MAPLEWOOD / SOUTH ORANGE, NJ — The South Orange-Maplewood School District and Board of Education is considering how it will address issues of increasing enrollment after a commissioned facilities-usage study found that rezoning alone will not prevent a shortfall of classrooms at the elementary school level. BOE President Elizabeth Baker told the News-Record that the […]
Superintendent retires three years before contract expires to spend more time with his family
SOUTH ORANGE / MAPLEWOOD, NJ — After just two years, Superintendent of Schools John Ramos Sr. is retiring from the South Orange-Maplewood School District, effective Aug. 24. The retirement, which was announced in a May 22 letter to the SOMSD community, comes as a surprise since Ramos only joined the district about two years ago. […]
District saves grammar school Spanish to much applause
SOUTH ORANGE / MAPLEWOOD, NJ — The South Orange-Maplewood Board of Education adopted the 2017-18 school year budget and tax levy in an 8-1 vote at its April 24 meeting. This leaves a more than $500,000 shortfall for the school district to make up, despite the fact that taxes will increase by 3.56 percent and […]
SOUTH ORANGE / MAPLEWOOD, NJ — At the April 24 South Orange-Maplewood Board of Education meeting, the board approved some adjustments to the district calendar, prompted by the discovery that an extra day had mistakenly been scheduled for June. Therefore, unless the district uses an emergency closing day in the meantime, the district will be […]
MAPLEWOOD, NJ — The South Orange-Maplewood School district will hold its second town hall on equity and inclusion on Wednesday, May 3, from 7 to 9 p.m. in the Columbia High School Cafeteria, 17 Parker Ave. in Maplewood. The event will include community dialogue; an update on what SOMSD is doing to create an anti-bias […]
Community gathers to discuss bias and insensitivity in the school system, brainstorm solutions
MAPLEWOOD, NJ — Hundreds of South Orange and Maplewood residents made it clear during a March 29 town hall meeting that they want to see changes within the school district to prevent incidents involving race and religion like those seen in recent weeks at the schools, and they want to start by focusing on curriculum. […]
BOE chops elementary Spanish, vows to ‘reimagine’ it
SOUTH ORANGE / MAPLEWOOD, NJ — The South Orange-Maplewood Board of Education approved the proposed preliminary budget for the 2017-18 school year, leaving a more than $500,000 shortfall for the school district to make up, despite the fact that taxes will increase by 3.56 percent and the banked cap from the 2014-15 school year will […]
Threats to lynch black people, swastikas, slave auction posters appear in SOMSD buildings
SOUTH ORANGE / MAPLEWOOD, NJ — It has been a rough couple of weeks for the South Orange-Maplewood School District in regard to tolerance and cultural competency. Last week, South Orange Middle School reported two incidents of racist graffiti scrawled in bathrooms. The first incident, using the N-word, said that “Naughty (blacks) Get Lynched”; while […]
SOUTH ORANGE / MAPLEWOOD, NJ — The South Orange-Maplewood School District released the following press release: “On March 7, 2017, the district’s proposed budget for the 2017-2018 school year was presented to the Board of Education and the community. The proposed budget was updated for the March 13, 2017, community forum, upon receiving information that […]
SOUTH ORANGE / MAPLEWOOD, NJ — At the Feb. 27 South Orange-Maplewood Board of Education meeting, board members voted to affirm the South Orange-Maplewood School District’s commitment to educating all children. The board passed Resolution No. 3536, which states the district’s goal to education all children, regardless of ethnicity or immigration status. “The School District […]