A Message from Assistant Superintendent, Mr. Ed Hade
 

Self Reflection – A Way To Grow

In the world of education, as well as any other field, “self-reflection” is a key term for evaluating or assessing the progress of your company or school system.  This Fall the Roxbury Public Schools is going through its own “self-reflection” as a part of the new accountability system recently put into place by the New Jersey Department of Education.  The new monitoring process, known as New Jersey Quality Single Accountability Continuum (NJQSAC) has shifted the monitoring and evaluation focus from compliance to assistance, capacity-building, and improvement.  This comprehensive accountability system assists districts in meeting State and Federal guidelines.  It focuses on five key areas that have been identified as key components of an effective school district:

• Instruction and Programs
• Personnel
• Fiscal Management
• Operations
• Governance

The first step in this new monitoring process was to have our district do a self-assessment and review each of the five areas.  A district committee comprised of a board member, administrators, teacher and parent met on several occasions this fall to assess the efficiency and effectiveness of our district in each of the five categories.  As a part of that review process, I not only had an opportunity to identify some of the areas we need to improve on, but also had a chance to reflect on the positive things that occurred last school year.  Some of the many accomplishments that came to light were:

• Completed the first phase of our Strategic Plan
• 44 students at Roxbury High School earned the designation of AP Scholar by the College Board
• 54 of our twelfth graders last year received a Renaissance Medal for a GPA of 3.75 or better for four years
• 18 Edward Bloustein Distinguished Scholars
• Our high school newspaper was ranked #1 in the State
• Vocal/Instrumental Ensemble at Roxbury High School played at Carnegie Hall
• Athletic teams excelled on a district and state level
• A student at Eisenhower Middle School placed first in the nation on the National Social Studies Exam
• An American Scholar Award winner at Eisenhower Middle School
• National Award winners in the PTA Reflections Program
• Extensive community service projects conducted by all seven of our schools
• Multiple shared service projects with Roxbury Township were initiated

And the list of accomplishments goes on and on.  The more areas I reviewed the more it became apparent how well our students did last school year.  If you wish to see all the accomplishments of each school you can go to our website (www.roxbury.org) and click on “Educating Roxbury’s Future”.

At the conclusion of our self-assessment there will be a public presentation of our results November 5^th at 7:30 PM in the team room of Eisenhower Middle School.  Mr. Mack, our Superintendent, will present the findings of this one hundred-page document to the Board of Education before sending the report to the County and State level for review.  After the Department of Education reviews our assessment a team of Highly Skilled Professionals (HSP) will be sent out to our district by the State Department.  This team will then examine various forms of documentation in all five areas as well as tour all of our facilities.  The HSP teams primary focus will be to promote equity, efficiency, and effectiveness in all schools, as well as Central Office.  The full report of the HSP teams visit is scheduled for some time in the Spring.  I am confident that when we receive that report it will validate all the good things that are currently happening in our school system as well as look at ways to make us even more effective delivering services to our students.

If you have any questions regarding the new State monitoring system, please give me a call at (973) 584-6799 or email me at ehade@roxbury.org.