MAPLEWOOD, NJ — The South Orange-Maplewood Black Parents Workshop has launched a new website — www.blackparentsworkshop.org — as part of its continuing efforts to advocate for equity in the South Orange-Maplewood School District. The organization was launched in 2014 as an effort to address a perceived two-decade failure of the SOMSD to address a racial […]
NAMM Foundation names South Orange-Maplewood schools as ‘Best Community’ in music options
SOUTH ORANGE / MAPLEWOOD, NJ — Last week, 527 school districts across the nation — including the South Orange-Maplewood School District — were recognized by The National Association of Music Merchants Foundation for their outstanding music education programs. In cooperation with researchers at The Music Research Institute at the University of Kansas, and based on […]
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. […]
MAPLEWOOD, NJ — Grammy-winning gospel music producer and singer Rev. Milton Biggham brought the house down with his fundraising educational concert for Seth Boyden on March 26. More than 400 people attended “The Story of Gospel: A Unique American Art Form.” The legendary Biggham gathered a host of veteran gospel musicians for the event, including […]
EWING, NJ — The presentations and on-site judging of Sustainable Jersey’s first ever civic tech competition, Coding for Community, took place March 31 at The College of New Jersey. Competing teams working with 10 municipalities presented their civic tech solutions to an audience and judges for prizes. Encore Dev Labs, partnering with Maplewood, won first […]
MAPLEWOOD / SOUTH ORANGE, NJ — The South Orange-Maplewood School District recently released its spring fine arts calendar. Events are as follows: Monday, April 3, from 10 to 11 a.m., Columbia High School choir Canens Vocem will perform at Winchester Gardens, 333 Elmwood Ave. in Maplewood. Wednesday, April 19, from 5 to 10 p.m., Columbia […]
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 […]
SOUTH ORANGE / MAPLEWOOD, NJ — The South Orange-Maplewood School District will hold a town hall on equity and inclusion, focusing on recent events within the district and the many responses, on Wednesday, March 29, from 7 to 9 p.m. in the Columbia High School Cafeteria, 17 Parker Ave. in Maplewood. Superintendent of Schools John […]
MAPLEWOOD, NJ — The South Orange-Maplewood School District and the Maplewood Green Team are working together on a multi-year action plan to address overheating issues in the schools. Because the school buildings are almost a century old, this project is a cost-effective way to achieve greater classroom comfort as well as energy savings. “If you […]