ORANGE TOWNSHIP PUBLIC SCHOOLS
ADMINISTRATION BUILDING

Ronald C. Lee

Superintendent of Schools

Dear Orange School District Community,

The 2012 -2013 school year holds much promise for the Orange Public School District. It began on a positive note, with our high school being designated as the 5th most improved high school in the state by New Jersey Monthly magazine.  We are very proud of students and staff at Orange High School and congratulate them for their hard work and perseverance. We look forward to continued improvements and know we are capable of achieving our goals.

We also kicked off the school year with a focused effort on the fathers in our community as part of our Calling All Men campaign. The campaign began with our participation in the Million Father March. Over 600 fathers joined the effort and walked their children to school on opening day. This event was followed by several initiatives aimed at bringing more of our fathers into our schools. We are focusing on fathers because research has shown that when fathers are involved in their children’s education, the children do better academically. Some of the fathers’ initiatives include a Fathers Reading Club, where fathers read to children at the various elementary schools on the last Friday of each month, the Fatherhood Football Fellowship, where fathers and their families gathered at Park Avenue School on designated Sundays during the football season and several more activities.

Along with these undertakings, we look forward to offering more programs for our students and their families. To this end, we are offering afterschool activities aimed at increasing student academic performance including robotics. We have implemented “Smart Labs” at Orange Preparatory Academy, Orange High School and Scholars Academy. These labs allow our students to delve into various Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics (STEAM) activities highlighted with sophisticated media applications. We are also partnering with various civic, philanthropic and municipal organizations to support all members of the Orange community. Organizations such as JP Morgan Chase, Rising Tide Capital, Movado, the City of Orange Township and institutions of higher learning including Montclair State University, Seton Hall University, Essex County College and Rutgers University are all engaged in supporting our school district.

We are proud of the many relationships we have available to assist our students and the community and the many changes that were made over the past year. In particular, we have expanded our district to include Scholars Academy, a school dedicated to supporting students’ talents and academic skills and Career and Innovation Academy of Orange for students requiring a more non-traditional scholastic environment. It is our intent to strengthen our vocational classes to provide all of our students the opportunity to prepare themselves for the 21st century workplace.   

We are fully committed to preparing students for life after high school. The district has upgraded its entire curriculum to accommodate new standards and technology updates critical to the presentation of information in the classroom. Further, to meet the new Common Core State Standards, adopted by the state of New Jersey, dedicated administrators and faculty were trained over the summer on the new curriculum benchmarks.  We are providing the professional development necessary for our staff and know that our students will be able to meet these new challenges.

We look forward to a productive school year and welcome the community to experience the many exciting offerings available to our students, staff and their families.

Regards,

Ronald C. Lee

Superintendent of Schools