Dear Staff and Families,

As I reflect on the close of another calendar year, I wanted to share with you some highlights so far and also look forward to exciting opportunities in the new year.

During this season, our students continue to entertain audiences with their musical talents. Many of us were able to enjoy performances by our high school and middle school music programs as well as at our elementary schools over the past few weeks. I am constantly blown away by the talent of our students, especially this time of year.

As I visit the schools, I see strong instruction from our teaching staff happening at all levels across the district. I am proud of our teachers for bringing innovative strategies into our classrooms to reach all of our students.

During the past 12 months, this district has grown in ways which will lay the foundation for student success and a prosperous community. We have found new ways to partner with the Board of Commissioners. We have invested in our youngest learners and revisited interventions and ways to better support our older learners. We have doubled our safety and security efforts throughout the district and increased mental health supports with proactive RULER curriculum as well as Rutgers University Behavioral Health Clinicians onsite. We continue to prioritize the safety, security, and wellness of our staff and students above all else.

In these challenging times, we are also making strides with a return to common sense attendance procedures, a focus on civility and acceptance of all, and expanding our use of data to make instructional decisions. We are fortunate to be educators in a community of hard working students and families as well as dedicated faculty and staff. Our administrators lead with care and our Board of Education commits to long and challenging discussions to solve complex challenges.

As we bring 2023 to a close, there is much to look forward to in the new year. Nutley High School will begin its first online learning course with Caldwell University. Juniors and seniors will earn dual enrollment credits by taking General Psychology with college professors. Students from our business program at Nutley High School will travel to London and Paris this spring, learning through their studies abroad. TREP$, an entrepreneurial program for students in grades 4 through 8, will return this spring. In 2024, the district will open a preschool center at St. Paul’s Congregational Church on Franklin Avenue, which will support our Raising Raiders Initiative. The district will add an additional 60 seats to its state-sponsored Preschool Expansion lottery. In addition, the district will celebrate the opening of a fully renovated weight room and media center at Nutley High School.



My wish for you is that you each enjoy a healthy and happy holiday season. I hope you take time to spend with family, friends and those important to you. Whether you are traveling this season or staying close to home, I hope you are able to return to school on January 2nd rested and ready for an exciting 2024.

Sincerely,
Kent Bania, Superintendent of Schools