In the Oct. 16 meeting, the Frelinghuysen Township School (FTS) Board of Education heard a succession of good news, followed by pointed commentary from parents concerned about a proposed cannabis cultivation facility.
Positive Updates From Veras
First, chief school administrator Jarlyn Veras updated the board on recent events. FTS has welcomed two new security guards to its staff: Mr. Doug Meyer and Mrs. Sharon Ecker.
Some gratitude was due in response to recent generosity. Veras thanked the girls hockey team of North Warren Regional High School for their reading visits to the second grade. She also thanked the rotary club for their donation of dictionaries to the second and third grades.
FTS has another positive update to anticipate in the future. Since the start of the school year, Veras has hoped to bring aftercare to Frelinghuysen by partnering with the Healthy Kids program. Knowlton Elementary School and Lopatcong Elementary School both operate a before and after school care program with Healthy Kids, Veras said, “and it’s been running very well.”
Twelve families, some that include multiple FTS students, have expressed interest in a potential Healthy Kids program at Frelinghuysen. The program director of Healthy Kids will visit Frelinghuysen on Nov. 20 to answer questions and share more information about the program.
“If all goes well, this is something that we can possibly have in January,” Veras said. “There are some contingencies, but that’s the goal.”
Spring NJSLA Scores Show Big Gains in Science and Math, With a Couple Exceptions
After her CSA report, Veras presented the results of the spring 2024 New Jersey Student Learning Assessments (NJSLA) score results.
The NJSLA is a standardized test given to students across New Jersey to measure their mastery of New Jersey’s learning standards. Students in grades three to nine take the English language arts (ELA) and math sections every year, while the science test is administered to grades five and eight only.
Materials from the New Jersey Department of Education emphasize that the NJSLA is only one measurement of a student’s (and a school’s) academic performance, with a suggestion that scores should be compared to other artifacts, like grades and project performance, to measure learning accurately. In the ELA and math sections, the NJSLA sets a score of 750 as the expected score for a student who’s ready to move on to the next grade.
FTS made a strong showing in the ELA section. Students in grades four to six last spring largely met or exceeded expectations in the language arts section, with 66.7% of fourth graders meeting or exceeding expectations, 64.7% of fifth graders and 63.6% of sixth graders.
Grade three broke this pattern, with only 41.2% of third graders meeting or exceeding expectations in the ELA section.
The math section painted a slightly different picture. Last year’s fourth graders performed admirably, with 75% of the class meeting or exceeding expectations in math. This stood out as the strongest math performance in the school, while smaller proportions met or exceeded the 750 benchmark in the other grades: 47.1% in grade three, 47.1% in grade five and 45.5% in grade six.
News about the science section came last. Last year, raising the school’s low science scores became a top priority for school leadership. It looks as if those efforts have paid off. Grade five’s science scores rose a whopping 20 points compared to the last NJSLA administration, with 52.9% of FTS students now meeting or exceeding expectations.
Overall, FTS student scores moved in a positive direction. The fifth and sixth grade students even made double-digit gains in their math scores compared to last year. In fact, every grade improved its score in every test with only two exceptions: fourth grade ELA (a drop of 2 points) and third grade math (a more concerning drop of 14 points).
By and large, FTS student scores beat the state average. The crowning achievement was that science score: 199 vs. the state’s 169, an enormous difference of 30 points. Only third grade scores fell below the state average, in both the math and ELA sections. Veras shared that the goal she tells her teachers is to go beyond the state average.
At the end of the presentation, Veras said that the school plans to use this and other data to help plan instruction and continued professional development.
A full copy of Veras’ NJSLA presentation can be found on the school’s website at https://www.frelinghuysenschool.org/fs/Parents/Student%20Assessment%20Information/.
Public Increasingly Concerned about Proposed Cannabis Farm
In the public comment section that concluded the meeting, Frelinghuysen resident Kirk Perez stood up.
In a continuation of his comments at the previous board meeting, Perez discussed a letter that he had shared with Veras. The letter was addressed to fellow parents of FTS students, with information about the cannabis cultivation and manufacturing plant proposed for a nearby plot of land and an invitation to join him in opposing it. He had hoped that Veras would distribute the letter to FTS families.
“I’m worried that these people don’t understand what’s going on,” Perez said. “I can’t live with that — with knowing that I did not make sure that I did everything in my power to give them a chance to stand with me and everybody else that’s concerned.”
Veras shared that the school attorney had advised against sharing the letter through school communications, as it would violate the school’s access to confidential contact information for non-school-related purposes. The board had previously written a resolution formally declaring its opposition to the cannabis facility, which it also read at a land use board meeting.
The next board of education meeting will occur on Wednesday, Nov. 6.
For general information about the Healthy Kids program, visit https://www.healthykidsprograms.com/before-after-school-programs.
Chip O'Chang is an educator, fiction writer, and lifelong resident of New Jersey. He has also written for My Life Publications and NJ Indy. He lives in the NJ Skylands with his partner, two cats, and and a bearded dragon.
- Chip O'Chang, Contributing Writerhttps://ridgeviewecho.com/author/chip-ochang-contributing-writer/
- Chip O'Chang, Contributing Writerhttps://ridgeviewecho.com/author/chip-ochang-contributing-writer/
- Chip O'Chang, Contributing Writerhttps://ridgeviewecho.com/author/chip-ochang-contributing-writer/
- Chip O'Chang, Contributing Writerhttps://ridgeviewecho.com/author/chip-ochang-contributing-writer/
