District Information Guide - South Brunswick Public Schools

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enthusiasm of the youngest members; and to build a mutual respect. We currentlypartner with the South Brunswick Offi ce of Aging, the Senior Center, and the Aging inPlace Partnership (AIPP). Programming spans the year with events running Novemberthrough June. The programs are differentiated in order to appeal to varied interests of thesenior community and to meet the needs of the schools.Experiences range from the more passive such as audience members or viewers to opportunitiesfor active participation: to give feedback, serve as judges, sample foods, providecommentary, serve as listeners and readers, provide volunteer services in the classroomsand libraries, be interviewed, attend socials, lectures and academies, and sharebackgrounds and talents. In the past year, our 6th Annual Day with the Characters drewnearly 200 residents.Additionally, staff members from all walks of curricular life have reached out to thesenior population with some targeted projects such as the Living Legacies VeteransProject which connected the two cohorts, young and old, in a prolonged exchange ofstories about serving in the armed forces. The end result, a series of monologues, wasstudent performed at the Senior Center and is now being published for use in the District’scurriculum. For further information on intergenerational partnerships, contact theOffice of Aging at www.SBTNJ.net, or AIPP at www.AgingInPlacePARTNERSHIP.org.South Brunswick ReadsAmong the District’s many collaborations with the South Brunswick Public Libraryis the community-wide reading program called South Brunswick Reads. The schoollibrarians and the public librarians began with the simple idea that a sense of“community unity” could be built as parents, students and staff together read the samebook at the same time, and then got together to talk about it. Similar “one-book, onecommunity”reading programs have been popping up in recent years all across thecountry as a novel approach to improved literacy for all generations. In 2010-2011, theDistrict read The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by Frank Baum and in 2011-2012 the titlewas The Adventures of Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll. The theme for 2012-2013 is “South Brunswick Reads Fairy Tales: Told, Retold and Twisted.” Further detailswill be announced in Fall 2012 when once again, participants will be invited to readthe tales and participate in various events related to the reading experience. The program’swiki, a simple, interactive web page, will be open to blog entries and will alsobe the place to fi nd related events. Find it at southbrunswickreads.pbworks.com.SUDZ (Stop Underage Drinking Zone)The Stop Underage Drinking Zone (SUDZ) was initiated by parents and is a partnershipof South Brunswick Township agencies, schools and community members whose missionis to prevent alcohol use by anyone under the age of 21. SUDZ provides informationand materials on prevention strategies. Anyone who is concerned about underagedrinking is encouraged to become involved with the initiative. For information, please callSouth Brunswick Township (732) 329-4000, Ext. 7237.“Building “Success Tomorrow, is a Choice” Today”14School Safety/SecurityThe School District has security/safety procedures and protocols established to maintaina safe and caring learning environment. These procedures and protocols keep students,staff and visiting community members safe and secure. Among some of the safeguardsare the following: security cameras, visitor sign-in procedures, a District staff identificationsystem, secure building access, bus evacuation drills (twice a year), fire drills (oncea month) and security drills (once a month).All District schools maintain secure access to their buildings anytime students arepresent in the building. All schools have camera and buzzer entry systems, whichmonitors visitors’ access to the facility and helps ensure the safety of our students,staff and community. Visitors sign-in and areissued temporary ID badges to help distinguishall persons in our schools at all times.The recently enacted school security drillstatute requires schools to hold one schoolsecurity drill each month. The exercises assist topractice procedures that respond to an emergencysituation including, but not limited to, a non-fireevacuation, lockdown, or active shooter situationand that is similar in duration to a fi re drill.Standardized Testing/Student AssessmentAll New Jersey public school districts arerequired to administer achievement testsdeveloped by the New Jersey Departmentof Education. In 2012-2013, New Jerseystudents in Grades 3 to 8 and in Grade 11will be tested in Literacy and in Mathematics.Literacy and Math assessments areStudent: Swetha PolaTeacher: Gayle MihalkoCrossroads North Middle Schoolused to measure the success of our schools on the standards set by theFederal “No Child Left Behind Act.” Students in Grades 4 and 8 are also tested in Science.Success on the “High School Proficiency Assessment” (HSPA) determines whether ornot a student receives a standard New Jersey high school diploma. All New Jersey highschool students must pass the HSPA in either the junior or senior year to qualify for thatdiploma.Additionally, The New Jersey Department of Education now requires that high schoolstudents take the New Jersey Biology Competency Test.
