ESSEX COUNTY, NJ — Teachers and students were holding out hope that they would be able to return to school and some semblance of normalcy before June, but on May 4 Gov. Phil Murphy announced that New Jersey schools would remain closed for the remainder of the school year because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Distance […]
SOUTH ORANGE / MAPLEWOOD, NJ — As schools navigate remote learning, a departing South Orange–Maplewood School District employee wrote a scathing letter detailing what he perceives as the district’s failures and shortcomings. “Over the past two years, I have observed a district that has accomplished some important goals but has fallen well short on others. […]
Teachers adapt to online education as schools stay closed
By Amanda Valentovic and EmilyAnn Jackman / Staff Writers ESSEX COUNTY, NJ — It has been more than two weeks since the global COVID-19 pandemic shut down most of the country, and Essex County school districts have closed the doors to school buildings and moved to online classes. With no timeline for returning, teachers and […]
Two towns, entire state, close down everyday life to prevent spread of disease
SOUTH ORANGE / MAPLEWOOD, NJ — The two towns are feeling the effects of COVID-19, the strain of coronavirus that was declared a global pandemic by the World Health Organization on March 11. School districts, many businesses and other organizations have closed and moved to online learning for at least two weeks. As of March […]
MAPLEWOOD, NJ — South Orange–Maplewood School District Superintendent Ronald Taylor and Business Administrator Paul Roth gave an update about the district’s planned elementary school integration at a Feb. 19 meeting at Jefferson Elementary School. According to Taylor’s presentation, the administration will recommend a plan to the Board of Education by June and will be ready […]
MAPLEWOOD, NJ — Seth Boyden’s third-grade class, led by teacher Carol West, had the opportunity to interview Superintendent Ronald Taylor as a part of their Black History Month studies. Their focus is on interviewing citizens who are making a difference in their communities. Students interviewed Taylor as “staff reporters.” Each child had a question and […]
MAPLEWOOD, NJ — The Office of the Superintendent and the Parenting Center will present a community town hall event to discuss the South Orange-Maplewood School District Intentional Integration Initiative on Wednesday, Feb. 19, from 7:30 to 9 p.m. at Jefferson Elementary School, 518 Ridgewood Road, Maplewood. Superintendent Ronald Taylor and other members of district administration […]
MAPLEWOOD, NJ — More than 800 Maplewood Middle School students and staff held the school’s 20th annual MLK Silent Peace March in remembrance of the work of Martin Luther King Jr. Students walked in silence through Maplewood Village and ended the walk with a rendition of “We Shall Overcome,” led by the MMS concert choir, […]
SOUTH ORANGE, NJ — District fifth graders had the opportunity to hear from civil rights pioneer Lynda Blackmon Lowery at a Jan. 16 assembly at South Orange Middle School. This was part of the district’s “One Book One Grade” program, under which every fifth grader in the school district read Lowery’s book “Turning 15 on […]
MAPLEWOOD, NJ — The Office of the Superintendent will present a symposium on equity in integration on Wednesday, Jan. 8, from 6 to 9 p.m. in the Columbia High School Auditorium, 17 Parker Ave. in Maplewood, featuring Elise Boddie, a civil rights expert and legal scholar; Edward Fergus, an author and educational equity expert; and […]