Montclair Public Schools Explained

Montclair Public Schools
Superintendent:Jonathan C. Ponds
Businessadmin:Christina Hunt
Address:22 Valley Road
Zipcode:07042
Country:United States
Coordinates:40.816°N -74.2214°W
Schools:11
Enrollment:6,441 (as of 2020–21)
Ratio:11.2:1
Free Text:I

The Montclair Public Schools are a comprehensive community public school district that serves students in kindergarten through twelfth grade from the Township of Montclair, in Essex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.[1] The district consists of seven elementary schools, three middle schools and one high school.[2]

As of the 2020–21 school year, the district, comprising 11 schools, had an enrollment of 6,441 students and 574.3 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 11.2:1.[3]

The district is classified by the New Jersey Department of Education as being in District Factor Group "I", the second-highest of eight groupings. District Factor Groups organize districts statewide to allow comparison by common socioeconomic characteristics of the local districts. From lowest socioeconomic status to highest, the categories are A, B, CD, DE, FG, GH, I and J.[4]

Each school has a magnet theme, which becomes the focus of the school's teaching style. Students have "freedom of choice" as to which school they want to attend.[5] School selection is not dictated based on location of residence within Montclair.[5] When registering in the district, parents rank their school preferences from highest to lowest, with preferences given for siblings of existing students and special needs.[6] School preferences are accommodated as long as space is available.[5]

History

In 1948, schools were racially integrated. One teacher was black.[7]

Awards and recognition

In both the 1989–90 and 1993-94 school years, Watchung School was recognized with the National Blue Ribbon Award of Excellence from the United States Department of Education, the highest honor that an American school can achieve. Hillside School was recognized as a Blue Ribbon School for the 1987-88 school year.[8]

The district was awarded the New Jersey Governor's Award for Performance Excellence – Silver in 2005,[9] was commended by the United States Department of Education as one of six exemplary magnet school programs in the nation,[10] was recognized by The Wall Street Journal for its public schools, and was certified by the New Jersey Department of Education during the 2004-05 school year.

Montclair Public Schools was cited for its magnet school program, as one of six school districts nationwide selected as the focus of Innovations in Education: Creating Successful Magnet School Programs, describing those schools whose "successful magnet programs offer a range of contexts, experiences, and perspectives".[11]

Nishuane School was named as a "Star School" by the New Jersey Department of Education, the highest honor that a New Jersey school can achieve, in the 1993-94 school year.[12] Watchung School was also named a Star School for 1993-94.[13]

Schools

Schools in the district (with 2021–22 enrollment data from the National Center for Education Statistics)[14] are:[15] [16] [17]

Elementary schools
Middle schools
High school

Former schools

Administration

Core members of the district's administration are:[29] [30]

Board of education

The district's board of education, composed of nine members, sets policy and oversees the fiscal and educational operation of the district through its administration. As a Type II school district, the board's trustees are elected directly by voters to serve three-year terms of office on a staggered basis, with three seats up for election each year held (since 2022) as part of the November general election. The board appoints a superintendent to oversee the district's day-to-day operations and a business administrator to supervise the business functions of the district.[33] [34] [35] As a Type I school district until 2021, the board had had seven trustees who had been appointed by the mayor to serve three-year terms of office on a staggered basis, with either two or three members up for reappointment each year. Of the more than 600 school districts statewide, Montclair was one of 15 districts with appointed school boards.

In 2009, voters rejected a referendum proposal that would have switched the district from a Type I (appointed) to a Type II (elected) board.[36] In a 2020 referendum, after five separate times when voters supported retaining the Type I / mayoral appointment system, voters approved the switch to a Type II / elected board by a more than two-to-one margin.[37] The change to an elected board meant that the size of the board increased to nine seats. In a March 2022 special election, voters elected two candidates to fill those added seats that will expire in December 2023, with three seats up for election each November as part of the general election, starting in 2022.[38]

