Education

Reposted from the Hillsborough Township Public Schools website:

Ed. NOTE: the window to apply and attend this effort has now closed.

"The Hillsborough Township Public Schools are engaging in the development of a new five year Strategic Plan. Strategic planning is the process of setting goals and creating a blueprint of a shared vision for an organization's future. One of our first steps will be to engage with a series of Focus Groups on October 4th and 5th.

We are hoping that you would consider being  a part of this opportunity!  (Note: Any Hillsborough community member may apply to be a focus group member. Ed.) The deadline to apply is September 18.

Right now, a specific schedule of times for October 4th and 5th has not yet been set. If you would be interested in participating in a Focus Group, please fill out the form below. Focus Groups will contain approximately 15-20 members.  

Education Summary

The first town-wide One Hillsborough community conversation was held on 20th of January 2023 at the Hillsborough municipal building, in remembrance of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Listed below is the excerpt related to Education. The full report covering all topics and Post-It boards in pdf format is also  available for download.

Going well

Teachers

• Support by teachers, not limited to the classroom Creative, involved teachers

Students

• Student activism
• More interest in diversity overall

Diversity

• Some more diverse teachers
• Lots of new books and stories reflecting diversity

Schools and Administration

• Excellent administration and faculty
• Food good in elementary school
• More recognition and response to diversity

Needs improvement

Administration

• Lack of diversity at all levels of hiring: “not able to attract” diverse candidates
• Partisanship and political agendas undesirable in decision making process
• Lack of transparency and openness to ideas
• Lack of communication to families about curriculum and diversity

Curriculum

• Teaching cultural topics from a more diverse perspective (e.g. US History)
• Consider a more independent curriculum committee to approve curricula more reflective of diversity

Social environment

• Not enough attention to mental health
• Lack of students input on racism problem in schools
• Student behavior in hallways and teasing/harassment toward other students
• Support for “conservative” students

Questions

1. Have any books been banned in our district?
2. Has “CRT” been a contentious issue in our district?
3. Do special needs students have enough resources at the High School?

Full report

The Full report covering all topics and Post-It boards in pdf format is also available for download.

Night of Conversation 2023

Annually recurring event to promote mental wellness and provide tools for creating meaningful family dialogues.

To be held on Thursday March 30th, 2023 at the Hillsborough Municipal Building from 6–8 p.m.

Free and open to the public. Dinner provided!

The event is hosted by borosafe.org, a community collaborative with an aim to provide access to mental health resources, emotional well-being best practices and suicide prevention resources across the entire Hillsborough Community. Our cause is to proactively connect the community with resources surrounding mental health for all community members. Ensuring the entire community is able to work on their emotional wellbeing, no matter where on the mental health continuum they may fall.

Sponsored by the Hillsborough Education Association and Hillsborough Township.