Administrators provide significant reviews during board of education meeting on Sept. 27

Presentations that were productive, informative and quite positive were delivered by four key school administrators when the Bridgewater-Raritan Regional Board of Education meeting was held Tuesday, September 27.

Alan Iachini, Annemarie Mattia, Jason Mauriello and Jaimee Kochis each stood at the podium during their presentation in the high school’s media center and reported on the terrific preparation and the progress of their departments as the 2022-2023 school year has kicked off.

Mr. Iachini, who is the Supervisor of School Counseling and the Anti-Bullying Coordinator for the Bridgewater-Raritan Regional School District, led off the updates after the foursome was introduced by Karen Jones, the Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum and Instruction. 

Mr. Iachini touched on various topics during his speech, including the State of New Jersey Department of Education’s Anti-Bullying Bill of Rights and the self assessment program that is carried out by the school district’s School Safety and School Climate teams. 

He explained that the School Safety and School Climate teams will hold meetings and that they monitor and implement the anti-bullying rights and they will also develop plans moving forward this school year.

“I want to report that our school policy conforms to the state policy and that staff members can always report HIB (Harassment, Intimidation and Bullying),” Mr Iachini said.

He also noted that the “Week of Respect in our school district will be held in the first week of October.”

School is out during the summer, but that does not mean the Bridgewater-Raritan Regional School District staff is on a two-month break.

Ms. Mattia, who is the school district’s Director of Elementary Education, said that “we were all very busy this summer with our summer learning programs and preparing for the school year.”

She reported that 600 students participated in the summer learning programs.

Ms. Mattia also reviewed the curriculum revisions and projects that took place during the summer months and she discussed how standards, curriculum and lesson planning are all connected.

She also included an example to illustrate how a standard is provided by the state, how it is written into district-created curriculum documents and how teachers write lesson plans to address the standards and content targeted in the curriculum units.

Mr. Mauriello, who is the Director of 21st Century Learning and Data Analysis for the school district, stepped up next to the podium and explained the school district’s Professional Development Plans and goals for all staff members.

He also spoke how the school district is there to support the students as they move forward.

“We want to help students prepare for certain careers, and that not only includes our high school students but even as young as our middle school students,” he said.

The school district’s Director of Technology, Ms. Kochis, reported about how her department was also kept busy during the summer months and how they provided new laptops for new K-4 staff members and the replacements of old Chromebooks. 

She also emphasized her department’s commitment to network security.

Ms. Mattia and Mr. Mauriello capped the successful presentation by sharing the school district's program focus for the 2022-2023 school year.

Specifically, according to Ms. Mattia and Mr. Mauriello, the school district will continue its implementation of MTSS (multi-tiered system of supports) and evaluate the structure of the ESL (English as Second Language) program. Additionally, the school district will be exploring structured career pathways at Bridgewater-Raritan High School.

They also shared that while there are currently many great individual courses, the school district is working to organize, align and add additional programming to create coherent pathways for students who are interested in building a foundation in a specific career. More detailed information regarding program recommendations will be coming the following months, they reported.

Ms. Mattia also cited the introduction of the new staff members during events this summer, including a breakfast at the Somerville Elks Lodge sponsored by the Bridgewater-Regional Education Association and a luncheon held by the school district in the high school’s media center.

“We are off and running and we are all excited here,” Ms.  Mattia declared. “We are looking forward to a great year.”

To watch the complete board of education meeting that was held on September 27, visit the main page on the Bridgewater-Raritan Regional School District website and click on About Us tab, and then scroll to the Board of Education and click on BOE Live.