External links

Notes and References

  1. https://www.straussesmay.com/seportal/Public/DistrictPolicy.aspx?policyid=0110&id=9ee47640ba314e5fa5c7139bb7be6a8b Montclair Board of Education District Policy 0110 - Identification
  2. https://www.montclair.k12.nj.us/district/about_our_district About Our District
  3. https://nces.ed.gov/ccd/districtsearch/district_detail.asp?Search=2&details=1&ID2=3410560&DistrictID=3410560 District information for Montclair Public School District
  4. http://www.state.nj.us/education/finance/rda/dfg.shtml NJ Department of Education District Factor Groups (DFG) for School Districts
  5. http://www.montclair.k12.nj.us/WebPage.aspx?Id=21 Montclair Magnet System
  6. http://www.montclair.k12.nj.us/district/magnet/usdoe/excerpt.cfm Magnet School Report: Excerpt from Report Describing Montclair System
  7. Jensen. Noma. A Survey of Segregation Practices in the New Jersey School System. The Journal of Negro Education. Winter 1948. 17. 1. 84–88. Journal of Negro Education. 2966093. - CITED: p. 86.
  8. https://www2.ed.gov/programs/nclbbrs/list-1982.pdf Blue Ribbon Schools Program: Schools Recognized 1982-1983 through 1999-2002 (PDF)
  9. Aleman, Lillian M. "School district recognized for quality; Montclair receives third honor for performance excellence", The Montclair Times, April 28, 2005. Accessed May 3, 2021, via Newspapers.com. "The Montclair School District can add another notch to its belt of success. After it volunteered for a lengthy performance review in February, the district was named a recipient of the Governor's Award for Performance Excellence.... This isn't the first time the district has been awarded an honor by QNJ. Montclair was presented Bronze ratings in 2001, the first time a school district received a QNJ honor, and in 2002. This time around, Montclair's level of achievement rose to a Silver rating."
  10. https://www2.ed.gov/admins/comm/choice/magnet/report_pg15.html Innovations in Education: Creating Successful Magnet School Programs - Montclair Public Schools
  11. http://www.ed.gov/admins/comm/choice/magnet/index.html Work With Parents & The Community - Innovations in Education: Creating Successful Magnet School Programs
  12. https://web.archive.org/web/20061218221123/http://www.state.nj.us/cgi-bin/education/ss/ss3.pl?string=id=004&maxhits=10000 Star School Award recipient detail
  13. https://web.archive.org/web/20061218221123/http://www.state.nj.us/cgi-bin/education/ss/ss3.pl?string=id=005&maxhits=10000 Star School Award recipient detail
  14. Web site: Search for Public Schools - Search Results . 2022-12-09 . nces.ed.gov.
  15. https://www.montclair.k12.nj.us/cms/One.aspx?portalId=889560&pageId=1109567 School Feeder Pattern
  16. https://rc.doe.state.nj.us/selectreport/2022-2023/13/3310 School Performance Reports for the Montclair Public Schools
  17. https://homeroom6.doe.state.nj.us/directory/school/districtid/3310 New Jersey School Directory for the Montclair Public Schools
  18. https://bradford.montclair.k12.nj.us/ Bradford Elementary School
  19. https://chb.montclair.k12.nj.us/ Charles H. Bullock Elementary School
  20. https://edgemont.montclair.k12.nj.us/ Edgemont Montessori School
  21. https://hillside.montclair.k12.nj.us/ Hillside Elementary School
  22. https://nishuane.montclair.k12.nj.us/ Nishuane Elementary School
  23. https://northeast.montclair.k12.nj.us/ Northeast Elementary School
  24. https://watchung.montclair.k12.nj.us/ Watchung Elementary School
  25. https://buzz-aldrin.montclair.k12.nj.us/ Buzz Aldrin Middle School
  26. https://glenfield.montclair.k12.nj.us/ Glenfield Middle School
  27. https://rar.montclair.k12.nj.us/ Renaissance Middle School at the Rand Building
  28. https://mhs.montclair.k12.nj.us/ Montclair High School
  29. https://homeroom6.doe.state.nj.us/directory/district/county/essex New Jersey School Directory for Essex County
  30. Web site: Central Office Who's Who . 2022-12-09 . www.montclair.k12.nj.us . en-US.
  31. Web site: Superintendent . 2022-12-09 . www.montclair.k12.nj.us . en-US.
  32. Web site: Business Office . 2022-12-09 . www.montclair.k12.nj.us . en-US.
  33. https://www.nj.gov/education/finance/fp/dwb/DistrictByTypeList2018.pdf New Jersey Boards of Education by District Election Types - 2018 School Election
  34. https://www.nj.gov/education/finance/fp/acfr/search/23/3310.pdf#page=40 Annual Comprehensive Financial Report for the Montclair Public Schools
  35. https://www.montclair.k12.nj.us/board_of_education Board of Education
  36. Roll, Erin. "Montclair Parents Debate Appointed Vs. Elected School Board", Montclair Local, April 4, 2019. Accessed May 9, 2020. "Montclair is one of 11 school districts in New Jersey in which the board of education is appointed by the mayor, rather than elected. And a debate is ensuing among some Montclair residents over whether Montclair should stick with an appointed board, or switch to an elected board.... As of 2018, Montclair was one of only 11 Type I school districts in New Jersey. The other 10 are Ventnor, Port Republic, Rockleigh, Pine Valley, East Orange, East Newark, Union City, Harrison, Trenton and Summit.... In 2009, Montclair had a debate over whether to continue with an appointed board or switch to an elected board. The question was put to a vote in October of that year. Voters opted to continue with an appointed board."
  37. Hochman, Louis C.; Wiener, Talia; and Winters, Jaimie, Julia. "In overwhelming vote, Montclair chooses to have an elected school board", Montclair Local, November 2, 2021. Accessed April 11, 2022. "The referendum question before voters Tuesday (and in the weeks leading up to it, through early voting and mail-in balloting) was the latest version of a proposal Montclairians rejected five times since the 1960s. When Montclair last put a referendum question on a change to an elected board before voters in 2009, the question was defeated 57% to 43%.... In unofficial results reported by the Essex County Clerk's office around 11:30 p.m. on Election Night, 8,187 backed the change to a Type II school system with an elected board — 70.69% of the vote tallied to that point. Just 3,394 voted to keep the current Type I system with a mayor-appointed board."
  38. Martin, Julia. "In historic vote, Montclair elects two new school board members", The Record, March 8, 2022. Accessed April 11, 2022. "During the special election, voters chose two new board members from among nine candidates for a one-year and a nine-month term. Beginning this fall, they will choose three new members every year during November elections."

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