Letter to the Editor: Welcome Back to School, From the Middletown Superintendent

To the Middletown School Community,

I would like to welcome you back for our new school year. I hope each of you had time to relax and enjoy your families.

Although the summer seemed especially short this year, I am excited and proud of the extraordinary amount of work accomplished over the past two months. The renovations to our facilities are progressing on schedule. The geothermal work at Bayshore Middle School and High School South was completed and five of our buildings received new roofs: High School South, Lincroft, Ocean Avenue, Thompson and Thorne. By the end of next summer, all seventeen of our schools will have undergone major renovations.

The summer enrichment and extended school year programs were a great success. 1,965 students participated in the enrichment and remedial classes and 238 students attended the extended school year program. I personally visited
these programs as much as possible and was impressed by the quality of the instruction and the excitement and achievement of our students. We have added additional staff to address class sizes for regular and special education students for the new school year. During the past year, our teachers and administrators have implemented an elementary language arts adoption, completed 74 curriculum guides to update or write new curricula, and adopted a new elementary math program, GO Math, which is aligned to the Common Core State Standards and PARCC .

Much time, effort, and teamwork have helped us achieve the successes we have experienced in the past, and I expect that the coming school year will be no exception. I have begun to celebrate the outstanding, innovative teachers and student achievement in our district using social media and invite you to follow me on Twitter at https://twitter.com/DrGeorge_MTPS. You will see pictures in real time of students actively engaged in learning. Each time I have the opportunity to visit our schools, I am proud and excited about the efforts of the staff who work so hard on behalf of our school community.

As we prepare to open school tomorrow, I would like to thank our administrators, facilities staff, custodians, and secretaries who have worked diligently to welcome back our teachers and students. I encourage parents to stay actively involved and assist your children in the decision-making process; teach them to be accountable and proactive in the choices they make. Please work with your child’s principal and teachers, and continue to be our partner in your child’s educational journey. We look forward to a year filled with learning, growth, achievement, and great experiences for our school community.

Sincerely,

William O. George III, Ed. D.
Superintendent of Schools