Tiger Talk

Welcome to Tiger Talk! This newsletter is intended to keep our community informed of important information and upcoming events in our school. Highlights of this month's issue include an update on our cross-district committee, Linking with Leadership dates and topics, as well as information about our Preschool Program Expansion.

Dr. Nicholas A. Diaz, Superintendent

The Cross-District Committee has listened to community feedback calling for a well-defined vision. As a result, we worked on formulating a unified mission and vision statement that we plan to disseminate to the broader community.

We have formed a specialized sub-committee to design surveys for our staff and families. The objective of these surveys is to assess how successfully our districts are creating welcoming environments and to pinpoint areas that may benefit from further enhancement. Instead of generating a separate survey for students, we are working on leveraging activities that are already occurring within the classrooms to capture student input organically.

We are pleased to announce the return of our "Linking with Leadership" series. This initiative aims to foster a more robust partnership between our school's administration and our valued community members.

All meetings will occur at Union Township Elementary School. Please mark your calendars for the upcoming sessions:

• November 28th, 10am - Educational Quality and Curriculum:

• Focus: Core Academic Programs & Gifted and Talented Programs

• January 23rd, 1:30pm - School Policy and Governance:

• Focus: School Safety and Security

• March 26th, 10am - Student Well-being:

• Focus: Student well-being & Anti-bullying Initiatives

• May 23rd, 1:30pm - Community Relations:

• Focus: School-Community Partnerships & Home-School Communication

We are pleased to provide an update on our efforts to expand our preschool program for the benefit of our community. We have submitted an application for preschool expansion aid and are actively collaborating with the Department of Education to secure necessary funding for the 2023-24 academic year. We expect to receive confirmation next month, and all indications to date suggest a favorable outcome.

Should we secure this funding, our plan is to significantly enhance our preschool offerings by doubling our current number of preschool classrooms.

Mrs. Rhonda Pevorus was recently honored as an Emerging Leader by the New Jersey Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (NJASCD). The accolade was formally bestowed upon her at last month's 2023 New Jersey School Boards Association (NJSBA) Convention. Congratulations!

Dr. Diaz was recently a guest on The Folke Institute's monthly video podcast, hosted by Dr. Carrie Spell-Hansson. The episode was part of the institute's special focus on Hispanic Heritage Month, and provided an opportunity for Dr. Diaz to discuss his experiences and perspectives as a Hispanic leader in education. It was an enriching dialogue that added value to our ongoing conversations about creating a more welcoming environment within our educational community. Click here to watch the video.

Mrs. Laura LoPiccolo, Supervisor of Curriculum and Instruction, presented data on 2022-23 NJSLA student achievement as well as an overview of the Gifted and Talented program, known as STRETCH.

Mrs. Laura Marchese, Supervisor of Special Services, provided an overview of our Special Education program.

Click here to view the presentations

• Mr. Lou Palma, President
• Dr. Daniel Allen, Co-Vice President
• Mrs. Cortney Dominianni-Smith, Co-Vice President
• Mr. Michael Kokoszka
• Mr. John Malone
• Mrs. Caitlin Piontek
• Dr. Nicole Rasavage
• Dr. Christine Soltys-Robitaille
• Dr. Suzanne Wunder
• Mrs. Eva Preuett - Business Administrator/Board Secretary

All meetings are held in the Union Township Elementary School Library, located at 149 Perryville Road, Hampton, NJ, and begin at 6:45 pm unless otherwise noted. A virtual link, if needed, will be posted on the district website by 6:00pm on the day of the scheduled meeting.

Meetings are open to the public and formal action may/will be taken at all meetings. The Board reserves the right to go into Closed Executive Session during any/all of the above meetings.

• Monday, November 20, 2023
• Monday, December 18, 2023

Click here for a complete list of board meetings.