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Board approves curriculum, comprehensive equity plan and multiple teacher contracts
Summary
The board approved the Pre‑K–5 curriculum aligned to New Jersey Student Learning Standards, a revised 2025–26 calendar correction, the comprehensive equity plan and several teacher contracts and substitutes; one abstention was recorded on a hiring item.
The Collingswood Public School District Board of Education approved multiple curriculum and personnel items for the 2025–26 school year, including a Pre‑K–5 curriculum aligned to the New Jersey Student Learning Standards, a corrected 2025–26 calendar entry for middle‑school drop‑off time, the district’s comprehensive equity plan and virtual emergency closure plans.
The curriculum package (item 11.01) lists course materials for preschool and elementary grades and crosswalks for modified curricula; the board approved the materials as presented. Committee members also approved a contract with the New Jersey Commission for the Blind and Visually Impaired to provide services for identified students for the 2025–26 year, and they approved multiple new staff contracts: resource and classroom teacher hires (Caitlin Lynch, Ashley Guarino, Samantha Koshy, Carly McMenamin and others listed on the agenda), a prorated hire for Jennifer Obeda beginning Jan. 1, and a slate of substitutes, tutors and voluntary staff transfers.
Instructional updates discussed in committee included a new fourth‑grade departmentalization pilot (one teacher focusing on reading, another on math) and an expansion of the NWEA MAP benchmark assessments for reading in addition to math; the committee said benchmark data will be available in winter well before state testing.
On the vote, the board approved items 11.01–11.15. The record shows one abstention on item 11.14 (a substitute/tutor approval) by a board member who noted that abstention at roll call.
Why it matters: Approvals finalize curriculum and staffing for the coming year and authorize contracts that deliver specialized supports. The move to departmentalize fourth grade and expand benchmark screening reflects instructional adjustments the district says contributed to recent gains in math.
