West Milford Township Public Schools Explained
The West Milford Township Public Schools are a comprehensive community public school district that serves students in pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade from West Milford, in Passaic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.[1]
As of the 2021–22 school year, the district, comprising eight schools, had an enrollment of 3,028 students and 279.2 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 10.8:1.[2]
The district is classified by the New Jersey Department of Education as being in District Factor Group "FG", the fourth-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.[3]
The district has six elementary schools (grades K-5), one middle school (grade 6-8), and one high school (grades 9-12), and also supports a Center for Adult/Community Education.[4] The school system has 361 certified staff members, over 50% of whom have a master's degree or higher.[5]
History
The old Newfoundland, two-room schoolhouse is now the Grasshopper Restaurant. The old Hillcrest School is now the township's community center. The few one-room schoolhouses are all gone; the last one was the Hewitt School, destroyed by fire set by vandals (it had been the former Methodist church before a new, larger church was built).
Students from West Milford had attended Butler High School for grades 9-12 as part of a longstanding sending/receiving relationship that existed until September 1962, when West Milford opened its own high school.[6] The Butler Public Schools had served students from large parts of Morris and Passaic counties, until soaring local enrollment led the district to notify feeder communities in 1954 that they would have to find alternative education options for their high school students.[7]
Awards and recognition
The NAMM Foundation named the district in its 2009 survey of the "Best Communities for Music Education", which included 124 school districts nationwide.[8]
The district was selected as one of the top "100 Best Communities for Music Education in America 2005" by the American Music Conference.[9]
Schools
Schools in the district (with 2021–22 enrollment data from the National Center for Education Statistics[10]) are:[11] [12] [13] [14]
- Elementary schools
- Apshawa Elementary School[15] with 999 students in grades K-5
- Dana Swarts, principal[16]
- Maple Road Elementary School[17] with 231 students in grades PreK-5
- William Kane, principal[16]
- Marshall Hill Elementary School[18] with 251 students in grades K-5
- Patrick O'Donnell, principal[16]
- Paradise Knoll Elementary School[19] with 192 students in grades K-5
- Jennifer Miller, principal[16]
- Upper Greenwood Lake Elementary School[20] with 192 students in grades K-5
- Jared Fowler, principal[16]
- Westbrook Elementary School with 238 students in grades K-5 was closed for the start of the 2023-24 school year.[21]
- Middle school
- Macopin Middle School[22] with 777 students in grades 6-8
- Gregory Matlosz, principal[16]
- High school
Administration
Core members of the district's administration are:[24] [25]
- Lydia Furnari, Interim superintendent of schools[26]
- William Scholts, business administrator and board secretary[27]
Board of education
The district's board of education, comprised 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 2013) 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.[28] [29] [30]
External links
Notes and References
- https://www.wmtps.org/site/handlers/filedownload.ashx?moduleinstanceid=809&dataid=1558&FileName=Bylaws%20-%20Section%200000%20-%20Bylaws.pdf#page=2 West Milford Public Schools District Bylaw 0110 - Identification
- https://nces.ed.gov/ccd/districtsearch/district_detail.asp?Search=2&details=1&ID2=3417520&DistrictID=3417520 District information for West Milford Township Public School District
- http://www.state.nj.us/education/finance/rda/dfg.shtml NJ Department of Education District Factor Groups (DFG) for School Districts
- https://www.wmtps.org/UserFiles/Servers/Server_1019357/File/Merged%20Kindergarten%20Registration%20Packet.pdf New Student Registration Information Grades K-12
- http://www.wmtps.org/ Home page
- http://law.justia.com/cases/new-jersey/appellate-division-published/1967/93-n-j-super-544-0.html Fox v. Bd. Of Ed. Of W. Milford Tp.
- Staff. "Enrollments Tax Schools In Bergen; Auxiliary Rooms Are Being Converted for Classes and Construction Is Pushed", The New York Times, September 5, 1954. Accessed September 13, 2017. "Butler, in near-by Morris County, is taking drastic action to relieve congestion in its high school... Four of these 'sending districts' -- Riverdale, Jefferson Township, Kinnelon and Pequannock Township -- are in Morris County. The others -- Wanaque, Ringwood, West Milford and Bloomingdale -- are in Passaic County. Butler has given Pequannock Township and the four districts in Passaic until 1958 to complete withdrawal of their students."
- http://www.namm.org/news/press-releases/nationwide-survey-finds-best-communities-music-edu "Nationwide Survey Finds the 'Best Communities for Music Education' in U.S."
- https://web.archive.org/web/20060105161039/http://www.yamaha.com/yamahavgn/CDA/ContentDetail/PressReleaseDetail/0,,CNTID%253D37941%2526CTID%253D560402%2526CNTYP%253DNEWS,00.html Best 100 (101!) Communities for Music Education in America, 2005
- https://nces.ed.gov/ccd/schoolsearch/school_list.asp?Search=1&DistrictID=3417520 School Data for the West Milford Township Public Schools
- https://www.wmtps.org/domain/47 About Our Schools
- https://www.passaiccountynj.org/home/showpublisheddocument/7868/638412764984270000#page=44 2023–24 Public School Directory
- https://rc.doe.state.nj.us/selectreport/2022-2023/31/5650 School Performance Reports for the West Milford Township Public School District
- https://homeroom6.doe.state.nj.us/directory/school/districtid/5570 New Jersey School Directory for the West Milford Township Public Schools
- https://www.wmtps.org/Page/9 Apshawa School
- https://www.wmtps.org/site/Default.aspx?PageID=111 School Principals
- https://www.wmtps.org/Page/11 Maple Road Elementary School
- https://www.wmtps.org/Page/13 Marshall Hill Elementary School
- https://www.wmtps.org/Page/15 Paradise Knoll Elementary School
- https://www.wmtps.org/Page/17 Upper Greenwood Lake Elementary School
- Zummo, Mike. "Westbrook School will no longer serve elementary students next fall", West Milford Messenger, November 30, 2022. Accessed October 10, 2023. "The West Milford Township School District Board of Education on Tuesday voted to repurpose the Westbrook Elementary School into Highlander Academy, an inclusive special education program. The Restructuring Committee recommended changing the Westbrook School, starting in 2023-24 school year, into an academy for two separate Emotional Regulation Impairment programs, one for middle schoolers and the other for high schoolers."
- https://www.wmtps.org/Page/21 Macopin Middle School
- https://www.wmtps.org/Page/23 West Milford High School
- https://www.wmtps.org/Page/108 District Administration
- https://homeroom6.doe.state.nj.us/directory/district/county/passaic New Jersey School Directory for Passaic County
- https://www.wmtps.org/Page/88 Superintendent's Welcome
- https://www.wmtps.org/domain/49 Business Administrator
- https://www.nj.gov/education/finance/fp/dwb/DistrictByTypeList2018.pdf New Jersey Boards of Education by District Election Types - 2018 School Election
- https://www.nj.gov/education/finance/fp/acfr/search/22/5650.pdf#page=45 Annual Comprehensive Financial Report of the West Milford Township School District
- https://www.wmtps.org/domain/58 About the Board
