Curriculum Insights

We made it! The 2024-2025 school year has come to a close, and what a year it has been! Our students have accomplished so many wonderful things, and we couldn’t be more proud of their hard work, perseverance, and growth. From classroom achievements to special celebrations, field trips, field days, and community events—our schools have been buzzing with energy and excitement.

This year has truly been filled with moments of joy, connection, and learning that we will carry with us for years to come. As we reflect on all that we've accomplished together, we celebrate each and every one of our students for the incredible milestones they’ve reached.

As we look ahead to summer, we encourage our students to take a moment to relax and enjoy the beauty around them. Remember the words of this summer: “Catch fireflies, swim the seas, live the stories you’ll tell for years.”

Enjoy your summer, and we’ll see you soon!

Cheryl Cuddihy, Ed.D.

Director of Curriculum & Instruction

Looking for some fun things to do this summer? Visit our Summer Learning 2025 website to find some ideas. Rainy days? No worries - we have you covered!

For the second consecutive year, AVID Elective students had the exciting opportunity to visit some of New York City's premier institutions: Mount Sinai’s Center for Advanced Genomics Technology and the Genomics Core Facility, as well as Columbia University’s Research Lab of Pharmaceutical Science.

Thanks to our wonderful community partner, STEAMpark, who helped establish this connection last year, this visit has now become a cherished tradition. Students had the chance to explore these prestigious facilities and engage directly with professionals in the field.

Opportunities like these are invaluable, offering students a firsthand look at the many career paths they can pursue in the future.

The Basie continues to connect our schools to the most talented performers -- the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra. Join our staff and students as they open for the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra on June 18th at Marine Park. Mrs. Boehm, Dr. Petillo, and Mr. Swinchoski will be there along with some of our RBMS musicians. They start their portion of the concert at 6:00 pm and the NJSO follows at 7:00 pm. Hope to see you there!

This year, the New Jersey Department of Education (NJDOE) launched a new initiative under the Learning Equity and Academic Recovery (LEAR) department, aimed at "reshaping literacy instruction and advancing academic equity across New Jersey." In accordance with the legislation (P.L. 2024, c. 52), "the NJDOE is pleased to announce the release of the New Jersey Literacy Framework: A Guide to Evidence-Based Literacy Practices & Universal Screeners, alongside a mandate for schools to inform parents about their child’s literacy screenings."

This past fall, we implemented DIBELS-8 as our screener in Grades K-3 and in September we will begin formally sharing results of these screeners with parents via our LinkIt! Parent Portal (also set to launch in the 25-26 school year). Stay tuned for more information. In the meantime, we encourage you to explore the LEAR website for valuable insights into best practices for literacy education.

After conducting a comprehensive pilot of both Wit & Wisdom and Arts & Letters from Great Minds, the district has officially adopted the Arts & Letters program as our primary resource for Tier 1 (whole-class) literacy instruction in Grades K-3. We are thrilled to implement this knowledge-building curriculum, which will promote equity across the district by utilizing grade-level or above-grade-level core texts, typically linked to major concepts in science or social studies.

Additionally, we have restructured our schedule to provide more read-aloud opportunities beyond the topics covered in Tier 1, as well as increased access to Tier 2 (small group) reading experiences. These will include a range of decodable texts, media, book clubs, chapter books, and informational texts. Instruction in Fundations will continue as part of our literacy program.

Writing will be integrated throughout each module. However, we also plan to offer dedicated "flex units" that will allow students to engage in creative and self-directed writing experiences, spanning various content areas throughout the year. Families will be invited to attend curriculum events this fall, where we will share more about our best practices in literacy instruction.

Atlas serves as the online vehicle for the Red Bank Borough Public School’s curriculum mapping. Curriculum mapping is a calendar-based method of organizing and planning what is happening in district courses at specific points in the school year. Curricula are developed chronologically so teachers can plan interdisciplinary units with their colleagues.

When visiting the website, click All Curriculum in the upper left-hand corner and then All Courses. That link leads to a page where you can filter all curriculum guides in all content areas from Kindergarten through Grade 8. The foundation of all curricula are the NJ Student Learning Standards. These guides are “living documents” that evolve throughout the year.