Dear Parents and Guardians:

The vision for Rutherford Public School’s digital learning is to allow instruction to drive the seamless incorporation of technology use into all content areas. Our goal is to do this in inventive ways that will make learning more meaningful and relevant for our students, prepare our students for the challenges of college and careers, aid our students to become responsible digital citizens, and enable our students to thrive intellectually, personally, physically, and creatively. To nurture this vision, a Blended Learning Committee was established in 2014. The committee was responsible for identifying and adopting best practices for the use of technology as a tool to enhance curriculum and improve student learning. The committee created a five-year plan for moving toward a 1:1 device model. With the administration, the committee established a 1:1 pilot program of teachers representing each school in the district. With increased access to student devices, these teachers identified best practices for technology integration across grade levels and disciplines.

Through this systematic approach to identifying best practices of technology use, the Chromebook and the use of G Suite (formerly Google Apps for Education) was identified as the best choice for achieving true technology integration across all curricular areas. The regular use of Chromebooks and G Suite throughout the district has fostered a more student-centered, project-based classroom, which has led to more student engagement, participation, and collaboration. In addition, it has enabled our teachers to differentiate instruction based on the needs of individual students, improved communication among teachers, students, and parents, and reduced the amount of printed materials distributed and collected.

The Rutherford Public Schools is pleased to announce that beginning with the 2017-2018 school year all students in grades 6-12 will be assigned a Chromebook for use in school and at home. This 1:1 Chromebook Program will allow our students to more successfully extend their online classroom experiences outside of school. This initiative has been funded over the last several years through generous donations from the Rutherford Education Foundation (REF) and through the Board of Education.

For your child to receive his/her Chromebook, you and your child must return a signed copy of the Student/Parent Agreement for Chromebook Use Grades 6-12. Forms will be distributed to your child/children at school. Please review the agreement with your child so that he/she understands the responsibilities of being assigned a device to use in and out of school. The agreement must be signed by both student and parent/guardian and returned to school before June 16, 2017.

Over the next several months we will continue to share information with you regarding our 1:1 program. Please feel free to reach out to your building principal or my office with any questions or concerns.

Sincerely,
Jack Hurley
Superintendent of Schools

Dear Parents/Guardians:

The Rutherford Board of Education will continue to offer courtesy/subscription busing for the 2017-2018 school year. To be eligible for the busing, students must be attending Pierrepont or Union School for the 2017-2018 school year.

One bus will leave Pierrepont School at 7:30 a.m. with an arrival at Union School at approximately 7:40 a.m. The bus going to Pierrepont School will leave from Union School at 7:45 a.m. with an anticipated arrival by 7:55 a.m. At the end of the school day, a bus will leave Union School at 2:50 p.m. with a 3:00 p.m. arrival at Pierrepont School. The bus returning to Union School will leave Pierrepont School at 3:10 p.m. with a 3:20 p.m. anticipated arrival.

There will be no other drop-off or pick-up points.

There will be $400 per child annual fee for the busing. Transportation is not required for elementary or middle school students who reside two miles or less from their schools. The district operated the courtesy/subscription bus in 2016-2017 at a deficit of $112,000. The $100 fee amounts to a daily roundtrip fare of fifty-five cents. The increase in fees will reduce the deficit to $52,000 and make the daily fare $2.16.

To participate in the program, please complete the forms attached and send them with a deposit of $100 check payable to the Rutherford Board of Education. The form and deposit must be received by June 22, 2017. Please send forms to:

Rhonda Sabatini
Secretary to the Director of Buildings and Grounds
70 E. Pierrepont Avenue
Rutherford, NJ 07070

Seats will be reserved on a first come first served basis. Should a seat not be available, your check will be returned. Bus passes and additional details will be distributed to parents prior to the opening of school.

Sincerely,
John J. Hurley
Superintendent of Schools

The Long Term Strategic Planning Committee presented information to the BOE on May 8th. Please see the attached presentation.

Garden State Environmental (GSE) tested the District’s water on April 18. Last year, GSE had also tested all sources of drinking water in the District and found that all samples were well below acceptable limits of lead. This year we expanded our test to include areas in each building not normally used as a source of drinking but which students or staff could conceivably access. Six locations in the district had lead particles above the threshold of 15 parts per billion. All other areas are below the threshold.

All of the locations identified have been “bagged” and labeled not for drinking or consumption. There will be a follow up plan of action for these water sources. The plan will be developed by GSE.

The positive news is that none of these areas are in locations that students use for drinking.

In Pierrepont, there is a “slop sink” in a custodial closet in the second floor corridor. There are also two fountains located inside and outside the maintenance office in the basement level of the building, in an area students and most staff do not enter.

At the K Center there are two sinks located in the back of the Nurse’s Office. Those sinks do not have a “bubbler” for drinking.

In the High School, unacceptable levels where found in a sink located in the back of the Band Room. That sink does not have a “bubbler” for drinking,

Letters will be sent to the parents in each of the schools listed above. Letters will also be posted to the faculty and staff in each building.

The full test results for each school are linked below.

The lead level can be found in the column labeled Conc. (ug/l). As you will see, all accessible fountains and bubblers are well below the allowable threshold and many areas have untraceable (negative numbers) readings.

A more detailed report will be forthcoming and will be posted once received.

Jack Hurley
Superintendent of Schools

April 2017 – Newsletter