MPS families,
February is Black History Month at Madison Public Schools and I would like to begin this message by expressing solidarity with all Madison students, residents, and families who identify as Black or African American. Our schools are committed to ensuring that all students, guardians, and staff members from all backgrounds feel welcomed, supported, and celebrated in our schools. Cultural, racial, religious, political, and viewpoint diversity bolsters our learning environment. Accordingly, intolerance and ridicule have no place here. If you or someone you know are experiencing exclusionary or discriminatory behavior, please contact your child’s school, complete a HIB report, or use the anonymous “RSVP-3 Morris County, NJ” App” (available in the App Store and on Google Play).
As March approaches, please consider the following important updates.
Please watch the 2022-23 State of the Schools Address on Monday, February 24, 2023, at 7pm.
The goal of the Address is to provide our community with an objective analysis of our students' academic performance trends. Drawing from multiple measures, the presentation will include an analysis of learning loss over the course of the pandemic, our district’s performances relative to the rest of the state and peer schools, and a report of the results of our recent student climate survey. The Address will conclude with commentary about areas of strength and opportunities for improvement, as well as recommendations for how parents can support their students in our schools. After the presentation, participants will be invited to ask questions and engage in conversation with the district administrative team. The address will be held virtually on Zoom, and streamed and recorded via Youtube. The links for the meeting will be posted to the website and distributed by email on Monday.
The 2023-24 district calendar has been approved and released.
Please note that after a careful review by administrators, faculty, and Board members, the district has decided to build its future calendars in a more traditional format than in recent years. This includes scheduling vacation times in alignment with other nearby districts, not holding school on Federal holidays, and waiting until September to begin the new school year. Although this will reduce the instructional time that students will experience prior to taking standardized tests in the spring, we believe that these traditional formats will enable families to spend more time together when schools are not in session.
Any unused 2022-23 snow days will be returned to extend the Memorial Day weekend.
As you may know, the district has not yet used any of its three allocated snow days for the current year. If the district continues to have unused snow days as of March 31, we will notify parents which days of school in May/June will be cancelled.
The 2022-23 Parent Climate Surveys were recently distributed.
MPS parents should have received one unique survey link per child by email. These emails were sent to the parent listed as “Guardian 1” in Genesis. If your family would like a second set of surveys sent to a parent listed as “Guardian 2”, please make that request to John LaPierre at lapierrej@madisonnjps.org. The schools and the district will use the data from these surveys to evaluate our effectiveness and target areas where we may improve our service to students and families.
Our recent Superintendent Coffee provided information about Star Assessments and the Madison Tiered System of Supports.
You can access the recordings and presentations from prior coffees on the district website.
Madison Public Schools is hosting another hiring event for teacher assistants and substitute teacher candidates on March 15.
If you or someone you know is interested in an opportunity to work with students and become a part of our school community, please consider the important work of teacher assistants, and substitute teachers. Our school district is in immediate need of reliable individuals to serve in these critical capacities. If you would like to learn more about joining our team in support of students as a substitute teacher or teacher assistant, please contact Executive Secretary Patti Cleary at clearyp@madisonnjps.org.
MPS is also in need of bus drivers and substitute bus drivers.
If you or someone you know holds a commercial driver’s license (CDL), or is interested in earning their CDL, we would enjoy an opportunity to discuss our need for bus drivers and how you may be able to help us. Please contact Transportation Secretary Andrea Tsimboukis at tsimboukisa@madisonnjps.org to learn more.
Thank you for taking the time to read all of these important updates. I hope to see you on Monday night!
Sincerely, Mark Schwarz
Superintendent of Madison Public Schools
Upcoming Events - To sync events to your personal calendar, select an event on our website calendar and use the “Add to calendar” button on the right.
Feb 27 - Superintendent Coffee - State of the Schools Address
Feb 28 - Board of Education Meeting
Feb 20-21 - NO SCHOOL - Presidents’ Day & Staff Professional Development
March 13 - Superintendent Coffee
March 14 - Board of Education Meeting - Initial Budget Approval
Mar 20-24 - NO SCHOOL - Spring Break
April 3-4 - Parent Teacher Conferences
April 7 - NO SCHOOL - Good Friday
April 17 - Superintendent Coffee
April 18 - Board of Education Meeting - Final Budget Hearing and Adoption
May 2 - Board of Education Meeting - Special Meeting for Personnel Matters
May 22 - Superintendent Coffee
May 23 - Board of Education Meeting
May 26-30 - NO SCHOOL - Memorial Day & Staff Professional Development
June 14 - Last day of school
June 20 - Board of Education Meeting
June 21 - Superintendent Coffee (rescheduled in observance of Juneteenth)
KEEP MADISON SAFE! If you see something, say something:
For emergencies and immediate threats, call 911
For all other health, safety, and welfare concerns, report anonymously using the “RSVP-3 Morris County, NJ” app
For child abuse, call 877-NJ ABUSE, or 1-877-652-2873
For bullying concerns, contact your child’s teacher, guidance counselor, or principal.
Together we are Madison Strong.