Superintendent Walker
Welcomes Back Students & Staff
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This past week the administrative team announced that Middletown Township Public Schools would move into Phase 3 of its hybrid reopening plan, and welcome both students and staff back to campuses for the first time since transitioning to virtual home instruction on March 15.
“We want to thank our community. Back in June when we started developing our Restart and Recovery Plan, we had over 150 community members take part in that process,” said Superintendent of Schools, Mary Ellen Walker, during the Sept. 9 Board of Education Special Meeting. “...By the end of July they had created a solid plan for a hybrid model. Their hard work made all the difference with us being able to move through this plan and into Phase 3.”
Last Monday the district began implementing Phase 1, with teachers and staff entering their buildings and classrooms to prepare for the start of the school year. Staff participated in professional development opportunities, attended articulation meetings, and prepared their classrooms to welcome students. Our building principals and school pandemic response team members met virtually with their respective school communities via the district Zoom platform to discuss reopening procedures and address questions from audience members.
This past week, the district moved into Phase 2, in which teachers conducted individual reentry meetings with each of their students and parents/guardians.
“We’ve heard a lot of positive feedback from students, parents and teachers about how excited they are for students to be back. It’s been a long time, and even though school will look different, they are so eager to get back,” added Mrs. Walker.
Mrs. Walker has spent the last 22 years as part of the Middletown Township Public School District, as both a teacher and an administrator. Over the last 11 years she has served as Personnel Director, District Director and Assistant Superintendent.
"As a life-long resident of Middletown and a parent of three successful Middletown graduates, I feel deeply dedicated to the Middletown school community. Further, my professional experiences in the fields of finance and education have prepared me to lead our district in all areas of instruction, operations, and business. I am committed to this district, and I will passionately lead our school community to the attainment of our collective goals and to the realization of our collective vision," wrote Mrs. Walker.
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District Provides
New Staffing Update
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During the Sept. 9 Board of Education Special Meeting, Assistant Superintendent for Human Resources and Instruction, Kimberly Pickus, discussed the district’s staffing challenges leading up to the new school year.
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As of that evening, “all teacher vacancies that are due to begin (on Sept. 14) have been staffed, and the number of paraprofessional vacancies has been reduced to eight unfilled positions,” said Mrs. Pickus. “This is a true testament to the dedication and resourcefulness of our administrative and human resources team.”
As of Aug. 27 the district faced approximately 100 staffing vacancies, including about 40 certificated teaching positions, and about 60 non-certified staff positions.
To ensure the resumption of in-person on campus instruction, the administrative team has accommodated over 100 staff members with documented medical and/or childcare needs.
As an additional, proactive measure, the district has hired dedicated building substitute staff members, referred to as “floaters subs,” and recruited additional substitute personnel to effectively and efficiently manage accommodations and any coverage needs that may arise. Recruitment of additional substitute personnel will continue.
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The Middletown Township Public School District requires that a daily health screening form must be completed each day before your student(s) enters the building. Please visit the home page of your school's website to access your school's unique screening form, or follow the links below.
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Due to the later start of the school year for students, the district has revised its Back-to-School Night Schedule. All Back-to-School Nights will be conducted on a virtual platform. Your student's principal will provide you with the information needed to log into their virtual event.
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The USDA and NJ Department of Agriculture have extended the Federal Emergency Feeding waiver through December 31, 2020. This means that all school meals are FREE to ALL STUDENTS.
Middletown Township Public Schools will provide breakfast and lunch distribution on Mondays and Thursdays from 7:30-9 a.m. and 11:45-1:30 p.m. at Ocean Avenue Elementary School and High School North. This schedule will change as the school schedule changes during the academic year and/or in response to participation.
Parents/Guardians will pre-order meals one (1) week in advance. Monday’s distribution will include meals for three days (Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday), and Thursday’s distribution will include meals for two days (Friday and Monday).
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YMCA Y Academy Child Care Update |
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The YMCA's Y Academy child care program will temporarily take place at the Red Bank YMCA, while licensing for the Middletown Township Public Library is in the process of being obtained.
Parents of students enrolled in the Y Academy program have been contacted by the YMCA with additional details.
