The Evesham Township Board of Education commended district staff for its efforts during summer programs and cited new staff hires at its August meeting.
School Superintendent Dr. Justin Smith said as the new school year approaches, the board and district staff are prepared and eager for students’ return from summer break.
“Roughly three weeks from today is the first day of school for the 2022-’23 school year,” he remarked. ”We are so excited for that first day, which is like our true New Year’s Day (to welcome) all of our students back.”
Smith cited district staff for their efforts in preparing schools and students for their first day. But he also noted an increase in students who attended the district’s summer programs this year and the staff response to that..
“Before we move on from summer, (here were) a few highlights,” he said. “First, I would like to thank all the staff who worked to provide summer programming and prepare for the coming year. (There were) 846 students who participated in our summer programs.
“(That is) an all-time high (for the district and tops) the previous record of 682 students, which was set last summer,” Smith added.
The superintendent expressed gratitude to the district staff for ensuring the programs were operated efficiently despite the workload increase.
“Many of the staff contribute to make these summer educational supports possible, and I’d like to thank each and every staff member who gave their time and talent in this way – in particular, (I’d like to thank) our administrators who supervise and set up the programs,” he said.
This year has been a busy one for new hires in the district. The superintendent commended personnel staff for managing that increase, and also elaborated on the staff’s growth going into the new school year.
“Our further summer highlight is the work of our personnel department and other staff in what has amounted to be the busiest summer of personnel changes ever, ” Smith noted. “In a typical year, we see about 140 hirings combined; that’s (for) an entire year.
“This summer we’ve already processed 125 (new-hires); 102 are non-certificated (personnel) and 23 are certificated,” he added. “Less than two months into the school year, we’re already where we’d typically be in about 12 months.”
The board congratulated the Marlton Reds 10U boys baseball team on its recent win at the Cal Ripken World Series Championship in Indiana. The national competition took place Aug. 4 through 14. Smith announced there will be a special presentation for the team at next month’s board meeting.
“(The team went) undefeated (in the competition) to become the number one 10-year-old team in the country,” he noted. “We will be inviting them to our September board meeting to be recognized. So for any families involved (with the championship team), you’ll get a letter soon (about next month’s presentation).”
The next board meeting is scheduled for Thursday, Sept. 22, at DeMasi Middle School.
