Incoming West Orange High Students ‘Step Up’ With School Program

WEST ORANGE, NJ — It’s called the “Step Up” program, and this year, it helped dozens of first-year students at West Orange High School ease into a new set of responsibilities.

The annual summer program at West Orange High School – which concluded a few weeks ago – provided academic enrichment to more than 30 incoming students for 2022, district administrators said.

What did participating students do? According to the district:

“This year's program offered daily courses in English/Language Arts, Math, and Organizational Skills. Eighth grade students who might benefit from additional academic support were identified by their instructors at Liberty and Roosevelt Middle Schools and recommended for Step Up. Academics were held Mondays through Wednesdays, from 9 a.m. to noon. Students came together on Thursdays for fun team-building activities, and had the opportunity to meet the administration, including Principal Hayden Moore, assistant principals and deans, and supportive upperclassmen that attended the program. Team building activities culminated in a scavenger hunt that helped students learn the layout of the campus.”

Moore said the high school has been offering the program to incoming first-year students for the past nine years.

“Statistics show that the program has increased the students' ability to be successful in their first year,” Moore said, thanking lead teacher Chuck Manzo, ELA teacher Molly Wachtel, math teacher Katherine Garcia, and organizational teacher Sharon Ortiz for their “commitment to helping our newest Mountaineers succeed.”

The program will continue throughout the academic year, with teachers following up with the students each marking period, administrators said.

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