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Acting Commissioner
Meets with NJAPIE Leadership NJAPIE and NJASA Recognize Eight Districts for Partnership Programs Bergenfield Public School District | Camden County Technical Schools | Delsea Regional High School District | Ewing Township Public Schools | Freehold Regional High School District | Mt. Olive Township School District | Paramus Public Schools | Washington Township Public Schools (Gloucester County) Annually, several distinguished school districts and their corporate/community partners are honored by the New Jersey Association of Partners in Education (NJAPIE) and the New Jersey Association of School Administrators (NJASA) for their district partnership programs and their efforts in the area of school-community partnerships. The 2006 Exemplary Partnership Program Award Recipients are featured below.
From left, NJAPIE Vice President Denise Hecht, Assistant
Executive Director, New Jersey Bergenfield Public School District Since the fall of 2003, Bergenfield High School has offered the Nursing Apprentice Program (NAP) as a collaborative partnership among Bergenfield School District, Englewood Hospital and Medical Center (EHMC) and University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ). The goals of NAP are:
At each step along the way, students and teachers are making meaningful connections with adult health care professionals who are committed to facilitating the education of our students. These relationships and mentoring experiences are developed through a wide array of learning experiences including observational activities in various departments; such as surgery, pathology, etc. Students also absorb invaluable lessons that cannot be found in textbooks through on-going shadowing opportunities with experienced nurses and medical staff. Camden County Technical Schools The Academic Business Connections (ABC) Luncheon Lecture Series supports student achievement through its alignment with the New Jersey Core Curriculum Content Standards in many ways. Because of this unique luncheon lecture series, diverse segments of the community are brought together to work toward common goals. The primary goal is to allow educators, business leaders, community groups, parents, and governmental agencies the opportunity to network, develop partnerships and to increase and enhance opportunities for student achievement and preparation for life after high school. The principal core curriculum content standard to which the luncheon lecture series relates is Career Education, Consumer, Family and Life Skills. Standard 9.1 states, "All students will develop career awareness and planning, employability skills, and foundational knowledge necessary for success in the workplace." Through networking and attendance at the luncheon lectures, educators are better able to make the authentic connections necessary to provide these requisite workplace readiness skills. Standard 9.2, which states, "All students will demonstrate critical life skills in order to be functional members of society," is addressed by presenters who speak to issues related to community service, parenting, media analysis, family development, financial matters, and mental and physical health. The ABC Luncheon Lecture Series is a series of luncheon lectures, held several times each year, during which participants network, form and solidify relationships, share information, and have an opportunity to reflect upon and utilize information provided by recognized experts representing various professions. Lecture topics are selected by the participants and are aligned with the New Jersey Core Curriculum Content Standards. Delsea Regional High School District The Delsea Regional High School District in Franklinville, New Jersey has won numerous awards for its comprehensive, all-inclusive Service Learning Program. Each grade level has designed a project that encompasses the New Jersey Core Curriculum Content Standards for Literacy. Grade level projects also incorporate methodologies that address various learning styles in a non-traditional approach, helping students to achieve academic success and build confidence. The program has the following major goals. All learners will be able to:
All students in each grade level are participants in the projects because
the projects are infused into the Language Arts/English curriculum. Students
have an opportunity to participate in the action phase directly, indirectly
or as an advocate. The partnerships that have been formed as a result
of the service learning projects have blossomed and flourished over the
last eight years. In 1998, the district had two partnerships involving
four teachers and 300 students. In 2006, the programs have expanded to
10 formal partnerships' involving 21 teachers and 1600 students. The school
is often contacted by groups or organizations hoping to strike up a partnership. Ewing Township Public Schools The goals of the "Parkway School/Merrill Lynch Mentoring Program" are as follows:
The Parkway School Mentoring collaboration with Merrill Lynch has provided a long-term prevention/intervention program that has often extended, not only past the Parkway years (grades k-5) into the middle school years (grade 6-8), but has extended outside the school arena into the community and personal lives of the students. Membership in the program requires a minimum of a one-year commitment from the Merrill Lynch employee. These employees are released from work one day a week, for one hour to be with their mentee. Although it is the Mentoring Program policy that the relationships be sustained for at least one year, we find that often they are continued from year-to-year. Some relationships have started in kindergarten and have continued well into middle school. Freehold Regional High School District The Student Transition Employment Program (STEP) is an award winning comprehensive program designed to provide students with disabilities lifelong employment skills. This transition program encompasses both school-based training and community-based instruction through Structured Learning Experiences (SLE). The goal of the program is to provide students with career awareness and exploration in a structured setting. STEP is comprised of three phases. Upon entering high school, students are enrolled in a Career Awareness and Vocational Exploration class. The students progress from this phase to Vocational Assessment in the community. By graduation, the goal is for students to achieve placement in competitive employment. The units of study developed for the STEP Curriculum address the Career Education and Consumer Family Life Skills Standards (9.1 and 9.2) directly. Other standards, specifically Language Arts and Literacy (3.1 - 3.5) and Math (4.1 - 4.5), are addressed through classroom instruction, as well as being incorporated into individualized student training plans developed as an instructional support for the student in the workplace. Currently, there are 54 students participating in STEP. The students are classified with a variety of disabilities involving a wide range of cognitive functioning. The students range in age from 16 to 21. Mt. Olive Township School District The "Young Consumer's" Program supports student achievement through the fact it was specifically designed to strengthen students' spatial and logical reasoning skills, motivate them to become independent learners and teach them to apply their understanding of these concepts both inside and outside