School Board

NEW MATH COORDINATOR – Gaye McGee, former Franklin Park School vice-principal and now the district’s Math Coordinator for elementary schools, speaks to the school board at the December 21 meeting. Two new district administrators were appointed December 21 by the Board of Education. Jessica Young was named vice-principal at Franklin Park School, while the woman she replaced, Gaye McGee, was …

FUNDING HIGH HOPES – Vimal Sodhani speaks to the Board of Education at its November 16 meeting, prior to donating $10,000 for the Invention Competition. A township philanthropist has once again made a substantial donation to a special program run in the school district. Vimal Sodhani, of the Sodhani Foundation, presented the district with a $10,000 check for the annual …

Student proficiency rates in English Language Arts, Science, and Math are approaching pre-pandemic levels, but there still are some gaps that need to be addressed, school district officials said recently. Proficiency rates took a hit from the 2019-2020 school year – the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic – through the 2020-2021 school year when all students were learning at home …

The Board of Education on October 19 approved contracts for goods and service worth more than $185,000. The Board approved: A contract worth $9,457 to Open Systems Integrators of Hamilton to upgrade access systems at a Board administration building. A contract worth $2,200 with the state Department of Human Services/Commission for the Blind and Visually Impaired for a student to …

Source: Board of Education. Approximately 18 percent of Franklin Middle School students –  nearly one-in-five – were suspended from school in the 2022-23 school year, a reality that concerns district officials. That number is dramatically higher than the suspension rates at the district’s elementary and high schools, which are .8 percent and 6 percent, respectively. Suspension rates in township schools …

NOT RUNNING – Board of Education members Michael Smith and Nishita Desai will not run for re-election this year. Only one incumbent is among the seven candidates who have filed petitions to run for three open Board of Education seats. Incumbent Bill Grippo is joined on the “Vote All Three” slate by newcomers Erika Innocencio and Jimmie Parker, III. Current …

NEW VICE-PRINCIPAL – Edgar Vazquez Molina speaks to the Board of Education after having been named the new vice-principal at Elizabeth Avenue School. A new vice-principal at Elizabeth Avenue School and dance teacher at Franklin High School were named by the Board of Education at its July 27 meeting. Edgar Vazquez Molina was named as the new vice-principal at EAS, …

GRIEVING MOTHER – Najmah Shah, the mother of a 6-year-old township girl killed on a school bus earlier this month, speaks to the Board of Education at its July 27 meeting. The mother of a 6-year-old girl killed on a school bus earlier this month had two questions for the Board of Education at its July 27 meeting. Najmah Nash …

As promised earlier in the year, an application to the state to use trailer classrooms at five township schools during the 2023-24 school year was approved by the Board of Education at its June 20 meeting. The trailers would be used at Pine Grove Manor, MacAfee Road, Hillcrest and the Franklin Park annex elementary schools and at Franklin Middle School …

CONTRACTS APPROVED – The Board of Education on June 20 approved a number of contracts for goods and services. The Board of Education at its June 20 meeting approved purchases totaling $3,499,932.68. The Board approved an $85,000 purchase of a dump truck for the District’s Buildings & Grounds department. The truck will be provided by either Nielsen AutomotiveGroup or Pellegrino …