West Orange Pre-School Program Finds New Home At Local Church

WEST ORANGE, NJ — The West Orange pre-school program at Kelly Elementary School has found a new home: The Life Christian Church.

Earlier this week, the West Orange Board of Education released a joint statement about a finalized lease agreement that will move the district’s pre-school program from Kelly Elementary School to a new facility at The Life Christian Church, 747 Northfield Avenue.

The pre-school year will begin on Sept. 6; letters have been sent out to all new and returning pre-school families, the BOE stated.

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The West Orange BOE statement about the new pre-school follows:

“For many years, and through several boards, the West Orange School District has grappled with facilities overcrowding issues at all of our eleven schools. We currently have trailers at three elementary schools and at some point in the recent past, at Edison Central Six and West Orange High School.

“We are proud to announce that we have finalized our lease agreement with The Life Christian Church (“TLCC”) and will be moving our Pre-School program from Kelly Elementary School to a new facility at 747 Northfield Avenue, West Orange. We will begin the pre-school year on September 6, 2017. Letters have been sent out to all new and returning pre-school families.

“The current board began discussing this space early this year, and as you may recall, during our budget workshops, we set aside funds to pay for the lease. In the past, other boards looked at space on Harrison Avenue, Main Street, Blessed Pope John XXIII Academy (formerly known as St. Joseph's), Suburban Hills, and many other locations. The spaces we previously looked at involved many costly renovations. It is our charge to strive to find the balance of providing resources for our students and lessening the burden on taxpayers, and the leased space at TLCC is the most cost effective of all potential sites. As with all business operations in the school district, we have the necessary approvals of the county and state offices to move forward.

“The name of the new pre-school will be the Betty Maddalena Early Learning Center and the principal will be Ms. Connie Salimbeno. As many of you may know, Betty Maddalena was our district’s Director of Student Support Services until her passing in 2011 and Ms. Salimbeno worked closely with her for many years. Betty was an educator for over 30 years, and began her career as a teacher, advancing to Coordinator, then Supervisor, and ultimately Director, all in West Orange. She was the first to receive the prestigious Educator Medal of Honor Award in 2006 from Governor Jon Corzine and Commissioner of Education Lucille Davy. Betty was always a true advocate for all of our children and extremely well respected by her peers. The Board of Education wished to honor her legacy by naming the new pre-school in her memory. At a future date, we will be hosting a reception and inviting our community and all who loved and supported Ms. Maddalena to attend.

“On Wednesday, Aug. 30, there will be an open house from 7 to 8:30 p.m., and we look forward to seeing our pre-school families then.”

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Photo: Betty Maddalena