Superintendent's Corner
Bernard F. Bragen, Jr. September 1, 2016
Welcome to the Start of the 2016-2017 School Year
When I begin to hear notifications about the Perseid meteor showers, I know that the start of the school year is just around the corner and it seems to occur sooner and sooner each year. On behalf of the Board of Education and the Central Office Administrative Team, welcome to the start of the 2016-2017 school year.
At the forefront of our initiatives this school year is the creation of our Explorer Program-Early College Academy. Beginning September 2016, select academically-prepared students who have demonstrated the potential for success in this academy, and who have tackled the challenges of high school coursework while at Hazlet Middle School, will enter the Raritan High School Explorer Program - Early College Academy. This dual-enrollment program will allow these students to earn both a Raritan High School diploma and an Associate of Arts Social Science degree from Brookdale at the conclusion of their four year high school program. This endeavor was the result of the collaborative efforts of both the Hazlet Township School District and Brookdale Community College coming together to create a specific program to best meet our students’ needs. We are extremely excited about this new and challenging program and we are confident it will continue to grow with each passing year.
Another new initiative this year is the expansion of our highly successful one-to-one Chromebook Program at Raritan High School to now include the Hazlet Middle School, providing each student in grades 7-12 with their own Chromebook to use at both home and school for the duration of the school year. The impact these devices continue to have on the educational process is amazing and allows for creative innovation for both students and teachers.
As a result of the overwhelming success of our multi-grade classroom at Lillian Drive School, this year we will be expanding this program to include multi-grade classrooms for grades 3 and 4 at Middle Road and Raritan Valley Schools, and for grades 5 and 6 at Cove Road School and Beers Street School. We are excited about the growth of this program and the ability to offer instruction in a non-traditional approach, geared towards each individual’s needs.
In the area of curriculum, our teachers have clocked more than 500 hours working on writing and revising over fifty curricula for the 2016-2017 school year, including those to accompany our new writing series in kindergarten through grade 6. Many of our science curricula now include the Next Generation Science Standards. Raritan High School has added many new elective courses for students in the areas of social studies, advanced placement opportunities and science, as well as technology and the fine arts, better preparing our students for the world beyond the Hazlet Township Public Schools.
It is hard to believe that this year marks the midway point of our Long Range Strategic Action Plan developed via our Middle States District-Wide Accreditation process. It truly seems like only yesterday when we began the Middle States Accreditation process and we still remain the only public school system in Monmouth County to achieve this distinction. As we approach the halfway point in our plan, please take this opportunity to participate on our Implementation Teams and provide input and feedback as we continue to review and monitor our Long Range Strategic Plan to best meet the needs of our students and staff. As with most of our initiatives, your participation and feedback will ultimately determine its successful implementation.
Facilities improvements this summer included the completion of the boiler replacement project at Raritan High School. The front office and staff bathrooms also received a complete makeover and our aspiring chefs will now be creating their masterpieces in a state of the art culinary arts room. Lillian Drive School’s media center was updated and the computer lab was completely renovated. Hazlet Middle School’s media center had new carpet installed. Raritan Valley School received drainage and site improvements. New digital school signs were installed at Beers Street School and Middle Road School. Numerous minor renovations took place in all of the schools including lighting, doors, flooring, painting and classroom upgrades to provide optimal learning environments for our students.
Technology improvements include new fiber from the auditorium to the TV Studio at Raritan High School and increased wireless access points at all of the elementary schools, new staff computers in Raritan Valley School and Middle Road School. One-to-one Chromebooks at Hazlet Middle School allowed for some of their current devices to be redistributed to other schools. New Chromebook carts, additional SMART Boards and projectors have been installed throughout the district, as well as a projector and sound system in the cafeteria at Hazlet Middle School. Finally, the Hazlet Middle School also had a new security system installed.
These additions and improvements represent the continued commitment of the Board of Education and school community to provide the best educational programming for our students, and to continue to enhance the relevance and rigor of those offerings, creating a world class education for our students.
Great things are happening this year in the Hazlet Township Public Schools!!!
On behalf of the Board of Education and District Administrative Team, I extend best wishes for a productive and healthy school year!
From the Desk of Mr. Annibale-Assistant Superintendent
Dear Hazlet Parents and Guardians:
I would like to officially welcome you to the start of the 2016-2017 school year. I look forward to working very closely with Dr. Bragen and the entire administrative staff to continue to inspire life-long learning by preparing our students academically for a challenging future. As an educational community we are very proud of our accomplishments and our commitment to provide our students the skills necessary for the 21st Century.
Our district mission is to educate our students to achieve their maximum potential. Our talented teachers and professional staff work very hard with our students each and every day to see that our mission is realized. The students in the Hazlet School District are active participants in the learning process; the methods used by the teachers are time tested and sound. Hands on, active learning with student centered interaction permeates the classrooms.
Our school district is truly a family made up of administrators, teachers, staff members, and parents that work in unison to collaboratively educate all of our students. The Parent Teacher Organizations are very active sponsoring numerous events for the children and their families throughout the year. We are proud of our schools and the students that occupy each and every classroom. We know that strong community support is a key ingredient to the successes that we observe on a daily basis. We continue to appreciate the community support and look forward to continuing the partnership that has always been valued and respected.
Hazlet Township Public Schools
Email: bbragen@hazlet.org
Website: www.hazlet.org
Location: 421 Middle Road, Hazlet, NJ, United States
Phone: 732-264-8401 1101
Twitter: @hazletsupt