Forest Street Community School is named a 2022 Blue Ribbon Beacon School in May.
ORANGE, NJ — Orange Superintendent of Schools Gerald Fitzhugh II will host a superintendent’s convocation on Thursday, Sept. 1, welcoming staff to the new school year. The convocation is an annual meeting presenting the State of the District address. During the meeting, the superintendent will recap the awards and accomplishments of the past school year achieved by students and staff members. Some of the achievements highlighted in the district’s year in review, announced Aug. 9 at the Board of Education meeting, include the following:
- The scholarships awarded to the graduates of Orange High School and the STEM Innovation Academy of the Oranges from the Class of 2022 totaled upward of $26 million.
- Forest Street Community School was named a 2022 Blue Ribbon Beacon School, making it the first school in Orange to receive this honor and one of more than 9,000 schools to receive this award since the inception of the National Blue Ribbon Schools Program 39 years ago.
- The STEM Innovation Academy of the Oranges was recognized as having the highest graduation rate in Essex County for 2021, with 100 percent of its first senior class graduating. This distinction was repeated for the Class of 2022, as all STEM seniors graduated.
- The STEM Academy was recognized as a 2021-22 Project Lead The WayDistinguished School for the second consecutive year, making it one of 191 high schools in the country to earn this honor. Heywood Avenue School was also recognized as a Project Lead The Way Distinguished School for the fifth consecutive year, making it one of just 134 middle schools across the United States to achieve this honor.
Another notable achievement the district will realize in September is the restructuring of Orange Preparatory Academy as an 8th-grade–only school, to be renamed the Orange Preparatory Academy of Inquiry and Innovation. Grade nine students who previously attended Orange Preparatory Academy will move to Orange High School. The ribbon-cutting for the expansion of OHS in December 2021 is being followed by additional school expansion in September, which will accommodate the freshman class and provide a state-of-the-art environment for the district’s high school students.
“We are extremely proud of our (accomplishments) and know that we are living up to the district’s five-year strategic plan, ‘Moving Into Greatness,’” Fitzhugh said. “This document outlines our ambitious academic and social-emotional goals, setting the bar for our educators and staff to support the development of the whole child. The 2021-2022 school year proved that the plan has a solid foundation.”
The superintendent added that the pandemic did not adversely hinder the district.
“For the last few years, the students and staff of the Orange Township Public School District have shown remarkable resilience and achieved success implementing plans for remote instruction and returning to in-person instruction for school year 2021-2022 at all our schools,” he said. “To continue our progress, the goals outlined for the 2022-2023 school year will keep at the forefront an investment in our teaching staff, consistent communication with our school community, maintaining fiscal integrity and sound facilities management, and providing social and emotional support for our students.
The superintendent’s convocation will be livestreamed from the Orange Preparatory Academy of Inquiry and Innovation to each school, where staff will view the proceedings. Having a virtual watch-party will allow staff to gather with their cohorts and celebrate the opening of the 2022-2023 school year. Staff will engage in professional development following the gathering and leading up to the start of school on Wednesday, Sept. 7.
For more on the successes of the past school year, visit www.orange.k12.nj.us and click on “Latest District News and Information.”
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