South Orange – Maplewood Board of Education

Each of the three departing South Orange-Maplewood Board of Education members — President Dr.…

“Again, I ask: What is the power of a board? It is to ensure that the actions of bad actors do not stymie the progress of our school district. This also underscores the immense power of a school board: while we can support growth, we also have the potential to thwart progress. That is a sobering reality and a responsibility we must never take lightly.”  

“Public service is rewarding, and I strongly recommend it to everyone in our two towns. We can only improve when we all work together, especially for our children. I wish the best to the students, teachers, administrators, and the incoming and continuing board members. Parents, stay involved.”

“Someone once told me that serving on the Board of Education is about passing the baton—you work hard to keep the District moving forward and to leave it better than when you started. I believe we have done just that. The District is on an upward trajectory, and I am optimistic about the progress still to come.”

The move to form the committee comes after a difficult and contentious 2024-25 school budget cycle.

The 1st reading of the updated Emergency & Crisis Situations Policy provides more language to ensure needs of students with accommodations are met; allows students to talk with staff afterward if needed; and ensures parents have enough info by the end of the drill day to have meaningful conversations with their students.

Despite disparities in achievement in math and science, officials are pleased with the trends in the NJSLA scores and have implemented NJ Tiered Support Services, which builds upon Intervention & Referral Services to help close the achievement gap.

Asst. Supt. of Special Services said the department has already fully complied in five of the nine areas that previous audits had revealed as lacking. Most of the changes were to department processes and procedures, and centered on a lack of paperwork. “We are already more than halfway there.”

Imani Moody, Chief Financial Officer for The Arc of Union County, whose past experience includes working with the Newark Board of Education, will begin in SOMSD on December 9.

From the South Orange Maplewood Board of Education: The Board of Education will hold…