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Watch the Sept. 9th
BOE Special Meeting
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On Sept. 9th the Board of Education conducted a Special Meeting via the district's Zoom platform.
The meeting served as an update to the school community regarding the district's phased reopening of schools plan, among other topics.
Watch the full meeting by following the video link.
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Follow Along for District News and Announcements |
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State Report Shows District Schools Continued Growth |
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Last week, local media outlets published the ranking of 2,088 New Jersey schools recently released by the State Department of Education. More than four hundred New Jersey schools were not included in the rankings as they did not have enough of the required data available to calculate a summative score--for example, special services schools, alternative high schools, and schools serving only grades K-3.
The recently released rankings were based on data from the 2018-2019 school year which, as a result of the pandemic, was the last year the state assessments, the NJ Student Learning Assessments or NSLA, were administered. A comparison of the current ranking compared to the 2017-18 data showed that 12 of our district schools scored higher that they did the previous year, including Fairview Elementary School.
Fairview Principal Michael Melando credits the district's growth to our faculty and staff's increasing proficiency in using student data to differentiate and personalize instruction.
“Fueled by genuine care for our students and armed with the best professional practices, we blend the science of instruction and the art of teaching and are precise in our use of data to understand each learner,” said Mr. Melando. "Congratulations to our teaching staff, our administrators, our support staff that assist them each day, and--most especially--to our students on their achievements."
Prior to the current ranking system, schools were often judged solely on how students did on the prior year’s standardized state test in English Language Arts and Mathematics. Solely utilizing this criteria to dictate growth raised several concerns, including districts not being properly credited for student growth prior to testing, as well as the resulting “apples” to “oranges” comparisons of schools with varying demographics and historical student performance. The state ranking system in place over the past two years, in compliance with the federal Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), attempts to address these concerns.
However, these state rankings have also caused some controversy for their frequent misinterpretations. Therefore, it is important to be aware of what factors are included in the calculation of these scores. The components, and their corresponding weights, used in calculating the scores that determine the current rankings are:
- English Language Arts Proficiency (17.5%)
- Mathematics Proficiency (17.5%)
- English Language Arts Growth (25% for elementary and middle school, 0% for high school)
- Mathematics Growth (25% for elementary and middle school, 0% for high school)
- 4-Year Graduation Rate (25% for high school, 0% for elementary and middle school)
- 5-Year Graduation Rate (25% for high school, 0% for elementary and middle school)
- English Language Proficiency Progress (0%*)
- Non-Chronic Absenteeism Rate (15%)
* If a school has sufficient data for this component then it is weighted 20% and each of the other weights is reduced between 2.5% and 5%.
Prior to weighting and totalling these performance components, a complex statistical formula is used to convert each of them into “indicator” scores that reflect each school’s performance on that indicator, relative to other schools with the same school configuration, and that are based on both overall school performance and average student group performance on that indicator.
As a result of this method used to calculate school summative scores and the subsequent rankings, a school that is ranked relatively high is not necessarily a school in which students perform at a higher level than a school that has a lower ranking. Since growth is 50% of the score, a school in which students typically perform at a high level and therefore does not have much room for growth may rank lower than a school that has grown significantly from the prior year.
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MTPS Welcomes Back Staff for Start of the New Year |
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This week the district welcomed back its faculty and staff to begin setting up their classrooms, and to partake in professional learning workshops.
These development opportunities, as required by the New Jersey Department of Education, are part of Phase I of the district's Phased Reopening Plan.
The workshops are designed for all staff, and are meant to prioritize the health and safety of district employees and students, ensure staff are equipped to manage student mental health and social emotional needs, and effectively plan and implement high quality teaching and learning opportunities for all students both on campus and virtually.
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The district is now accepting applications for Substitute and Anticipated Leave Replacement Teachers for all Pre-K to 12 positions.
How to Apply:
2. Select "Job Seekers" and get started
3. Enter "Middletown" when asked for your location
4. Select "Apply Now" and complete the application
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NJ Public Schools Once
Again Ranked Best in U.S.
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According to the publication, compared to the 2019 report, New Jersey widened the gap between itself and Massachusetts, which once again finished second to the Garden State.
Only New Jersey (87.3) and Massachusetts (86.7) received B+ scores.
