Times
MICROMEDIA PUBLICATIONS, INC.
T H E JAC K S O N
Vol. 16 - No. 46
Inside This Week’s Edition
Business Directory........................19 Community News......................8-10 Dear Joel.......................................23 Dear Pharmacist ...........................15 Fun Page ......................................20 Government ...................................7 Inside The Law .............................17 Letters to the Editor .........................6 Wolfgang .....................................23
Your Weekly Hometown Newspaper | Serving All of Jackson Township
Converting Legler Landfill For Solar Panel Site
By Jennifer Peacock JACKSON – The Township will be getting a new solar photovoltaic system soon, with the ground lease awarded to a company from Suffern, N.Y. who will also install the system on a former landfill. Council approved an agreement with HESP Solar to install the system at the Legler landfill site. HESP Solar was one of two bidders for the project, whose bids were received last year. While the hope was to award the bid last June, Business Administrator Helene Schlegel said the delay was simply due to needing the time to review the bids. “We had all this unusable land. You can’t build on it, turn it into a park. You can’t do anything with it. It was a perfect site for solar facility on the non-capped portion of the land, not the stuff that’s old
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April 16, 2016
Teacher Of The Year To Move To Vice Principal Spot
(Landfill - See Page 12)
OPT-OUT RATES SKEWING PARCC TEST RESULTS
By Jennifer Peacock JACKSON – Though some scores met or exceeded the state’s goals, many high school students especially did not meet nor exceed the state’s first year go a l s . Ja ck s o n school administrators unveiled the district’s Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) scores earlier this year. Superintendent Stephen Genco said the numbers were skewed based on a number of factors, including the opt-out rates at the high school. He said many Jackson Memorial and Liberty students, seeing their peers opt out, did not take the test as seriously as they should have. In Jackson, because of the high schools’ block scheduling, a number of students were not able to test in subjects they had completed. Those issues did not impact middle or elementary school classes, where opt-out rates were much lower.
First semester high school students have completed their PARCC tests by mid-January. Genco said much of the resistance has waned and most students participated this time around. A report issued Dec. 2, 2015, by t he N. J. St at e Board of Education said PARCC testing for block scheduled students began November 9 to little fanfare, and that most questions regarding the test were routine. Genco said he believes the PARCC scores will be higher next testing round. Administrators also stressed that the PARCC results are a baseline and cannot be compared to how students do on other assessments. Assistant Superintendent Nicole Pormilli said it will take three rounds of testing and scores to establish reliable data. Overall, high school students in both schools failed to meet or exceed the state’s literacy (PARCC - See Page 12)
Connect
With the
–Photo courtesy Micheal Saulnier Michael Saulnier, Jackson Schools’ teacher of the year, with his family. By Jennifer Peacock school’s and the district’s teacher Mike provides the necessary JACKSON – Michael Saulni- of the year. support to help students reach er, this year’s Jackson School “Michael Saulnier was chosen personal and academic goals.” District Teacher of the Year, as the Christa McAuliffe Teacher He’s proven helpful to stuwas lauded for his sincerity of the Year as well as the Jackson dents but also his colleagues, but also a willingness to assist School District Teacher of the said Phillips. with all kinds of support for Year. His commitment to children “Regarding his fellow colhis students – whether helping and their success both in and out leagues, Mike makes himself to implement technology or of the classroom is sincere, heart- available to assist teachers with simply building rapport. felt and unwavering,” McAuliffe their implementation of technolSaulnier, a teacher at Christa Principal Debra Phillips said. “He ogy in their daily classes and is McAuliffe, will move to a vice builds a rapport with his students a great collaborator for developprincipal spot at the school and is committed to their con- ing new teaching strategies and come June. He was named the tinued growth and development. (Teacher - See Page 4)
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