What Did You Do on Summer Vacation? Here's What Point Borough Schools Did

From the office of Point Pleasant Borough Superintendent of Schools Vincent S. Smith:

Each year when summer break rolls around, Point Pleasant Borough School District personnel work tirelessly and determinedly to complete a year’s worth of capital improvements during the approximately 10 weeks that students are away from the schools.

“One of the most common misconceptions surrounding the education profession is that summer is a time of uninterrupted vacation and endless down-time, when nothing could be further from the truth,” said Superintendent of Schools Vincent S. Smith. “Perhaps it’s true that for some, summer break can bring a nice period of rest and relaxation, for our district’s staff, summer break means it’s time to get to work.”

“For the ten short weeks that schools are not in session, the district’s 12-month employees are working on projects and initiatives to prepare for the coming school year,” he said. “Our teaching staff also keeps busy engaged in regular professional development classes and participating in curriculum writing consortiums, while preparing for their return to their own classrooms. The pace is frenetic and anything but relaxed but our entire faculty and staff are committed to working together to ensure the best possible educational experience and the most effective possible learning environment for the children of Point Pleasant Borough.”

According to the superintendent, this summer’s agenda included projects ranging from technological upgrades to curriculum updates and the district-wide roof and HVAC replacement projects provided for in the December 2013 referendum.

“With some school improvement projects -– like last summer’s security upgrades, which included renovations to the schools’ main entrances and reception areas -– the changes are immediately visible,” he said, “while with other projects - like this summer’s roof and HVAC replacements and associated projects – although they may not be as easily observed, the improvements will become more noticeable, and the benefits, more fully appreciated as the school year progresses.”

Superintendent Smith said that thanks to the new roofs and ventilation systems, not only will the classrooms experience improved ventilation but with the new HVAC systems and centralized climate controls, classroom temperatures will also be more consistent, which will be a tremendous benefit come wintertime.

“Although these improvements may be less visible they are no less important, and in some ways, they will become even more valuable in time because they’ve effectively preserved the integrity of our district facilities and have reduced the need for further costly roof repairs,” he said. “Plus, the increased efficiency of the new boilers and heating units will make operations more economical.”

Another large scale project completed this summer are upgrades to the district’s digital infrastructure, which included replacing the Wide Area Network, or WAN, to allow for the expansion of both wireless and video capabilities, and increased Wi-Fi access points district-wide.

“Every classroom in the district now has a Wi-Fi access point,” Superintendent Smith said.

The universal access points, he said, are essential for reliable operation of the 600 new Google Chromebooks, which were purchased this summer to ensure the district’s available technology aligns with the requirements established under PARCC, the new standardized assessments, which will be administered online to students in grades three through 11 beginning in Spring 2015.

“Students will have immediate access to the Chromebooks so that they are able to gain the experience necessary to confidently operate the netbooks come testing time,” he said.

“The foundation of every upgrade and improvement initiative is to improve opportunities for student achievement while preserving the learning environment,” added the Superintendent. “I am confident that the projects that were accomplished this summer will provide enhanced opportunities for students’ success.”

“It’s been a busy and productive summer but I am more than ready to say, WELCOME BACK PANTHERS!”