Moorestown Board of Education Off to Productive Start in 2015

The school district is off to a productive and busy start, as the Moorestown Board of Education and the school district welcomed new board members, elected new board leaders, and provided updates on PARCC testing, among other items.

At the Board’s annual reorganization meeting on Jan. 7, Peter Palko, Ann Marie Reyher, and Caryn Shaw were sworn in for three-year terms on the Board of Education. Routine reorganization business was also performed, including professional appointments.

A full agenda of business taken can be found here.

Each year, the Board elects new leadership. This year Kathy Goldenberg was elected Board President, and David Weinstein was elected Board Vice President. The listing of committee membership, committee chairs, and board liaisons will be made public soon, and will be included in February’s column.

The regular monthly meeting on Jan. 20 featured a presentation on the “Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers” (PARCC). The PARCC assessment is a computer-based test that will be implemented in the 2014-2015 for grades 3-11.

After being piloted in the district last year, it will now replace NJASK and HSPA tests.

It was mentioned that the Common Core and PARCC is not new curriculum, but rather minimum standards that must be met, and participation is mandated by the state. It was expressed that all students are expected to test, and an “opt-out” policy does not exist. Additional information on PARCC, including timelines and content, can be found here.

As a reminder, the PACE Science Fair will take place on Feb. 10, from 6:30 p.m.-8 pm in the UES Cafeteria for Science Night/Science Fair Kick-Off, and on March 31, from 6:30 p.m.-8 pm in the UES Cafeteria for the Science Fair. Students in grades K-12 who plan a science project, research, experiment, and make conclusions are invited to participate and display their work. Visitors are encouraged, and adults with science backgrounds are needed to serve as volunteers. Contact Alisa Modena at abmodena@aol.com for more information on volunteering.

There are a number of student performances in Februrary, including the MHS Vocal Pops Concert on Feb. 5, the WAMS Musical from Feb. 19-21, and the MHS Spring Musical on Feb. 27 and 28. March dates also available.

An important calendar change to be aware of is that due to the snow emergency closing on Tuesday, Jan. 27, there will be a regular school day for staff and students on Feb. 13. Presently, students will not attend school on May 22. The full district calendar with a note on this change can be found here.

The next regular board of education meeting will take place on Tuesday, Feb. 17 at 7:30 p.m., in the William Allen Middle School media center. As always, do not hesitate to reach out to either the board as a whole, or myself, if you have any questions or need anything. I would be delighted to hear from you, and I hope to see you at a future meeting.

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The views and content in this column do not necessarily represent those of the Moorestown Board of Education as a whole or any other individual member.

About this column: In this column, Moorestown Board of Education Member Brandon Pugh provides monthly updates on what’s going on in the school district and on the BOE.