Student council, Edcamp and parent coffees highlighted in superintendent’s report
Summary
Student council reported fall-sports results and Esports playoff qualification; the superintendent highlighted an elective expo, upcoming parent–superintendent coffees across schools, Heroes and Cool Kids mentoring, and a William Patterson apprenticeship partnership for paraprofessional hires.
Student council representative Jonathan Barbaresa updated the board on student life at Hawthorne High School, noting that fall sports concluded with several team milestones, the football team reached playoffs and the girls soccer team advanced to a state‑level game in Aquana. Barbaresa also said HHS’s Esports competitive teams qualified for the Garden State Esports Playoffs on Nov. 22 and that one senior has received esports scholarships.
The superintendent thanked educators nominated for a district recognition program, described a successful first Elective Expo that connected middle-school students with high-school teachers and course options, and announced a series of parents–superintendent coffees across the district with dates and times provided for Washington, Roosevelt, LMS, Jefferson and the high school.
Administrators also described the Heroes and Cool Kids mentoring program, which pairs high-school students with younger students for social-media awareness, anti‑bullying, resilience and substance‑abuse prevention work. The meeting included mention of a William Patterson agreement to hire preservice apprentices as paraprofessionals, which the C&I committee identified as a recruitment and workforce-development benefit for the district.
Board members praised Edcamp professional development (75% of faculty rated the day 'excellent') and thanked PTO groups for fundraising success; no board action was required on the superintendent’s announcements.
