Summit Schools Present Progress On School Year Goals Going Into 2026

SUMMIT, NJ — The Board of Education heard the status of the district's pursuit of its goals for the 2025-2026 school year at a meeting on Jan. 15.

Summit Public Schools Superintendent Scott Hough presented a mid-year review of progress across five Board-approved goals for the district, moving forward to be completed by June 2026.

The goals are part of a broader initiative for a five-year strategic plan for upgrades and improvements across Summit Public Schools, of which this is currently the first year in its undertaking.

"We're really proud of the momentum we're realizing," Hough said as he addressed the members of the Board

Safety and Wellness

The district set out to collect statistics from students, teachers, staff, parents, and guardians to determine the root causes and trade-offs associated with student stress and wellness.

Topics of concern included student anxiety, screen time, and other factors that affect productivity.

A committee was established to review surveys given to students in grades 3 through 12 regarding stress and well-being. A survey for parents was also created and is ready to be distributed.

The district is also in the process of planning for its second annual Wellness Symposium in April. The plan is to have the event every year and invite local businesses and organizations to present resources that are available within the community.

Over the next few months, the district will survey the same students to assess any changes to the responses. Data will then be taken and used to research programs and vendors that may be of use in the future.

Culture and Community

The district aimed to get stakeholders together to gather a general consensus for certain types of behavior that should be expected of students in the year 2026.

This included individual plans and restorative practices. Through parent-teacher organization meetings and other events, the code of conduct was presented and acknowledged to both students and their parents.

Over the next few months, Summit Schools are working to align middle school and high school data in order to make collection and tracking more efficient.

Leaders also want to bring in professional development resources and grow support systems through pilots across multiple schools.

Leadership and Governance

The ways in which school administrators receive and assess feedback were put under comprehensive review.

School newsletters were sent out with surveys, and drafts of new operating procedures and principals were created.

Over the next few months, the schools are looking to finalize some standard procedures regarding constructive feedback and continue to build on a school leader orientation program.

Teaching and Learning

The district is assembling a committee to conduct and assess an audit of critical thinking and problem solving skills taught within the core content areas on a secondary level.

Supervisors of different departments have shared their goals, assessment tools, and more with administrators and participated in reviews of educational framework methods.

Over the next few months, leaders within the school district said they are creating a group to audit where, and how critical thinking skills are assessed through a wider net of samples.

Finance and Facilities

A form for systematic facilities maintenance is going to allow administrators to assess educational programming needs and review all staffing, recruitment, and retention efforts.

So far, a building-based facilities committee has been established at each school that meets quarterly.

On a district level, administrators want to attend more of these specific meetings over the next few months and update building needs after each session.

Leaders say they will continue to review comparative districts' salary guides with the operations committee.

"Our action plans are fluid. New ideas can come in at any time of the year, or they may trickle in to year two," Hough added.

The goals for the 2025-2026 year were just finalized in October.

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