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Board of Education Appoints Dr. Ronald Taylor New Superintendent of Schools

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Dr. Ron Taylor - Superintendent of School

It is with tremendous pleasure and excitement that the South Orange Maplewood Board of Education announces the appointment of Dr. Ronald Taylor as Superintendent of Schools, effective July 8, 2019.

Dr. Taylor was selected in a robust search process led by Dr. Bill Librera, our search consultant, from West Hudson Associates, which began in August 2018. The search included community meetings and a survey to craft a leadership profile, selection of candidates to be interviewed in a first round with the Board of Education, second round interviews with three finalists. Dr. Taylor emerged as the leading candidate, and subsequent in-depth interviews (including a conversation with the student representative to the Board), background and reference checks, and a site visit by two of the three Board officers confirmed the Board’s conviction that Dr. Taylor is the right educational leader for SOMSD.

Board of Education President Annemarie Maini said: “Dr. Taylor is an exceptional leader with extensive experience, proven results, and outstanding listening and communication skills. Throughout the search process, the Board focused on finding an educational leader who is unwaveringly student-focused and has a track record of results which match our immediate and long-term needs. Dr. Taylor will be an asset to our community as we work to deliver on major initiatives including a $145+MM bond, a complete elementary reconfiguration, and continue to move our district toward deliberate monitoring and oversight using QSAC.”

Dr. Taylor started his career as a kindergarten teacher. He was an assistant principal, as well as an award-winning principal, before moving to a Regional Superintendent role in Newark.  He joined Willingboro as Superintendent eight years ago where his research-based, data-driven approach resulted in bringing academic and operational stability to Willingboro.

Dr. Taylor’s eight years of experience as the Superintendent of Willingboro have provided an excellent foundation for him to lead the work to address SOMSD’s current priorities:

  • Infrastructure: Successfully led the implementation and completion of a $67 Million facilities bond referendum under budget and ahead of schedule.
  • Schools Reconfiguration: Led successful implementation of reconfiguration of elementary schools.
  • Preschool Expansion: Facilitated the creation of two District Early Childhood Development Centers using $4+ Million in competitive grant funding.
  • QSAC Monitoring: Improved Willingboro’s performance by 55% points in Curriculum and Instruction and improved district operational processes.
  • Equity: “ Ron Taylor is serving as a strategist on the NJASA Equity for Students Committee because of his courageous and effective efforts in addressing student equity matters in his School District” according to Dr. Kathleen Taylor (no relation) on behalf of the NJASA Equity for Students Committee. At Willingboro, he successfully implemented student Chromebook “1 to 1” initiative grades 3rd-12th.

More information about his experience in these and other areas is on his attached resume.

We invite the community to join us in welcoming Dr. Taylor to South Orange-Maplewood School District, and look forward to working together to build the infrastructure, systems and educational program which will help all of our students master the skills and knowledge they need to be successful. Dr. Ficarra, the Senior Leaders of Central Office, and the Board of Education are committed to ensuring a smooth transition to our new leadership.

We will be organizing a series of meet and greets between the Superintendent and community members to begin to build relationships and understanding.  The first of these will take place on Tuesday, April 30, 2019 at 7pm in the CHS Library.

ESS & I-STEP

ESS & I-STEP

In School Therapeutic Education Program (I-STEP)

ISTEP (In School Therapeutic Education Program) is a new program at Maplewood Middle School that provides individual, group, and family counseling to students with significant social, emotional, and/or behavioral issues, in addition to providing consultation to and collaboration with staff members working with the student.

SchoolCoordinatorEmailPhone
Maplewood Middle SchoolMs. Amy Pituccoapitucco@nullsomsd.k12.nj.us(973) 378 - 7660 x 3021
South Orange Middle SchoolMr. Michael Zarabimzarabi@nullsomsd.k12.nj.us(973) 378 - 2772 x 2135

Anxiety and Classroom Behavior

Anxiety is often the cause of student behavioral issues.

Some symptoms of anxiety in the classroom include a student becoming easily frustrated, complaining of physical pain, exhibiting fear, being easily upset by making mistakes, crying, having difficulty completing work, being inflexible, and acting irritable. Students with anxiety often complain of being exhausted toward the end of the day because they have been trying to manage their anxiety, in addition to completing schoolwork, for the entire day.

