A+ Ideas, Programs, and Practices

The program seeks to further educate Cedar Grove students about the tragic events that took place on Sept. 11, 2001. Today’s high school students are too young to remember the events of 9/11, so it is important to educate students about the sacrifice others have made for their freedom. Cedar Grove Waves is a memorial … Continued

The Washington Township 21st Century Skills Initiative began ten years ago with a single community volunteer in a classroom. It has grown into a communitywide initiative that reached 3,402 students in every elementary and middle school in the district in 2016-2017, providing instruction in financial literacy, career readiness and entrepreneurship at no cost to the … Continued

In 2012, a small group of curriculum directors in Monmouth County came together to collaborate on areas pertaining specifically to curriculum, instruction and professional development. To date, and in the continuing true spirit of professional collaboration, the Monmouth County Curriculum Consortium, or MC3, has delivered professional development for educators from numerous county districts. MC3 has … Continued

Practical ideas and high-impact changes led to the Jackson School District being recognized on the College Board’s National District AP Honor Roll in 2013 and 2014. By reprioritizing Advanced Placement courses and teachers, and meeting their unique needs with regard to resources and professional development, the district has been able to increase both participation at … Continued

Technology has a place in the world language classroom, as a tool that can increase student engagement, achieve 100 percent student involvement, and promote student achievement. Teachers at the Edgar Middle School in Metuchen have experienced the positive potential of BYOT (bring your own technology) and innovative practices in the classroom. Apps and Web 2.0 … Continued

An effective teaching team can benefit student learning. Sixth-grade teacher team members from Carl H. Kumpf Middle School, in Clark, have much to share about working as an effective team. The core elements of working as a team, the advantages of teaming, meeting logistics, effective teacher communication , parent outreach, strategies to ensure student success, … Continued

Assessments and the use of test data are a component of the educational process. As part of Springfield’s InnovateNJ project, the school district established a program to involve parents in developing a better understanding of their childrens’ test data. Springfield incorporated an ESL component that addresses the language issues families face when immigrating to the … Continued

Livingston students built snowmen – on computers – and more, during the district’s Hour of Code, held as part of the nationwide initiative sponsored by Computer Science Education Week and Code.org. The idea was to introduce students to computer science and computer programming, and the rapidly-expanding and increasingly-important field of coding. Coding is the art … Continued

The schools in the Freehold Regional High School District have invested more than four years in training School Improvement Panels (ScIPs) and a corps of faculty members, with the goal of driving positive change in the district. The groups act as facilitators, developing dialogue through the use of protocols discussing texts, data, successes, and lesson … Continued

Knowing the benefits of devoting additional time to writing, and delving deeper into mathematical concepts via real-life applications, the Scotch Plains-Fanwood Regional school district changed the middle school day to provide more time for instruction in these key areas. This program’s goal is to improve student achievement in math, language arts and other subjects. The … Continued