Our District has created other assessments to monitor the academic development ofour students in their fi rst years of schooling. When a student enters Kindergarten, anindividual Literacy Portfolio is started and remains open until the end of second grade.This portfolio (developed in partnership with ETS educators) contains several instrumentsthat measure a child’s literacy development over time. The mathematical progress of ouryoung children in Grades K-2 is measured by assessments developed by our own staff.At other selected grade levels, students are asked to demonstrate their ability to conductand present research fi ndings. Our 3rd - 5th grade students will participate in inter-disciplinaryresearch projects that build students’ research skills. In Grade 6, students completean interdisciplinary research task in which they research a signifi cant contribution ofan ancient society that has impacted our lives today. This task is comprised of researchwith a small group using multiple cited sources of online and print information, an individualwritten essay, and an oral/visual presentation summarizing the students’ researchfindings. Students in grades 7 and 8 complete an interdisciplinary research task relatedto an important event in early U.S. History (Curriculum Cycle B) or a worldwide issue orevent (Curriculum Cycle A) in which they research the event using multiple cited sourcesof online and print information, and report through a written essay the political, economic,and/or social impacts of the chosen event or issue. In Grade 12, students complete aHealth Education Research Task.Each year approximately 90 percent of the SBHS Senior class take the ScholasticAptitude Test (SAT) prior to graduation. The test measures performance in Reading,Writing and Mathematics.District results for the SAT and State tests are shared with the public in the fall. Most ofthe mandated New Jersey Department of Education assessments are administeredduring designated weeks in April, May, and June. Please check the calendar months fordetails.Student Records (FERPA)The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) is a Federal Law designed toprotect the privacy of a student’s education records. The law applies to all schools, whichreceive funds under an applicable program of the U.S. Department of Education. FERPAgives parents and guardians certain rights with respect to their children’s educationrecords. These rights transfer to the student, or former student, who has reached theage of 18 or is attending any school beyond high school. Students and former studentsto whom the rights have transferred are called eligible students.The South Brunswick Board of Education conforms in all respects to the requirements ofFederal and State law regarding gathering, maintaining and allowing access to studentrecords. The laws are as follows:• Parents or eligible students have the right to inspect and review the student’seducation records maintained by the school. Schools are not required to providecopies of materials in education records unless, for the reasons such as greatdistance, it is impossible for parents, guardians or eligible students to inspect the“Success is a Choice”records. Schools may charge a fee for copies.• Parents, guardians or eligible students have the right to request that a school correctrecords believed to be misleading or inaccurate. If the school decides not toamend the record, the parent, guardian or eligible student then has the right toa formal hearing. After the hearing, if the school still decides not to amend therecord, the parent, guardian or eligible student has the right to place a statementwith a record commenting on the contested information in the record.• The right to consent to disclosures of personally identifiable informationcontained in the student’s education records, except to the extent that FERPAauthorizes disclosure without consent. One such exception, which permits disclosurewithout consent, is disclosure to the following parties: school employeeswho have a need to know; other schools to which a student is transferring;certain government officials in order to carry out lawful functions; appropriateparties in connection with financial aid to a student; organizations conductingcertain studies for the school; accrediting organizations; individuals who haveobtained court orders or subpoenas; or persons who need to know in casesof health or safety emergencies; within a juvenile justice system, pursuant tospecific State law.Parents or guardians have the right to file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Educationconcerning alleged failures by the school to comply with the requirements ofFERPA. The name and address of the office that administers FERPA is: Family PolicyCompliance Offi ce, U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW,Washington, DC 20202-4605.Student ServicesStudent Support TeamsAs required by State code, each school has an Intervention and Referral Team, whichis referred to as the Student Support Team (SST). Teams are comprised of several staffmembers and they serve to collaboratively work with teachers and parents to resolvelearning, behavior and health problems that students are experiencing in the generaleducation program.School personnel typically initiate request for assistance to Student Support Teams.Parents are invited to participate as members of the team as solutions are considered toimprove the student’s success in school. Parents or guardians who are concerned abouttheir child’s success in school may also request that this process be initiated and areencouraged to bring their concerns to the attention of the child’s teacher(s) or counselor.Section 504 Accommodation PlansOccasionally, a student will present with challenges in the classroom or school environmentthat require support beyond what is typically available in the regular educationprogram. When teachers, other staff, parents or guardians have concerns that mightrequire special accommodations but seem not to warrant an evaluation for consideration
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District Information Guide - South Brunswick Public Schools

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