EMERSON—Superintendent of Schools Brian P. Gatens wrote the community on Sept. 13 with an update at the outset of the school year, touching on a wealth of news, including that school board meetings will start to be livestreamed for the benefit of people who can’t get to meetings.
Moreover, he said, EJSHS sports will be made available at the same link.
The next school board meeting is Monday, Sept. 19 at 7:30 p.m at the high school.
Gatens discussed upcoming school profiles, work toward hiring an armed SLEO-III for duty in the elementary schools, standardized testing, a pending Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee (volunteers are requested), and the return of the Emerson Community School, which has a program of classes for kids and adults. (Its two new directors will be at the school board meeting, and registration for offerings will be made available.)
He also promoted mental health resources through West Bergen Mental Health and Bergen’s Promise.
Gatens said in part, “On behalf of President Ann Pressimone and the entire Emerson Board of Education, it is the district’s hope that our students, teachers, and all district families have enjoyed a strong start to the 2022–2023 school year. It was wonderful to welcome our students, teachers, and staff back to a more typical and familiar opening to the school year last week.”
Via Gatens’ email:
School profiles. Each year the district publishes a profile for each of our schools. These individual documents offer a comprehensive overview of the various academic and extracurricular offerings at our three buildings. School community members are encouraged to read them to gain a fuller understanding of the wide breadth of our schools and what they offer Emerson’s children. They may be accessed at this link.
Livestreaming. As was announced this past spring and now following the completion of the EJSHS auditorium renovation/technical upgrades and the relaxing of COVID-based ventilation requirements, school community members will be able to watch BOE meetings via livestream starting with next week’s meeting.
Community members can visit the main page of emersonschools.org prior to the BOE meeting to view each meeting’s specific link. All meetings will be archived for later viewing as well. Note that the next meeting of the Board of Education will be on Monday, Sept. 19 at 7:30 p.m. Further, EJSHS sports can also be viewed via livestream at this link as well. #GoCavos!
SLEO-III. Last week district administration met with Chief Mazzeo and Capt. Savino of the Emerson Police Department. The EPD is working through the process of advertising, selecting, and eventually training the SLEO-IIIs who will work at our elementary schools.
We are grateful for the support of both the EPD and the borough as they follow this process. When a start date is confirmed, it will be shared with the community. Prior to that, Chief Mazzeo confirmed that the EPD will continue its regular and consistent visitation presence in all three of our schools.
On a security note: From time to time, families will have concerns or information that they want to share with the district and school administration regarding school safety and security. If these concerns are significant or are learned outside of normal school hours, school community members are asked to contact the police directly. We are fortunate to work closely with the EPD and the best place to report those concerns is directly to EPD as they then contact the district to discuss and address them.
Standardized testing. New Jersey’s schools are required to notify the school community about the variety of standardized tests that they are obligated to offer each year. [Gatens provided links to view that mandatory notification. He also gave a link for dates and other information about the upcoming Start Strong Assessment for students in grades 4–12.]
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee. Emerson Public Schools is seeking parents and school community members to join the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee. The district would like to hear from the broadest possible representation of our students, staff members, parents, and other community members to support the goals and related action steps in this area of the 2021–2026 Strategic Plan.
Please sign up if you are interested in joining the committee. We will send a schedule of monthly meetings to the full committee in the coming weeks and provide the meeting agenda and an opportunity to RSVP before each meeting.
Emerson Community School returns for a new season. Registration for the Emerson Community School is now open. New and updated classes are available for children and adults. Popular children’s classes include children’s baking and art, robotics, and gamemakers. Adult classes range from health and recreation, cooking, languages, computers, and so much more.
Registration is open and fills up quickly, so don’t miss out! If you would prefer to register in person, come out on Monday, Sept. 19 from 7 to 8 p.m. at EJSHS and meet the two new directors: Mrs. Della Volpe and Mrs. Mancino.
Community resources. Emerson is fortunate to be surrounded by various public and private resources to help families navigate complex and challenging situations. One example is West Bergen Mental Health which, alongside its various offerings, is presenting a virtual meeting for families and students who are struggling with school refusal.
Another excellent organization is Bergen’s Promise, which works with families experiencing significant challenges and situations. The district often works alongside them in helping families. Visit bergenspromise.org.
Coffee and Tea with the superintendent. Interested school community members are asked to save the following dates for the 2022–2023 Coffee and Tea with the Superintendent meetings. Note that all begin at 6:30 p.m. and take place in the respective schools’ Media Center/Learning Lab.
— Oct. 13, Memorial School
— Nov. 16. Villano School
— Dec. 14. EJSHS
— Feb. 22. 2023. Memorial School
— March 22. Villano School
— April 27. EJSHS
For more information write bgatens@emersonschools.org.