F R E E H O L D R E G I O N A L H I G H S C H O O L D I S T R I C T Season2 0 1 4 A2003N N U A L R E P O R T T O T H E C O M M U N I T Y 2XU6FKRROV A Diverse Community of 11,600 Students and 1,500 Professional Staff Colts Neck High School Colts Neck High School unveiled a new Veterans Memorial Garden. 59 Five Points Road, Colts Neck, NJ 07722 NJROTC Cadet Daniel (732) 761 - 0190 Elice designed the space Freehold High School 2 Robertsville Road, Freehold, NJ 07728 Freehold High School Principal (732) 431 - 8360 Linda Jewell accepts the 2013- 2014 Freehold Regional High Freehold Township High School School District State of the 281 Elton Adelphia Road, Freehold, NJ 07728 Schools Spirit Award (732) 431 - 8460 Howell High School Freehold Township High 405 Squankum-Yellowbrook Road, Farmingdale, NJ 07727 School’s field hockey team wins the 2014 Central Jersey (732) 919 - 2131 Group IV Championship Manalapan High School 20 Church Lane, Englishtown, NJ 07726 (732) 792 - 7200 Howell High School’s wrestling team celebrates Marlboro High School their victory as the 2013- 95 North Main Street, Marlboro, NJ 07746 2014 Central Jersey Group IV Champions (732) 617 - 8393 Central Administration 11 Pine Street, Englishtown, NJ 07726 Manalapan High School’s Save (732) 792 - 7300 a Brave Club won first place in the UGotBrains competition Who We Serve sponsored by the Brain Injury Alliance of New Jersey Colts Neck Township, Englishtown Borough, Farmingdale Borough, Freehold Borough, Freehold Township, Howell Township, Manalapan Township and Marlboro Township Freehold Regional High School District Mission Marlboro High School students visited the New The schools of the Freehold Regional High School District form a diverse and supportive community offering innovative and York Stock Exchange comprehensive programs that inspire students to maximize their potential, preparing them to navigate an evolving global society. 2 From Our Superintendent It is hard to recognize all the fantastic accomplishments seen last year in the Freehold Regional High School District (FRHSD) in the limited pages of this report. The FRHSD continues to serve as a lighthouse district for school districts in providing the highest quality educational experience for students. We are now in year three of our Strategic Plan, also known as Compass, and continue to implement new practices and policies to best serve our students. Among the many accolades that the FRHSD has received over the past several years, I enjoyed the opportunity to represent our district at President Obama’s ConnectEd Summit at the White House back in November. This summit brought together superintendents from across the country who had moved their districts forward in the transition to digital learning. The old paradigms--traditional classroom settings, isolated and disconnected discipline-specific conversations, and lecture-based linear learning--no longer suffice. Today’s and certainly tomorrow’s problems demand that we use technology to connect students to one another and the larger world in more profound ways. Most importantly, the trappings of the industrial age are finally melting away, giving rise to the development of tools that allow students to pursue their passions and educators to provide a more personalized educational path. The FRHSD’s Workplace Training Program earned recognition by the New Jersey School Boards Association as a part of their 2014 Innovations in Special Education Awards. The awards program recognizes exemplary programs in special education. The award-winning FRHSD Workplace Training Program offers eligible students exceptional transitional services that emphasize functional academics, career exploration, and life skills development. The program closely links school-based classroom instruction with community-based workplace training to help prepare students for life beyond high school. The 2014 Innovations in Special Education Award is one of four consecutive Program of the Year awards bestowed upon the FRHSD in various categories by the New Jersey School Boards Association. For the fourth year we were placed on the annual AP® District Honor Roll. This award recognizes districts who have increased access to AP course work while simultaneously maintaining the percentage of students earning scores of 3 or higher on AP Exams. Since 2012, FRHSD has dramatically increased the number of students participating in AP classes while maintaining the number of students earning AP Exam scores of 3 or higher. While there were many successes this past year, we continue to look for ways to improve the educational experience for all of our students. I look forward to another exciting school year of teaching, learning, and extraordinary student accomplishment. Warmest regards, Charles Sampson Charles Sampson, Superintendent of Schools 3 2 )5+6'6FKRROV ,QQRYDWLYH &RPSUHKHQVLYH3URJUDPV Comprehensive Educational Program The Freehold Regional High School District offers a variety of programs to allow students to reach their highest academic potential and prepare them for success in achieving their postsecondary goals. Learning Centers and Academies Our Learning Center and Academy programs continue to provide opportunities for students to engage in academic study related to their individual interests and abilities. We offer twelve magnet programs focused on particular topics, ranging from humanities and law to medical sciences and engineering. By joining one of these unique learning communities within our six high schools, students have access to advanced level courses, including Advanced Placement and college level classes. Students also engage in real-world activities with recognized experts in fields related to each program. Students in these programs distinguish themselves on the national and global stages. They earn millions in scholarships, place at the highest levels in competitions, and attend the nation’s best colleges, universities, and trade schools. Competition to enter our learning centers and academies is quite high. This year, 1,168 eighth graders applied to our Learning Centers and Academies. Special Services The Freehold Regional High School District is committed to the principles established by both the Individuals with Disabilities Educational Improvement Act (IDEIA) and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) as these acts support the educational experiences of students. FRHSD offers a continuum of program options and specialized services to meet the social, emotional, and educational needs of students with disabilities within the least restrictive environment. Each of the high schools offer special programs designed to accommodate individual student needs, talents, and interests. Knowledgeable and caring professionals are hired and trained to support our diverse student population, to enable students to reach their full potential. Our high schools’ child study teams, related service specialists, guidance counselors, and teachers plan collaboratively with students and families to pursue students’ short and long-term academic and career goals. Transition planning and goal setting are essential to a student’s program plan and are realized through educational and post -secondary planning activities throughout their high school career. Guidance & Counseling Services The Freehold Regional High School District’s school counseling staff members provide quality comprehensive services to students throughout their high school career. Our professional staff offer and coordinate multiple programs and activities that address the unique developmental as well as emergent needs of each student. The department’s initiatives, programs and activities highlighted include: Counseling Curriculum: The counseling curriculum contains structured developmental lessons designed to assist students in achieving the desired competencies and to provide all students with the knowledge and skills appropriate for their developmental level. The counseling curriculum is infused throughout the school’s overall curriculum and is presented systematically through classroom and group activities. Individual Student Planning: School counselors coordinate ongoing activities designed to assist students individually in establishing personal goals and in developing future plans. Responsive Services: The school counselors provide professional responsive services whenever they are necessary to address urgent student issues. These services include counseling, consultation, referral, or other supportive measures and are usually necessitated by life events or conditions that impact our students. Career Planning: School counselors initiate a series of learning experiences that foster career awareness, facilitate career planning, and develop career decision-making skills through the Family Connection component on Naviance. Counselors facilitate students’ career exploration activities including their completion of a comprehensive self-assessment, and interest and aptitude testing, as well as developing an individual career plan and choosing a post-secondary path. 4 0RYLQJ)RUZDUG $FFUHGLWDWLRQ Middle States Association of Colleges & Schools The Freehold Regional High School District is completing an important self-study which started in 2014 as the basis for system -wide accreditation by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools (MSA). The MSA, is a nonprofit, peer-administered organization and was established in 1887 as one of six regional accrediting organizations that together serve schools in the United States