Anxiety related behavior can appear to be erratic and unpredictable, since they teacher is not typically aware of the student's level of internal anxiety. For example, on a day when a student is feeling calm, he/she may be able to complete work without incident. On another day, when the student is already anxious, the same assignment may trigger an outburst. Although triggers can be unpredictable, the following are situations that typically trigger anxiety: Unstructured times, transitions, having writing demands, working in groups, when large projects are assigned, and unexpected changes to routine.

Students with anxiety benefit from working on skill development to manage symptoms. This typically occurs within a counseling setting, and skills can then be generalized to the classroom setting.

Accommodations To Address Anxiety In Your Classroom Include:

  • Providing movement breaks
  • Allowing student to take a time out in a safe place
  • Assisting student during transitions
  • Breaking down large assignments or multi-step directions into smaller units
  • Allowing student to use technology or scribe for writing assignments
  • Allowing student to take assessments in an alternate location
  • Allowing student extended time for work completion, especially after absences
  • Alerting student to upcoming changes in routine
  • Allowing student to work individually rather than in a group
  • Avoiding calling on a student if he/she does not volunteer
  • Avoiding criticism of the student

An important intervention is developing a personal relationship with the student so that he/she feels supported and safe.

Effective School Solutions (ESS)

The mission of Effective School Solutions is to provide high quality and cost-effective in-district clinical services for students with emotional and behavioral problems. The demand for specialized services for this population continues to grow, with out-of-district placements and other educational accommodations becoming a severe burden on school professionals and district budgets everywhere. We provide innovative clinical solutions for districts seeking to increase the quality of our in-district education for students with emotional and behavioral problems.

CoordinatorPhone
Elizabeth Kolodiy(973) 762 - 5600 x 1225
Vanessa Boykewick(973) 762 - 5600 x 1230
Julie Bennett(973) 762 - 5600 x 1217

The Wrap-Around Program offered at Columbia High School Includes:

  • Weekly individual therapy
  • Family therapy
  • Monthly evening Parent Support Groups
  • Daily group therapy, including a specialized curriculum to address issues such as substance abuse, anger management, and social skills
  • School refusal interventions, including home visits
  • Lunch with our staff to avoid the stress of unstructured time in the cafeteria
  • Study Skills class led by a district faculty member with ESS as an additional support staff.

Meeting Agendas (Archived)

BOE Meeting Agendas (Archived)

Meeting Agendas (Current)

2022 - 2023 BOE Meeting Agendas

Click on the link below for each meeting or visit:  https://somsd.schoolboard.net for all SOMSD public board meetings.

Board of Education

Board of Education

Responsibilities of the Board

The Board of Education is the governing body of the South Orange - Maplewood School District with responsibility for developing policy to ensure the proper care, management and control of District affairs. The Board consists of nine citizens elected at large by the voters of South Orange and Maplewood. Board members serve three year terms, with three members of the Board subject to election each year.

In addition to setting policy, the Board hires the superintendent; approves staff hirings, transfers, resignations, terminations, and leaves of absence; approves expenditures; approves educational programs (curriculum); and otherwise ensures that the facilities and equipment are available to support learning and teaching in the District. The Board also approves the budget for the School District. However, the tax levy is approved by a separate entity, the Board of School Estimate, which is comprised of three members of the Village Trustees of South Orange, three members of the Township Committee of Maplewood and two members of the Board of Education.

Every year in January the Board holds an organization meeting to elect officers (President and two Vice-Presidents), appoint committees and settle other routine business. There are four standing committees -- Curriculum and Instruction (C&I), Finance, Facilities, & Technology (FFT), Personnel and Policy -- that meet monthly to study specific issues and work on special projects as assigned by the Board, and make recommendations to the the Board as a whole.

Board Meetings

The Board meets on the third Monday of each month, except when precluded by a holiday. The Board, from time to time, will add additional meetings. Public sessions of all meetings of the Board are held at the Board Administration building, located at 525 Academy Street in Maplewood, and convene at 7:30 PM.