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MTPS School Reentry
Forums and Parent Meetings
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Over the past two weeks the district has worked with individual school leadership to facilitate their 2020-21 School Reentry Parent Forums.
During these forums, principals and members of each buildings' Pandemic Response Teams have presented on their community's comprehensive reopening of schools plan.
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Following the meetings, school leadership has made available via their respective websites these health, safety and operations presentations and/or the full forum video, like the MTPS Middle School Reopening Town Hall, which you can review by following the video link in this article.
These informational, 30-minute meetings, will be conducted September 8th through 11th for grades 1-12, and September 8th through the 18th for PreK and Kindergarten students. Each school is currently accepting appointments via SignUpGenius.com. Please visit your school's website, or review email communications from your principal, for more information.
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A Statement from the Board of Education Clarifying Format of Future Meetings |
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During these trying times, The Middletown Township Board of Education has seen the opportunity for significantly more participation by the public during our virtual board meetings.
We do believe that the virtual platform has had a positive impact on our ability to effectively and efficiently deliver information to the community, which is archived for the public to refer to later.
During our August 26th public meeting, we discussed this topic, as well as the possibility of the board members meeting live in one location in the future, as restrictions are lifted. The motion to hold meetings live was voted on and failed.
However, the consensus via discussion was for the board to work with the administration and specifically our facilities department to develop a plan to return to in-person meetings while meeting the required safety rules. This was not voted upon, but we will pursue this over the course of the next month.
We appreciate the work done by our teachers and other building staff to prepare for this unprecedented school year. We are eager to safely return to our traditional meeting structure. We will keep the public apprised of our progress toward in-person meetings.
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On Friday, August 13th the district launched its MTPS Reopening of Schools Website, an information hub complete with Frequently Asked Questions and additional resources regarding the district’s reopening of schools plan. Please be advised, this website will be updated as we continue to receive new guidance from the NJDOE.
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NEW MTPS Technology Support Form Implemented |
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District Thanks Dr. George Ahead of Retirement; Welcomes Mrs. Walker |
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With his retirement date approaching, effective Sept. 1st, district personnel recently gathered to celebrate Dr. George's time at the helm of Middletown schools, as well as to welcome Mrs. Mary Ellen Walker as his successor.
Mrs. Walker was appointed as the new Superintendent of Schools during the Aug. 26th Board of Education meeting.
"I want to thank the board for selecting me and having trust in me to serve as the district's superintendent. I am committed to maintaining the confidence and trust of the board and our entire school community," said Mrs. Walker following her appointment.
"I would also like to thank Dr. George for his nine years of service to our students, staff and parents. He has accomplished so much, and our district is in such a different place now than when he came in. His passion and drive for excellence in education; his steadfast commitment to doing what is right for every student is second to none. We are going to miss him and wish him much success in his new endeavor," added Mrs. Walker.
Born and raised in Middletown, Mrs. Walker sent her three daughters through Middletown Township Public Schools, was a teacher at High School North and began her administrative career as an assistant principal at High School South. Her background in the financial sector prior to becoming an educator assisted her success as the District's Personnel Director. Since 2011, Mrs. Walker has served as Director for Operations and then Assistant Superintendent for Student Services and Activities.
Upon his retirement from the district, Dr. George will begin a faculty position at Monmouth University, and expressed his confidence in Mrs. Walker to help guide Middletown Schools to new heights.
"I have worked side by side with Mrs. Walker for the past nine years and I cannot think of a better person to lead our school community during these challenging times," said Dr. George. "Mrs. Walker has the experience, knowledge of the district and community, the moral compass, and work ethic to lead our district to unparalleled success in the future."
Board of Education Vice President, Robin Stella, spoke to Mrs. Walker's mastery of operations, and how her leadership will move our school community forward during these unprecedented times.
"Her knowledge and expertise in school operations will provide the stability we'll need to implement the phased reopening plan, a plan this district has worked so hard on. And Mrs. Walker was one of the chiefs in putting this plan together. She has worked tirelessly."
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Dr. George Expresses Heartfelt Thanks to our School Community in Final Address |
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Interested In Employment
Opportunities with the District?
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Throughout the year new employment opportunities arise for educators, paraprofessionals, and more.
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