Tuesday, March 26, 2013
New World Language program to be implemented at Auten Road Intermediate School.
Pupils at Auten Road Intermediate School will have their choice of what foreign language they want to study under the terms of a program approved by the board of education on Thursday. Enrique Pincay, the district’s supervisor of world languages/English as a second language, said the primary recommendation of a World Language Task Force was the introduction of a foreign language curriculum at the school for grades 5 and 6. The other recommendation was the start of a Chinese I class at the high school in September. Pincay said the earlier exposure to a foreign language will better prepare students for the “global marketplace” of the 21st century. The school district has Chinese and Spanish programs in grades K-4, which has been a success, …
40.51876
-74.65986
Auten Road Intermediate School
281 Auten Rd, Hillsborough, NJ
/articles/fifth-graders-will-choose-what-foreign-language-to-study
1761497
/locations/9109002
Thursday, March 21, 2013
Devices will be used by teachers and students in grades K-4.
Google has donated 3,000 Nexus tablets to the school district, Superintendent of Schools Jorden Schiff announced at Thursday’s school board meeting. The devices will be given to all teachers and students in grades K-4, Schiff said. Teachers will receive them on Friday and start exploring them over the weekend. The small devices, now retailing for more than $200, will remain the property of the school district. The district will have to purchase charging stations for the tablets, which are similar to Amazon’s Kindle. “This is a rare opportunity,” Schiff said. “It’s a very exciting adventure.” Schiff did not detail how the tablets will be integrated into the curriculum, though one of the district’s goals goals is to facilitate a “culture …
The $114 million budget is under state cap; no residents speak at public hearing.
Without any public comment or a vote at the polls, Hillsborough has a new school budget. When the school district decided to switch the election of board members to coincide with the November general election, the district was also allowed by a new state law not to present its budget to voters in an April election unless it exceeded the state cap. The budget, adopted unanimously by the school board at its Thursday meeting, is $425,000 under the state cap, Superintendent of Schools Jorden Schiff said. The budget will raise the school property tax bill on the average Hillsborough home assessed at $368,700 by $53. That’s a rate increase of one cent from $1.45 per $100 of assessed value to $1.46. In Millstone, because of a 2.5 percent decrease…
40.51876
-74.65986
Auten Road Intermediate School
281 Auten Rd, Hillsborough, NJ
/articles/new-budget-hikes-average-school-tax-bill-by-53
1761497
/locations/9072355
Wednesday, March 6, 2013
Dozens come to school board meeting to show support for social studies teacher
Dozens of students and parents came to Monday’s school board meeting to seek answers why a popular high school teacher has been suspended. Though students and parents referred to the teacher by his name, social studies teacher Jeffrey Kampf, board and administration officers say they were prohibited by the district’s personnel policy to confirm the identity or to disclose the reason for his suspension. After the students and parents voiced their support for Kampf, the board voted 3-1 with five abstentions to approve the suspension, ordered last week by Superintendent of Schools Jorden Schiff. At first, board president Thomas Kinst said the motion to back Dr. Schiff’s decision failed because a majority of board members did not vote to …
Tuesday, March 5, 2013
Tentative $114 million budget is under state's 2 percent cap
Property taxes on an average township home will rise $53 under the terms of a tentative $114.58 million budget approved by the board of education on Monday night. Superintendent of Schools Jorden Schiff said the budget is $425,000 under the state-mandated cap. State aid to the district increased by $13,000. The property tax rate will rise from $1.53 per $100 of assessed value to $1.467. That means taxes on the average Hillsborough home assessed at $368,700 will rise $53. In Millstone, because of a decrease in ratables, taxes on an average home valued at $320,748 will rise by $117 as the tax rate rises from $1.48 per $100 of assessed value to $1.52. The current expense budget will go up 1.48 percent from approximately $107 million to $109 …
40.51876
-74.65986
Auten Road Intermediate School
281 Auten Rd, Hillsborough, NJ
/articles/school-budget-ups-average-property-tax-bill-by-53
1761497
/locations/9014683
Tuesday, February 26, 2013
Departing educators have a combined 183 years of service.
Six teachers with a combined total of 183 years of service to the Hillsborough school district have announced their retirements. Retiring effective July 1 will be: The retirements were approved at Monday’s school board meeting.
Monday, February 25, 2013
High school teacher will now advance to county competition.
Hillsborough High School teacher Roberta Henry has been named the school district’s Teacher of the Year. Henry will now be considered, with teachers of the year from other districts, to be Somerset County Teacher of the Year. If she earns the county honor, she will be eligible to be considered as New Jersey Teacher of the Year. Henry, who teaches family and consumer science, has taught in the district since 1996, Superintendent of Schools Jorden Schiff said at Monday’s school board meeting. Henry runs the high school’s pre-school program and teaches independent living for special education students, the superintendent said. “She challenges them every day with new experiences,” Schiff said. Henry was also named Teacher of the Year at the …
Monday, November 19, 2012
Spanish and Chinese classes started this year will be expanded in the next school year.
The introduction of Spanish and Mandarin Chinese into the school district’s elementary schools this fall has been “successful.” That was the message delivered to the school board on Monday by Enrique Pincay, the district’s supervisor of world languages and English as a second language. The introduction of the two languages into the K-4 curriculum will “prepare students for the 21st century,” Pincay said. To implement the curriculum, the district re-hired the three Spanish teachers who were laid off when the district faced a budget shortfall and three Chinese teachers, Pincay said. One of the strategies employed by the teachers, Picay said, is “100 percent immersion” in the language once class begins. Textbooks are only used as reference …
Storm eliminated days targeted for training in curriculum and technology.
District school teachers told the Hillsborough Board of Education at its most recent meeting that that they are concerned they may be shortchanged by the staff development days lost in the aftermath of Sandy. The school district had originally scheduled Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, Nov. 5-7, as in-service days. Coupled with the New Jersey Education Association convention set for Nov. 8-9, students would have a full week off from school. But Sandy changed all that. Schools were closed the week of Oct. 29. Schools were unable to open Nov. 5 and 6 because of power outages. And the NJEA cancelled its convention because of the storm’s impact on Atlantic City. Because state law requires public schools to be in session for 180 days, the “snow…
Tuesday, November 13, 2012
More days off will mean shorter spring break for students, as well as some other possible choices.
Any more school days lost to inclement weather or other circumstances would put the remaining 2012-13 school calendar in jeopardy. Unlike many other school districts throughout New Jersey, Hillsborough lost only five days in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, Superintendent of Schools Jorden Schiff said at Monday’s school board meeting. Hillsborough schools were closed from Monday, Oct. 29 through Tuesday, Nov. 6 as utility workers struggled to restore power to all parts of the township and the district’s nine schools. School had been scheduled to be closed the week of Nov. 5 for three in-service days and two days for the annual New Jersey Education Association teachers convention in Atlantic City. The school district was able to make up …
Marissa Sladek
4:10 pm on Tuesday, May 21, 2013
What a shame that the district can offer 5 foreign languages but can't offer an inclusion/co-teaching model at the elementary level! more ›