classroom walls. Using the New Jersey Core Content Standards and the latest in brain-based research, the program teaches students to discuss, solve and discover how math influences their everyday life. The activities developed for the program encompass all third grade New Jersey Math Core Content Standards while developing critical-thinking, decision-making and problem-solving skills, a component of Cross-Content Workplace Readiness. The school/parent relationship so critical to learning has been enhanced by our partnership with Ronetco Shop-Rite and the "Young Consumer's" Program. There are three components to the yearlong "Young Consumers" Program. Students begin their experience early in the school year with a visit from an educational consultant to Ronetco Shop-Rite. Probability, Fractions, Tangrams and a variety of other mathematical concepts are introduced and manipulatives used during the visit are left in the classroom to allow independent student exploration. These and other new concepts are reinforced by the third grade teachers in the classroom. The second component of the program is "Family Fun Night" where parents are invited to the school and introduced to the program by Shop-Rite representatives. The reputation and success of the program is evident in nearly 100% parental involvement. The third and final component of the program is a field trip to Shop-Rite in Flanders. Working in pairs, students prepare for the trip by creating a healthy menu for four days using nutrition information presented by Cathie Filomeno, Public Relations Administrator at Ronetco Shop-Rite. The objective of the field trip is to shop for a nutritious, balanced menu for a family of four utilizing a $100 budget. Half of the time at Shop-Rite is spent shopping, while the other half of the trip is spent visiting 10 problem-solving stations where students earn points for their thoughtful responses. The trip allows students to use their mathematical knowledge in real-life situations and gives them a unique view of an activity they participate in outside of school. Paramus Public Schools The main focus of the alliance between the West Brook React Club and Paramus Rotary Club is to develop responsible citizens through service to their local, national and international communities. The activities that React members engage in exemplify the vision and the purpose of the NJ Core Curriculum Standards in Social Studies. They are synonymous with the goals of the partnership between the West Brook React Club and the Paramus Rotary Club - "to provide students with the knowledge, skills and attitudes they need to be active, informed, responsible citizens who are contributing members of their communities" (NJ Department of Education, 2005). The West Brook React members are models of concerned, caring citizens who respond to the needs of their communities and participate in activities that foster understanding and appreciation of diverse cultures allowing them to be part of the problem-solving base and the ultimate solution. When React members saw the devastation caused by the national disaster of Hurricane Katrina, they felt compelled to act. React ran a "Be a Life Saver Campaign" to aid the victims. The project raised over $2,500. Through social services, React sought out the Gonzales family; Mom, Dad, and three boys Hugo 13, Oscar 9, and Alfredo 1, who had been relocated to NJ. They lived in New Orleans and lost everything they owned due to Katrina. At one point, the Gonzales family was living in their car for about two weeks. With winter approaching, the family needed coats. React invited the Gonzales Family to breakfast at West Brook where they gave the family clothes, food, toys, and gift certificates. Our Rotary liaison, Marty Diamond, met the family at our breakfast and introduced them to the Paramus Rotary Club. Our Superintendent of Schools heard Mr. Gonzales' plea for work and invited him to apply for a position as custodian. He is now working for the Paramus Board of Education. Paramus' Mayor Tedesco heard about the work React was doing and wanted to help. The town offered to let the Gonzales family live in a home, which the town had purchased for future use. On Christmas Eve, React and the Rotary along with several Paramus High School clubs, staff, parents and the Mayor helped clean out the home. Like the ripple effect of a pebble being thrown into water, word spread throughout Paramus, and the entire community appeared to respond. Rotary members painted the house. The local firemen put down the new carpeting. Perhaps the best part of this story is that Hugo and Oscar are now attending the Paramus Public Schools and Hugo is the newest member of the West Brook React Club helping to spread our motto, "Service above Self." Washington Township Public Schools (Gloucester
County) In this program, the third grade Life Science curriculum comes alive as the students acquire scientific knowledge through hands-on lessons that go beyond the walls of the classroom. Students learn science best through discovery. The focus of the project is on field trips to the local farm, growing crops from seeds, and providing food to the hungry. On-site lessons provide students with direct farming experiences. The project expands student knowledge of environmental issues, including management of natural resources, production, and use of energy. This authentic type of active learning enhances student knowledge of the scientific method. Students enthusiastically go into the fields to plant seeds and the observation process begins. The delicious fruits of student labor are harvested and donated to the Farmers Against Hunger. In addition, Student Farmers Grow & Give introduces and develops students' abilities with technological design including experiences in predicting, decision-making, critical-thinking, and problem solving. Student Farmers Grow & Give creates an awareness of the need to protect, conserve, and preserve natural resources and enhances our students' understanding of the interrelationship between science and the global community. Students learn about the local farm and agriculture through the scientific
method in which many opportunities reinforce knowledge presented in the
classroom through exciting, hands-on learning experiences. The students
work in cooperative groups using scientific tools to gather and report
data. Students become aware of career opportunities in the field of farming/agricultural
science. During these activities, students are encouraged and challenged
to make predictions, observations and record data. They formulate questions
based on environmental needs, using effective strategies for locating
information, identifying examples of responsible citizenship in the school
setting, and understanding the law of supply and demand. Over 700 third
grade students district-wide participate yearly in the project with 100%
actively engaged in the Student Farmers Grow & Give. During
the harvest season, students picked crops and helped distribute food to
Farmers Against Hunger. NEW JERSEY ASSOCIATION OF PARTNERS
IN EDUCATION NJAPIE, a not-for-profit organization, represents many schools, businesses, community groups, educators, and individual volunteers who work together as partners to help students achieve educational excellence. The New Jersey Association of School Administrators (NJASA) provides management services to NJAPIE, which retains its own governing board, bylaws and policies.
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