The mission of the Lawnside School District is to educate our students, through mastery of the New Jersey Student Learning Standards(NJSLS), to become independent thinkers and problem solvers so they will be empowered to meet the challenges of and achieve success in tomorrow's emerging world community. The educational community will provide a safe, nurturing environment in which individual and civic responsibility is fostered and diversity is respected.

September 4th First Day of School for Students 8:00 am

September 10th: Open House (6:00 pm PTA/Club Sign Up/ 6:30 Title I Parent Meeting)

Please see the morning Drop Off and Afternoon Pick Up procedures along with a map of the dismissal doors below.

Dear Parents/Guardians:

Hopefully your child has had a safe and enjoyable Summer. Throughout the upcoming school year we look forward to continuing our commitment to addressing the academic and social needs of our students, and improving their educational outcomes. We’ve selected “Changing the Future” as our theme for this year. Everyone in the district and community must work collaboratively with the fundamental goal of ensuring the success of our children. The District is currently in “Comprehensive” status as defined by the New Jersey Department of Education. A Stakeholder Consultation Group has worked in collaboration with the Department of Education to develop our District School Plan. It is with this collaborative effort that we look forward to increased student success this upcoming school year.

The success of our children requires us to focus on both their academic and social development. The Stakeholder Consultation Group has developed the following goals for the Annual School Plan for the 2024-2025 school year:

Goal #1- By June 2025, 25% of students will show proficiency of grade level standards in ELA, by achieving a score of “Meets Expectations” as measured by the LinkIT benchmark assessment.

Goal #2- 90% of the staff will utilize the PBSIS goal of a 3:1 ratio of positive student/staff interaction.

Goal #3- By June 2025, 11.4% of students will show proficiency of grade level standards in Mathematics, by achieving a score of “Meets Expectations” as measured by the LinkIT benchmark assessment.

Goal #4- 50% of students will achieve a proficient score of 3 for grades 3-8 and a score of 2 for grades K-2 as measured by a common rubric by the end of the 2024-2025 school year.

To maximize your child’s abilities, we ask that you ensure their timely, daily attendance. We ask that parents have students report to school by 8:30 am daily. Doors to the school will open at 8:00 am daily. The first day for students will be Wednesday, September 4, 2024 and students will be dismissed at 12:45 pm. The first full day of school will be Thursday, September 5th. Student dismissal time is 3:10 p.m. daily. We ask that parents refrain from picking students up early unless in emergency situations.

Open House will be held on Tuesday, September 10, 2024 from 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm. PTA and After School Club sign ups will be from 6:00 pm - 6:30 pm, then there will be a Title I Parent Meeting in the All-Purpose Room at 6:30 pm. Parents will report to their child's classroom at approximately 6:55 pm. Middle School Parents will remain in the All-Purpose Room for a presentation by the Middle School Staff.

Public Hearing Announcement: Superintendent’s Contract

The Lawnside School District will be holding a Public Hearing regarding the Superintendent’s Contract on September 26, 2024, at 7:00 PM. The hearing will take place at:

Location:

Lawnside School District Board Conference Room

426 E. Charleston Avenue

Lawnside, NJ 08045

Parents/Guardians, please review the New Attendance Policy posted below. There are several notable changes including Saturday School for students with 5 unexcused absences within a marking period. Additionally, an accumulation of excessive absences throughout the school year will result in a referral to the local municipal court. Students must be in school daily by 8:30 am.

The Business Office extends warm greetings as the new school year approaches. Once the school year commences, your child will be bringing home a Free and Reduced Lunch Application. We kindly request your cooperation in completing and returning this form to the school.

We kindly urge every family to participate in this process, irrespective of their perception of eligibility. It's important to note that your school's funding is directly influenced by the number of applications submitted to the district. Put simply, a higher number of applications translates to increased funding for crucial programs. Thus, we strongly encourage you to take a moment to complete the application and have it returned to your child's teacher.

Thank you for your support in ensuring the success and enrichment of our school's programming. Your proactive involvement is greatly appreciated. Here's to a fantastic start to the upcoming school year!

