The Lindenwold School District welcomed two new staff members to our Lion Team in 2021 - 2022 to spearhead the expansion of our Gifted and Talented offerings and program opportunities - Ms. Jennifer Smith and Mrs. Jennifer Donovan.

Mrs. Jennifer Smith works with students from School 4 and School 5. She started the year with push-in enrichment activities for elementary classes and has now started a pull-out program for the students in grades 3 and 4. Mrs. Smith has 20 plus years’ experience in public education, and has spent her career in the South Jersey area. Mrs. Smith received her Bachelor’s and Master’s Degrees from Glassboro State/Rowan University. Mrs. Smith teaches our early elementary students in both our elementary schools every other week. She also provides a targeted G and T program to our third and fourth grade students 2 days a week on a rotating basis.

The Middle School program is led by Mrs. Jennifer Donovan. Mrs. Donovan brings 14 years of experience to the district. Previously, she served as a middle school English teacher. Mrs. Donovan attended college in London, and has an undergraduate degree in theater and a Master’s degree in Communications. At Lindenwold Middle School, Mrs. Donovan teaches two sections of Gifted and Talented at each grade level. She meets with identified students in our Gifted and Talented Program in grades 5 - 8 every other day.

The purpose of the program is to expose all of our students to enrichment and critical thinking opportunities at an early age while also meeting the needs of our identified gifted learners in Lindenwold. In order to qualify for the targeted G & T program (gr. 3 - 8), students must demonstrate excellence as compare to their peers using multiple criteria: a demonstrated record of academic excellence in one or several areas of study; a record of high achievement when comparing local norms on state assessments; a teacher recommendation; and/or a history of performance above grade level in the classroom.

Our younger students in the program are learning about circuit boards, conductivity, and currents this year. The fourth graders are using “Little Bits”, which embeds electronic learning experiences with a heavy focus on the design process. “Little Bits” is supplemented with an online design app, which allows students to virtually create a challenge before physically designing it.

Mrs. Donovan is teaching lessons aligned to her students’ interest. Our middle school students have learned about extreme weather, prehistoric life, adaptation and evolution, space, geology, and science fiction. Students have already and designed board games and coded simple games using Scratch. Other students made models while one class grew crystals using household solutions. Students have even been practicing their public speaking skills (which made a lot of them very nervous!). As the year progresses, the students will begin learning about Stop-Motion Animation and then will design their own theme parks.

While speaking of the new program, Mrs. Donovan stated: “A lot of people want to know if this is a "math" class or a "STEM" class or a "history" class. And honestly, it is all of those things. It is less about the subject matter and more about the depth and complexity of how we learn. We talk about everything in our classes - science, history, current events, government, art. Overall, we are studying the world, the human condition, what it is to be part of a society, and how pieces of society work (or don't work) together. My goal is to encourage my students to think critically, to activate their curiosity, and to provide them opportunities to explore their interests.”

Welcome to the District Mrs. Smith and Mrs. Donovan!