When students in Secaucus head back to class on Wednesday, Sept. 8, there will be many changes in store, some of which will be apparent, while others will be more subtle.
New technology continues to be an emphasis in the school district. This school year, teachers will be using online lesson plans to further enhance classroom instruction, school officials said last week.
The shift to online lesson plans, which was encouraged by Schools Superintendent Cynthia Randina, was controversial last year. But advocates of the technology say it will improve classroom instruction by making school work more flexible.
Students will notice that “lessons plans will become living documents,” said Math and Science Director Mike Kanarek. “Now, when teachers create lesson plans, they can open up the online curriculum and click and copy things from the curriculum.”
As an example, Kanarek said the district has put up video servers which teachers can pick from to illustrate points raised during instruction.
Among other changes in the district will be more staffing changes at the principal level.
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Improvements in the school system’s fiber optic system will get underway in the coming months.
Over the summer the school district began science and math partnerships with Stevens Institute of Technology and Montclair State University. Under the program Kanarek said 26 Secaucus school district teachers receive professional development with educators at the colleges and continue working with in-class mentors throughout the school year.
There are changes in store in the pre-kindergarten program as well.
“Last year we began the implementation of Creative Curricula. This is one of the programs that is recommended by the New Jersey State Department of Education as an exemplary program,” said Special Services Director Susan Smahl. “It has a parental component, so we’ll be conducting parent workshops during this school year so we can get parents involved in their children’s pre-school education and readiness skills.”
Although this program isn’t new to the school district, Smahl said it “keeps getting better.”
Special education students at Secaucus High School will this year receive enhanced life skills training, Smahl said, that will better prepare them for post-graduate vocational work.
SHS principal to retire
Among other changes in the district will be more staffing changes at the principal level.
Deidre Ertle, the current Secaucus High School (SHS) principal, announced over the summer that she would retire in September.
Her last day will be Sept. 20.
Ertle, who previously worked as principal of Clarendon School, leaves the SHS post after only one year in the position.
Last summer Schools Superintendent Cynthia Randina moved three of the district’s four principals to new schools, a move that proved controversial with some parents and teachers. In the principal reassignments, Randina moved Ertle from Clarendon to SHS, where she replaced former high school Principal Pat Impreveduto. Impreveduto became principal of the middle school, but retired from the position in March after being out on extended sick leave.
Randina appointed Robert Daniello to be the acting principal of the Middle School.
The school administration is currently seeking Ertle’s replacement.
In a statement posted to the Board of Education web site, Randina wrote: “The administration, along with the Board of Education, realizes the importance of consistent, qualified leadership at both levels. We are currently in the process of reviewing resumes and interviewing applicants who we believe will have the most positive impact on academics as well as the educational climate and culture of our schools. One principal will be appointed for each respective school as soon as our screening process is complete. Until that time, Mr. Robert Daniello will continue to serve as Acting Principal of Secaucus Middle School and Ms. Deidre Ertle will continue to serve as Principal of Secaucus High School, pending her retirement on September 20, 2010. I can assure you that there will be no lapse of leadership in either school and that all academic and extra-curricular programs will continue with the highest of expectations.”
Eartle has worked for the Secaucus Public School District for 31 years, a career that included 16 years as a high school guidance counselor. She began her career as a social studies teacher and was made the principal of Clarendon in 2005.
E-mail E. Assata Wright at awright@hudsonreporter.com.