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Rockaway Township schools report smooth opening, highlight social-emotional learning and summer facility upgrades
Summary
Superintendent Richard Corbett told the Rockaway Township Board of Education the 2025–26 school year opened smoothly, praised staff and students and summarized student-safety data and district summer facilities and technology work.
Superintendent Richard Corbett told the Rockaway Township Board of Education on Sept. 2 that the 2025–26 school year opened “extremely well,” with “99.9% happy smiles” among students and staff and no transportation complaints reported.
Corbett said the district is emphasizing social-emotional learning (SEL), character development and screening tools. “We have really seen over the years an incredible increase in their emotional maturity and in their abilities to deal with issues, both in the playground and in the classroom,” Corbett said. He noted the district is using I-Ready literacy tasks as an important tool to screen students in grades K–6 for dyslexia.
Corbett also presented the district’s Student Safety Data System (SSDS) summary for Jan. 1–June 30, 2025, by school. He read totals from the SSDS rows: for example, Copeland had multiple incidents listed including violent incidents and removals; Birchwood, Stony Brook and several schools reported zeros in categories such as vandalism, substance or weapons but small counts in other columns. Corbett said the SSDS table he displayed was the district’s formal report for that period.
Business Administrator Miss Slam summarized major summer projects completed before the school year. She said districtwide flooring work included new tile and carpet in multiple buildings, window replacements and installation of uniform air-conditioning units at KDM, updated phone and copier systems, a new time-clock scanning system and technology refreshes including interactive boards and Chromebooks. “When we return, the students have what they need, the teachers have what they need,” she told the board.
Corbett and staff also announced back-to-school-night dates for each building and said administrative and PTA planning events took place over August. Corbett thanked the Rockaway Township Police Department for traffic/safety support during the first days of school.
The superintendent closed by saying he looks forward to working with staff to “ensure another successful school year.”
