JACKSON – With a new school year comes new excitement as well as some changes, such as the implementation of the state’s more stringent restrictions on cell phone use.
“I think we are in great shape to have a great start,” said Superintendent Dan Baginski. “We have a couple of goals for the district this year. One, obviously: academic achievement; and two: enhancing the efficiency of the school district – something that we have gotten rather adept at.”
He said the district has been “using our resources as best as we can so far as our facilities go and our human resources and things like that. At this point we are fully staffed. We are looking forward to a start with the largest cohort of new teachers that we’ve had in quite a while and we’re very excited with that and the impact they will have.”
Baginski previously served as an assistant superintendent and later as business administrator before replacing Nicole Pormilli who retired at the end of the last school year.
“We feel like this is a stable transition obviously having worked under Nicole all those years especially as business administrator and having an intimate knowledge of facilities and what it takes to get the school year up and running,” he added.
“This will be year two for the high schools being combined. There will be a lot of work to be done there with the merge – not just for the students. Our staff members feel confident as a unified team moving forward,” he said.
Noting some disciplinary issues that occurred last year at the high school, mostly during the common lunch period that had been established, Baginski noted that those issues had been addressed and would be monitored.
“We made some course corrections during the course of the year in regard to the lunch period schedules. We made adjustments that I think made a big difference .We also added more structure to the lunch periods this year to minimize the traffic in the building between classes and between lunch. We are really leaning heavily into the internet devices aka cell phone ban,” the superintendent explained.
On January 8, prior to leaving office, Governor Phil Murphy signed legislation concerning student use of internet-enabled devices in New Jersey public schools during regular school hours, on a school bus, or during school-sanctioned events when the student is under the direct supervision of a staff member.
This was done with the idea to ensure a safe, respectful, and distraction-free learning environment for students. The law was enacted as a public health measure in response to growing concerns regarding the impact of excessive device and social media use on adolescents. A growing body of research indicates how this excessive use puts students at a greater risk for anxiety and depression.
This applies to internet-enabled devices, including cell phones, “Smartwatches,” tablets and any other internet-enabled devices. This doesn’t include school-issued devices.
“Off And Away” From Bell To Bell
The following requirements (under district Policy 5516 and Regulation 5516) apply to all students. All student cell phones and smartwatches must remain “off and away” during school hours, including classroom time, specials, lunch, recess, and hallway transitions.
School staff that spot any internet-enabled device being used during school hours against policy will secure the device and follow progressive discipline (in handbooks).
Unless the use breaks the Code of Conduct, the procedures for the following times will be in place for all grades:
- Is usage permitted on the bus? YES
- Is usage permitted before and after school? YES
- Is usage permitted on school-sponsored trips/events off school grounds during the school day (field trips) YES – Under Teacher / Staff Member Direction
- Is usage permitted at school-sponsored events outside of the school day (e.g. clubs)? YES
In the event of a family emergency, parents should contact the main office directly. In the event of a school emergency, students will be allowed to utilize devices if available and under the direction of a staff member.
Parents and guardians have been asked by officials to learn the full rules through the school district website.
