NJ certification follow an evidence-based process, the expectations established for Silver level are especially rigorous. Middletown schools represent 17 of only 35 schools in the state who earned Silver level, the highest level a school can achieve at this time.

As a result, Middletown Township Public Schools has the largest number of Silver level certified schools in the second cohort of committed Future Ready Schools NJ districts.

A formal celebration of this achievement will occur at the September 26 Board of Education Meeting at 8:00 p.m. in the Middletown High School North Library, 63 Tindall Road, Middletown, NJ 07748.

Why Future Ready Certification is Important to Middletown Schools

By William O. George III, Ed.D., Superintendent of Schools
As a leadership team in Middletown, we have established a culture of innovation throughout the district
by embracing a collaborative leadership model. The main goal of this model is to empower students to
direct their own learning and in some cases, design their own learning opportunities. Educational
Technology Specialists, Library Media Specialists, and subject-area specialists/coaches have provided
support in transforming our classrooms into student-centered environments, where our students are
developing the skills they need for future success.

Throughout the Future Ready NJ Certification process, we have been fortunate to reflect on our areas of
strength, as well as areas we would like to further develop. To model lifelong learning for our students,
we as educators must also demonstrate our commitment to self-reflection and daily improvement. One
of our areas of strength as a district is providing staff with professional development that emphasizes a
shared vision for digital learning, including measuring student success utilizing data. We will continue to
add personal and purposeful professional learning opportunities to our new online hub that already
includes dozens of in-person and online opportunities for learning aligned to the Future Ready gears.
Another area of strength we are proud of is our commitment to classroom practice that includes
authentic learning opportunities for students. These opportunities often connect curricular standards to
student interests across multiple subject areas. Our educators have utilized the multiple digital learning
tools, platforms, and devices the district provides to create dynamic and personalized lessons for
different types of learners.

Providing educators and students with reliable technology remains another priority of the district. Our
district network is continuously monitored to ensure the intranet/internet has the appropriate
capabilities to support the application of the district devices. In addition, the district website has been
redesigned to celebrate a learner-centered approach to teaching and learning. Digital content includes
exemplary practice showcasing students and staff. The website also provides a user-friendly layout, so
members of our community can easily find the resources they need. We will continue to use our hashtag
#MTPSpride on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram to celebrate learning and share important
information.

As the administrative team reflects on our Future Ready NJ certification journey thus far, it is evident
that our district and building leaders, educators, and students have so much to be proud of. It is also
clear, however, that there is still work to be done. For the 2018-19 school year, we will be implementing
Innovation Teams in each of our 17 schools, led by teacher-leaders committed to increasing innovative
practices in our classrooms. These teams will drive new initiatives and provide support to their district
colleagues. We will also remain strong in our resolve to provide personalized learning opportunities for
all our students aligned to their unique strengths, needs, and interests. Students will begin creating their
own personalized learning plans to set goals and reflect on their learning.

Together, we are dedicated to preparing our students for the world of tomorrow, which will require
them to be creative thinkers, problem solvers, and lifelong learners. #MTPSpride!