Superintendent Welcomes New School Year

[Editor's note: This letter was sent by Superintendent of Schools Dr. Anthony Cavanna to district parents at the beginning of the school year]

September 7, 2011

Dear Parents and Guardians:

Welcome to the start of another school year. The structural safety of our buildings for the students and staff was top priority this past week after having Hurricane Irene pass through the township. Our Director of Buildings and Grounds was onsite during the storm and looking after the facilities. Everything was inspected and where necessary corrected, so that our doors could open on time.

Our district continues to grow as we welcome 523 kindergarteners making our total enrollment exceed 6,800 students. This represents an increase of about 200 students K‐12 over the 2010‐2011 school year.

Last year, we had many successes in the district such as West Orange High School being ranked by Newsweek as one of America’s Top Public High Schools for the 2nd consecutive year; the College Board naming WOHS an Advanced Placement Achievement District; the High Aptitude Program students placing 1st in the state for the second year, 12th in the nation in the Knowledge Master Open; a West Orange teacher being selected as Essex County Teacher of the Year, the second year in a row that a teacher from West Orange has been chosen; and a guidance counselor being named Guidance Counselor of the Year for the county. In some areas and grade levels, we were also able to narrow or close the achievement gap amongst groups of students.

The focus of this school year will continue to be on academic achievement. In the upcoming weeks you will be learning more about our new and continuing initiatives, including:

• Literacy/Balanced Literacy

• Everyday Math/Connected Math

• Accelerate Math Middle Schools

• STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) Strand K‐12

• Advisory Curriculum Middle Schools

• GREEN Environmental Strand

• 9th Year Seminar/Smaller Learning Communities

The district is pleased to announce the appointment of the following key personnel:

• Connie Salimbeno, Director Student Support Services

• Kristin Gogerty, Supervisor Special Education, Pre K ‐ 8

• Cheryl Butler, Executive Director Guidance Services

• Lionel Hush, Principal Roosevelt Middle School

• Julianne Bello, Assistant Principal Roosevelt Middle School

• Aixa Abreu, Assistant Principal Liberty Middle School

The Board of Education goals will be adopted at the September 19, 2011 Board of Education meeting and can be previewed on our website at http://schools.woboe.org. I anticipate many opportunities for community input and feedback in the decisions that will continue to move our district forward. I look forward to sharing an exciting, fulfilling school year with you.

Sincerely,

Anthony P. Cavanna Superintendent of Schools