The new school year started last week for the 7,228 students in the South Orange-Maplewood School District.
The school year began, Thursday, Sept. 5, with Columbia High School Principal Frank Sanchez back on campus after he was reinstated to his position over the summer following a tumultuous six months that saw him arrested on assault and child endangerment charges only to have them dropped after a grand jury hearing. The South Orange and Maplewood School District Board of Education voted 6 to 1 with two abstentions to reinstate Sanchez to the position at an annual salary of $182,622.
The year also begins with a new superintendent leading the district. Board members voted in November of last year to place then Superintendent Ronald Taylor on paid administrative leave until June 30, when his contract expired. The board then named Kevin Gilbert, the district’s former assistant superintendent of access and equity, as acting superintendent.
In June, Jason Bing was hired as superintendent. He had been superintendent of the Dutchess County, N.Y., Board of Cooperative Educational Services (BOCES). Bing’s previous leadership experience included working in the Phillipsburg School District and Jersey City Public Schools. He has also served as superintendent in three New Jersey public school districts: Bloomfield, Barnegat, and Great Meadows.
Bing sent a letter to parents in the district last week, highlighting some of the things currently going on in the district. He said the district was working to solve transportation issues and would also be participating in a program to help parents keep track of their children.
“We will also be launching the STOPfinder App for families,” he said. “This will allow parents/guardians to have an electronic record of a child’s stop and route and utilize geolocation technology to track a child’s bus route.”
The app should be available to parents in October.
Bing also recognized that there had been some issues with scheduling classes for high school students.
“We recognize that some students and families have experienced difficulties in receiving their schedules, and we are working tirelessly to ensure that all students have a schedule that meets their educational needs,” he said. “Our goal is to minimize disruptions to the start of the school year and to ensure a smooth transition for all students. Some of the high school challenges included difficulty in hiring administrators and teachers, unexpected absence of CHS principal through July 2024, lack of cross-training protocol, unanticipated retirement of a core 21st century class that impacted scheduling.”
Bing said that transparency and communication were top priorities for him.
“I am committed to keeping you informed every step of the way and to addressing any concerns you may have,” he said. “The challenges we face are not insurmountable, and with your support, I am confident that we will navigate them successfully and develop more efficiencies around processes and protocols.”
Among the changes this year is an attempt to voluntarily regulate cell phone usage in school via a pilot program with Yondr, a company specializing in magnetic pouches that lock. Students place their cell phones inside the pouches at the start of the day and carry them throughout the school day. The pouches will be unlocked at the end of the day, allowing students to access their phones once school hours conclude.
In a letter to parents, Bing said that 95 percent of children aged 13-17 have access to cell phones, and students receive an average of 11 notifications per waking hour—about one every five minutes. These devices and their apps are designed to capture attention, disrupting learning and social interactions, he said.
“We are eager to see the outcomes of this pilot program and will closely monitor its impact through surveys and conversations to better understand its effects on social-emotional learning and academic performance,” Bing said.
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