FTS District Newsletter
Winter 2022
One District One Book - The Wild Robot
Each family will be receiving a copy of Peter Brown's The Wild Robot to read as a family. Be on the lookout for information from your child's school with details, activities, etc. We are looking forward to partnering with you and fostering a love a reading in our student community! Here's a sneak peak from Good Reads:
Can a robot survive in the wilderness?
When robot, Roz, opens her eyes for the first time, she discovers that she is all alone on a remote, wild island. She has no idea how she got there or what her purpose is--but she knows she needs to survive. After battling a violent storm and escaping a vicious bear attack, she realizes that her only hope for survival is to adapt to her surroundings and learn from the island's unwelcoming animal inhabitants.
As Roz slowly befriends the animals, the island starts to feel like home--until, one day, the robot's mysterious past comes back to haunt her.
From bestselling and award-winning author and illustrator Peter Brown comes a heartwarming and action-packed novel about what happens when nature and technology collide.
Congratulations to our Educators of the Year!
CRAS
JJCS
LDS
MWES
WFS
ECLC
A Note from the Superintendent
The holiday season provides an opportunity to reflect upon the things for which we are grateful in our lives. I am blessed to have a loving family at home and to be surrounded by wonderful staff and students at work. It is a privilege to visit our schools on a regular basis and interact with your children as they participate in activities in their classrooms. It reinforces my commitment to facilitate an environment in which we provide every student what they need every day in order to maximize their successes and realize their full potential.
A study performed by the Center for Public Education has shown that children whose parents are involved in their education tend to demonstrate higher achievement in school regardless of ethnic or racial background, socioeconomic status, or their parents' level of education. As we have transitioned back to pre-pandemic procedures, it has been refreshing to see parents back in our schools. One of our district goals this year is to re-engage our parent community. You may have already seen our efforts in this area through family curriculum nights, family challenges, more frequent newsletters, parent information sessions, and parent surveys to help us determine how you would like to be more involved in the schools. As a district, we will continue to explore ways in which parents may partner with us to further enhance their children’s educational experience. If you have any suggestions, please contact building administrators or me through email.
The second district goal focuses upon student achievement in reading. More specifically, we will focus upon student growth in the area of reading key ideas and details in informational text. Teachers will use data to determine student needs and implement a variety of strategies to foster their growth. Achievement of this goal will be measured by student results on the spring administration of the MAP test.
I foster an environment in which we put kids before content. Students must feel safe, cared for, and healthy in order to maximize their learning. Please do not hesitate to contact your child’s teacher, school counselor, or building administrators if we can support your child in any way. Education is truly a partnership among parents and teachers.
I am looking forward to keeping the momentum of our strong and positive start to the school year going. Wishing you and your families a wonderful holiday season.
Neal Dickstein
Volunteer Opportunity!
News from Educational Services
We are working on some exciting things in the Ed Services Department. This month, we hosted two training sessions with Link It for our Interventionists, School Counselors, and Child Study Teams. Link It is our storage portal for all student data across the district and we recently added Intervention Manager to build our capacity with how we use data. This shift from using RTI Direct and 504 Direct to Link It will give back valuable time to our teams that can be spent with students! Moving forward, all intervention plans and 504 plans will be built on this platform over the course of this school year. We will continue to work collaboratively with our Curriculum colleagues on this rollout.
We look forward to sharing more details as the year unfolds.
In other news, I will be departing the district at the end of December. I have accepted a position as Assistant Superintendent in another district. The good news is that our former Supervisor of Educational Services, Mrs. Christine Cleffi, is coming back to her Freehold home to take this Director's seat. I could not have asked for a smoother transition for this mid-year change for the district. Mrs. Cleffi is thrilled to be able to lead the Educational Services Department. Mrs. Layna Winter, our current Supervisor of Ed Services, and I will continue to ensure the department does not skip a beat. I have full confidence in this amazing team!
Thank you for a wonderful 5 years in the district. I have always been grateful for this leadership opportunity and take great pride in our programs and student growth.
Enjoy the holiday season!
Robyn A. Klim, LCSW
Director of Educational Services
Congratulations to Mrs. Areman and Mrs. Maniquis!
HIB and Student Code of Conduct
Employment Opportunities
Free and Reduced Lunch Application
Helpful Information for a Successful School Day!
Congratulations to our Support Staff of the Year!
CRAS
JJC
LDS
MWES
WFS
ECLC
CTB
DDE
Central Office
Wishing You a Wonderful Holiday Season
Contact Us
Email: rmontgomery@freeholdtwp.k12.nj.us
Website: www.freeholdtwp.k12.nj.us
Location: 384 West Main Street, Freehold, NJ, USA
Phone: 732-462-8400
Twitter: @ftsschools