As of submission, the Board is still a week away from our scheduled May 1 Public Budget Meeting. I will recap the budget in the June edition. In the meantime, this month’s column will focus on highlighting student achievements and our tremendous workforce.
In March and April, our three high schools and five middle schools collectively inducted exactly 400 students into the National Honor Society and National Junior Honor Society. The two national societies set eligibility standards to be met by students in categories such as character, citizenship, leadership, scholarship, and service. I applaud all honorees and their families on their hard-earned recognition.
At our April meeting, the Board recognized students across the district for a variety of achievements, including but not limited to four students from JFK Memorial High School Future Business Leaders of America club who received honors at the State Leadership Conference in Atlantic City, four students from Colonia High School and three students from Woodbridge High School presented their research and received awards at the Terra North Jersey Science Fair. In athletics, for the second year in a row, the JFK Memorial High School Competition Cheerleading Team captured the 2025 New Jersey Cheerleading and Dance Coaches Association (NJCDCA) State Championship. Congratulations all!
Nationally, April and early May is a special time of year as we thank our paraprofessionals (April 3), school bus drivers (April 22), administrative professionals (April 23), teachers (May 6), and school nurses (May 7). Please join me in extending our appreciation for these frontline workers who serve our students, families and schools in numerous tangible and intangible ways.
It has become apparent that there is a current national teacher shortage that will persist for years to come. At the state level, numerous efforts are underway to systematically make the profession more sustainable for those currently working as well as attract the next generation.
One way that our readers and parents of our current students can help is by talking to your children or grandchildren about the profession. Our next generation of teachers are literally sitting in our classrooms right now and our high school students are pondering what they want to do for a living and what major they should declare in college. New Jersey recently launched a website to help prospective teachers learn about what’s needed to become a teacher as well as resources to ask questions. Visit www.nj.gov/education/teachinspire.shtml to learn more.
Make no mistake, the profession is challenging but rewarding. Teachers teach the practitioners of all other professions thus the profession remains an indispensable occupation that artificial intelligence is unlikely to ever replace. On the compensation side, New Jersey’s teachers are paid the 8th highest in the US. New Jersey’s public school teachers receive comprehensive healthcare benefits as well as enrollment in the state’s Teachers’ Pension and Annuity Fund (TPAF), a defined-benefit pension that the private sector has all but abandoned in favor of more volatile 401K-style retirement plans. Public school teachers benefit from job protections afforded by tenure and robust union representation. Finally, the profession remains an attractive occupation that fits the family schedule—day hours while the kids are in school and seasonal recesses to ‘recharge the batteries’.
If contemplating the profession, who better to ask than your current teacher or principal. Don’t know where to start, the subject areas that school districts like ours compete the hardest for are as follows: mathematics, computer science, the hard sciences of chemistry and physics, special education and world languages such as Spanish and Chinese.
Thank you to the public and district students, staff and Board members for supporting the district’s Prom Dress Giveaway on March 19. In total, 70 beautiful dresses made their way into the hands of deserving students. Paying for prom can be expensive for students and families so efforts like these make that special night just a little bit easier.
Kindergarten registration for the 2025-2026 school year is now open and the application can be found exclusively online at www.woodbridge.k12.nj.us/page/student-registration. The district encourages families to register as soon as possible. Please spread the word.
Since the district did not use any of its three built-in inclement weather days this year, I remind parents to mark their calendar that all schools with now be closed on the following days: Friday, May 23, Tuesday, May 27 and Monday, June 9. The Board will hold its next regular meeting on Thursday, May 8 at 6:00 PM. The Board will meet in the gymnasium of the Ross Street Elementary School #11, 110 Ross Street, Woodbridge.
Should you ever require my assistance, I welcome your input at one of our monthly Board of Education meetings. You can also e-mail the full board at board@woodbridge.k12.nj.us or call the Board Secretary’s office at 732-602-8536.