As we experience the exciting opportunities before us in the 2009-2010 school year, we are ever mindful that a school district has two major responsibilities - to educate and to keep children safe and healthy.  We take both of these privileges very seriously.

 

Within the realm of health and safety, this fall educators, parents and students alike are understandably focused on H1N1 Influenza. We have been working closely with county and state health officials and will be providing key and timely information about H1N1 safety, about the ways WE are working to help keep our school community healthy and about how YOU can help us in this endeavor.

 

Within the realm of education, in keeping with our district mission to create life-long learners who are prepared for the real world, the Jackson School District offers a diverse curriculum to challenge our students. We combine a healthy respect for the fundamentals with an aggressive pursuit of innovative methods and technologies that can help our students prepare for the world that lies ahead.

 

Among our new tools this year will be the Structured Learning Experience, or SLE program, in which we will partner with area businesses in order to introduce students to real-world job experience. Similar to what used to be called the "work co-op" program, this endeavor will allow high school students who have already completed their graduation requirements to get a glimpse of a career that interests them.

 

We have developed relationships and opportunities in the fields of medicine, retail, entertainment and varied businesses to offer this opportunity to our students. Through block scheduling, students who have already completed their graduation requirements before the end of the school year may participate in this program.

 

We are also preparing to implement a $100,000 grant to create an Academy of Digital Mass Media. This program of study will infuse college-level courses into the 11th and 12th grades at both high schools, giving students a jump start on their college studies through a partnership with Ocean County College.

 

We will be expanding the Read 180 program, which we piloted with great success last year. The intensive reading intervention program uses differentiated instruction, adaptive and instructional software, high-interest literature and direct instruction in reading, writing and vocabulary to reach struggling readers.

 

In the area of math, we are introducing a math intervention program called FASTT Math to help students develop fluency with basic math facts. In keeping with the district's awareness that not all students learn the same, this FASTT Math program differentiates instruction based on each students individual fluency levels.

 

I encourage all of our parents, staff, students and community members to come out to our public events and to our Board of Education meetings to keep informed about these and other programs.

 

Have a great year!