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. […]
SOUTH ORANGE / MAPLEWOOD, NJ — The South Orange–Maplewood Board of Education unanimously passed the district’s 2020–2021 budget at its virtual meeting on May 4, moving forward with planning for the next school year. The local tax levy will be raised by 2 percent with the passage of the $152,419,950 budget. Taxes make up the […]
SOUTH ORANGE / MAPLEWOOD, NJ — The South Orange–Maplewood Board of Education dived into the waters of virtual meetings on April 20, when it held its first meeting since the COVID-19 pandemic shut down all nonessential businesses and gatherings. After Superintendent Ronald Taylor’s update about distance learning, each BOE committee chairperson gave a report, including […]
MAPLEWOOD, NJ — Achieve, the local education foundation for the school district of South Orange and Maplewood, is in the middle of a long-term strategic planning process, and wants to get a sense of how the community at large views the organization. To learn more, they are conducting a public opinion survey and are inviting […]
SOUTH ORANGE / MAPLEWOOD, NJ — The National Association of Music Merchants Foundation has recognized the South Orange–Maplewood School District for its commitment to music education with a 2020 Best Communities for Music Education Award. The district has received this designation for more than six consecutive years. James Manno, district supervisor of fine and performing […]
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 […]
MAPLEWOOD / SOUTH ORANGE, NJ — A few months after elementary school students in the South Orange–Maplewood School District asked the Board of Education to decrease the number of code red drills held in the schools, Maplewood resident Khadijah Costley White won a $50,000 grant to make three short films that will explore the effects […]
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 […]
LIVINGSTON, NJ — This February marked the Essex County Education Association’s 23rd annual art exhibition at the Livingston Mall and several South Orange and Maplewood students were chosen to represent the district. The show ran from Feb. 28 through March 6. From South Mountain Annex and Clinton Elementary School, with art teacher Tara Kanter, participating […]