Photo by Chris Sykes
Tina Powell, director of mathematics and science, center, is flanked by, from left, Orange Board of Education members Jeff Wingfield and Cristina Mateo outside the Orange School District’s new STEM Academy, inside the old Marylawn School on Scotland Road, during the grand opening for students, staff and faculty on Monday, Feb. 26. The official ribbon-cutting ceremony is scheduled for Tuesday, March 6.ORANGE, NJ — The Orange School District’s new Science Technology Engineering and Math Innovation Academy of the Oranges opened unofficially on Monday, Feb. 26, for its first class in the Scotland Road building, located on the border between Orange Township and South Orange that used to house the old Marylawn School.
“The interim superintendent of the Orange public schools is proud to announce the opening of the S.T.E.M. Innovation Academy of the Oranges,” said Orange School District spokeswoman Joan Purkiss on Sunday, Feb. 25. “Staff and students will occupy the newly renovated facility, located at 445 Scotland Road in South Orange, on Feb. 26, upon the district’s return from winter recess. The district will schedule a grand opening and ribbon-cutting ceremony at a later date.”
According to Orange Board of Education member Cristina Mateo, the official grand opening and ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new S.T.E.M. Innovation Academy is set for Tuesday, March 6.
“There will be a ribbon-cutting on March 6, we were told,” said Mateo on Monday, Feb. 26. “So the public is welcome to come in. There will be a lot of officials here. The students are going to be here.”
Orange Board of Education member Jeff Wingfield was also at the new S.T.E.M. Academy’s unofficial opening and agreed with Mateo that the new facility has been a long time coming. He invited every education stakeholder in Orange Township to celebrate the culmination of an education facilities improvement and upgrade project process that began years ago, thanks to interim Superintendent of Schools Ron Lee.
Wingfield and Mateo also thanked Mayor Dwayne Warren for appointing them to the Orange Board of Education and giving them the opportunity to help Lee bring his vision into reality.
“Everyone should come out and get to see the space. The space is awesome inside,” said Wingfield on Monday, Feb. 26. “The ribbon-cutting is at 10 o’clock on Tuesday, March 6. It’s a process. Everything is red tape and it’s a process.”
Mateo said having a municipal leader such as Warren was the key to getting the new S.T.E.M. Innovation Academy up and running, although it was the Orange City Council that voted to approve the resolution approving the issuing of bonds to purchase the Marylawn property, in addition to paying for other capital improvement projects in the district.
“I want to thank Mayor Dwayne Warren for appointing us,” Mateo said. “We were the last appointed on the board and, if it wasn’t for him, we wouldn’t have the opportunity to do something like this.”
“I also want to note that Mayor Dwayne Warren was behind this S.T.E.M. Academy and he joined forces with Ronald Lee in order to get this done,” Wingfield said. “So it’s been a very big support of him and his administration.”
Attempts to obtain a copy of the resolution approving the bonds to fund the capital improvement project and purchase of the Marylawn property were unsuccessful by press time this week. According to at large Councilwoman Donna K. Williams, the council majority voted to approve that resolution in June 2017.
But according to S.T.E.M. Innovation Academy Principal Robert Pettit, the history of how the district’s new flagship school came about is water under the bridge and he is looking forward to the future, as he urged the members of the school’s inaugural freshman class to do at the school’s first assembly in the refurbished auditorium.
“This has been a long time coming,” said Pettit on Monday, Feb. 26. “The building has been here. We’ve been having a difficult time accessing it, due to code issues, but all codes have been met and our students are here, the moving day is here and we are all excited about this day.”
About the Author
