SOUTH ORANGE / MAPLEWOOD, NJ — Superintendent of Schools Ronald G. Taylor announced the appointment of Ann Bodnar, a more than 20-year South Orange–Maplewood School District employee and district alumna, to the position of assistant superintendent of curriculum and instruction effective immediately, according to an Aug. 30 press release. The SOMA Board of Education approved […]
MAPLEWOOD / SOUTH ORANGE, NJ — On Monday evening, Aug. 29, the South Orange–Maplewood School District held a virtual safety and security forum. Though there were some technical issues with the video, the event provided a lot of reassuring information regarding the safety of district students and staff. The event’s panelists were Superintendent of Schools […]
MAPLEWOOD / SOUTH ORANGE, NJ — As the South Orange–Maplewood School District moves into the second year of implementing its Intentional Integration Initiative, parents and guardians are pushing back on the elimination of courtesy busing for the upcoming school year, which begins on Sept. 8. The Board of Education voted in April to eliminate the […]
MAPLEWOOD, NJ — The South Orange–Maplewood Board of Education, as per Resolution 4320, approved the renaming of Jefferson Elementary School to the Delia Bolden Elementary School during its meeting on Wednesday, June 29. Delia Bolden was the first African American woman to graduate from Columbia High School, which she did in 1912. Upon her graduation, […]
SOUTH ORANGE / MAPLEWOOD, NJ — Seven months after the South Orange–Maplewood Board of Education passed a resolution that placed a moratorium on most suspensions and school removals, Superintendent Ronald Taylor said in an update at the board’s May 16 meeting that the pause reduced the risk of suspensions across races, even though there are […]
ESSEX COUNTY, NJ — The nation was again plunged into despair on May 24 when a gunman killed 19 students and two teachers at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, injuring many others. This was the third-deadliest school shooting in a U.S. school, after the Virginia Tech shooting in 2007 and the Sandy Hook Elementary […]
MAPLEWOOD, NJ — The South Orange–Maplewood School District announced that Columbia High School was ranked No. 59 as one the best public high schools in New Jersey by U.S. News & World Report. This publication shared on April 26 that 406 New Jersey schools out of a total of 445 were ranked on six factors […]
SOUTH ORANGE, NJ — The South Orange–Maplewood School District broke ground on another portion of the Long Range Facilities Plan at South Mountain Elementary School on March 22, starting the 18-month process to build nine new classrooms, a courtyard and a revamped playground. The fifth project to get off the ground, South Mountain’s expansion is […]
MAPLEWOOD / SOUTH ORANGE, NJ — The South Orange–Maplewood School District has announced that 10 Columbia High School students have been selected as finalists in the annual National Merit Scholarship Program. The National Merit Scholarship Corporation honors students who show exceptional academic ability and potential for success in rigorous college studies. Finalists will compete for […]
SOUTH ORANGE / MAPLEWOOD, NJ — The South Orange–Maplewood School District announced March 10 that, as of the following Monday, March 14, face masks would be optional in K-12 schools, on school buses and in district office buildings. The district had originally announced on Feb. 22 that masks would remain required in school buildings, despite […]