Greetings Lawnside Families,

I hope all is well as we embark on another exciting academic year. As the Director of Curriculum and Instruction for the Lawnside Public School District it is my pleasure to welcome you to the 2024-2025 school year. We are truly excited for the school year, and achieving our district goals

Lawnside Public School District will launch the "Changing the Future" After School Program for the 2024-2025 school year. The program will serve as an extended learning day for students in grades Kindergarten-8th. The program will begin on Tuesday September 17, 2024, and will be held on Tuesday-Thursday, and will run from 3:30pm-4:30pm. If you are interested please complete the application that is below.

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfx2eYeA4fIMGfB662oK-mfd0mzoEBSWDs1DIwrIEFC3dmbSQ/viewform?usp=pp_url

September 3, 2024 from 2:00pm-3:00pm the district will host a new student orientation. Any students who are new to the district are invited to meet their teachers, and visit their classroom.

September 10, 2024 at 6:30pm in the all purpose room the district will host the Title I Parent Engagement Meeting. The topics for discussion will be the following:

-What is Title I?

-Academic Information

-Parents Right to Know

-Parent Engagement

-School-Parent Compact

All are welcome, and we encourage all families to attend. We need your continuous input if we want to have a successful school year.

Dear Parents and Guardians,

I hope this letter finds you and your family well and enjoying the last days of summer. As we prepare to embark on another exciting school year, I wanted to reach out and welcome you back to the Lawnside School District for the 2024-2025 school year. The staff in the Special Services Department are thrilled to have your children return to our classrooms and corridors, filling them with energy and enthusiasm for learning.

New This Year

We're excited to announce several new initiatives and improvements:

1. Our School Psychologist, Ms. Harris and School Social Worker, Ms. Harper will be providing all students in Lawnside with social emotional lessons in the classroom using the Satchel Pulse curriculum.

2. Preschool students will receive yoga class with Lawnside’s Instructional Assistant and Certified Yoga Instructor Ms. Brooks and Physical Education Teacher Ms. Picozzi.

3. Students in our multiple disabilities program will receive Life Skills/Community Based Instruction, and Social Skills classes.

4. We have added two new Special Education Teachers to our team.

Reminders

• If you need to make a referral to the Child Study Team please use this referral form.

• If you need to make a referral for a 504 Plan meeting please use this referral form.

• If you do not want your child to participate in social emotional lessons please complete this form.

Get Involved

We always welcome parent involvement! Here are a few ways you can participate:

• Join our Special Education Parent Advisory Group

• Become a Parent Lead for our Special Education Parent Advisory Group

We're looking forward to a productive and enjoyable school year. If you have any questions or concerns, please don't hesitate to contact Dr. Henderson at chenderson@lawnside.k12.nj.us.

Best regards,

Dr. Henderson

Director of Special Services

The Lawnside School District would like to welcome the following staff members to our school family:

Cheryl McCormick- PreK 3 & 4

Ashley Ortiz- 2nd Grade

Mariela Sarceno- 4th Grade

Amanda Murphy- 4th Grade

Kileyann Thronburg- Middle School Special Education Teacher

Kelly McLaughlin- K-5 Basic Skills Teacher

Mrs. Sabrina Forrest, Board President- sforrest@lawnside.k12.nj.us

Dr. Ronn Johnson, Superintendent- ronnjohnson@lawnside.k12.nj.us

Mrs. Karen Willis, School Business Administrator- kwillis@lawnside.k12.nj.us

Mr. Mark Gordon, Assistant School Business Administrator- mgordon@lawnside.k12.nj.us

Mrs. Alyssa Miller, Director of Curriculum & Instruction- amiller@lawnside.k12.nj.us

Dr. Carmen Henderson, Director of Special Services- chenderson@lawnside.k12.nj.us

Ms. Niphon Kirk, Assistant Principal- nkirk@lawnside.k12.nj.us

Ms. ShaNell Wilson, Technology Coordinator- swilson@lawnside.k12.nj.us