Public Participation at Board Meetings

The public is welcome to attend School Board meetings, workshops and public feedback sessions. Members of the public may participate in regular School Board meetings in the following ways:

  1. Hearings of Individuals and Delegations. The Board provides two periods during a regularly scheduled meeting at which members of the public may address the Board about an issue of concern, whether or not the item is on the agenda. The first period is at the beginning of a meeting. Individuals are asked to sign up to address the Board prior to the commencement of the meeting. Speakers are asked to identify themselves and their topic of interest before beginning their comments and may speak for a period of three minutes. The initial period of Hearings of Individuals and Delegations, by Board policy, extends for a maximum of 45 minutes. The second period for Hearings of Individuals and Delegations occurs at the end of the meeting, after New Business. The same procedures and three minute time limit per speaker, as with the initial Hearings of Individuals and Delegations, apply here.
  2. Presentations. Members of the public may submit a written request to the Board Secretary at least 7 days prior to a regularly scheduled Board meeting asking for an opportunity to address the Board.

The request is to specify the topic of the presentation and the purpose for the request. After reviewing the request, the President of the Board will schedule a time for the presentation. A presentation of this type is limited to the maximum of 15 minutes. A copy of any written material associated with the presentation are to be delivered to the Board Secretary by the Thursday prior to the presentation for distribution to the Board.

Other Methods of Communicating with the Board

A member of the community also may communicate with the Board by writing to the members of the Board and/or the superintendent care of the Board Administration Building or via email at boemembers@nullsomsd.k12.nj.us. As always your input is welcome.

In addition, should a community member wish to contact a specific Board member, they can be reached at the board member's individual district email address. This information can be found on the current board members page.

Board of Education

Board of Education

Responsibilities of the Board

The Board of Education is the governing body of the South Orange - Maplewood School District with responsibility for developing policy to ensure the proper care, management and control of District affairs. The Board consists of nine citizens elected at large by the voters of South Orange and Maplewood. Board members serve three year terms, with three members of the Board subject to election each year.

In addition to setting policy, the Board hires the superintendent; approves staff hirings, transfers, resignations, terminations, and leaves of absence; approves expenditures; approves educational programs (curriculum); and otherwise ensures that the facilities and equipment are available to support learning and teaching in the District. The Board also approves the budget for the School District. However, the tax levy is approved by a separate entity, the Board of School Estimate, which is comprised of three members of the Village Trustees of South Orange, three members of the Township Committee of Maplewood and two members of the Board of Education.

Every year in January the Board holds an organization meeting to elect officers (President and two Vice-Presidents), appoint committees and settle other routine business. There are three standing committees -- Curriculum and Instruction (C&I), Finance, Facilities, & Technology (FFT), and Personnel -- that meet monthly to study specific issues and work on special projects as assigned by the Board, and make recommendations to the the Board as a whole.

Board Meetings

The Board meets on the third Monday of each month, except when precluded by a holiday. The Board, from time to time, will add additional meetings. Public sessions of all meetings of the Board are held at the Board Administration building, located at 525 Academy Street in Maplewood, and convene at 7:30 PM.

Public Participation at Board Meetings

The public is welcome to attend School Board meetings, workshops and public feedback sessions. Members of the public may participate in regular School Board meetings in the following ways:

  1. Hearings of Individuals and Delegations. The Board provides two periods during a regularly scheduled meeting at which members of the public may address the Board about an issue of concern, whether or not the item is on the agenda. The first period is at the beginning of a meeting. Individuals are asked to sign up to address the Board prior to the commencement of the meeting. Speakers are asked to identify themselves and their topic of interest before beginning their comments and may speak for a period of three minutes. The initial period of Hearings of Individuals and Delegations, by Board policy, extends for a maximum of 45 minutes. The second period for Hearings of Individuals and Delegations occurs at the end of the meeting, after New Business. The same procedures and three minute time limit per speaker, as with the initial Hearings of Individuals and Delegations, apply here.
  2. Presentations. Members of the public may submit a written request to the Board Secretary at least 7 days prior to a regularly scheduled Board meeting asking for an opportunity to address the Board.

The request is to specify the topic of the presentation and the purpose for the request. After reviewing the request, the President of the Board will schedule a time for the presentation. A presentation of this type is limited to the maximum of 15 minutes. A copy of any written material associated with the presentation are to be delivered to the Board Secretary by the Thursday prior to the presentation for distribution to the Board.

Other Methods of Communicating with the Board

A member of the community also may communicate with the Board by writing to the members of the Board and/or the superintendent care of the Board Administration Building or via email at boemembers@nullsomsd.k12.nj.us. As always your input is welcome.

In addition, should a community member wish to contact a specific Board member, they can be reached at the board member's individual district email address. This information can be found on the current board members page.

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