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Interim superintendent outlines five proposed district goals, emphasizes safety and leadership development
Summary
Interim Superintendent Dr. Mark Toback presented five district goals including safety and security, data-informed instruction, enhanced professional development for support staff, building early-child enrollment at Mill Ridge, and in-house leadership development. He proposed more comprehensive drills and partnerships to strengthen school safety.
Interim Superintendent Dr. Mark Toback presented five proposed district goals to the Secaucus Board of Education on Nov. 20, emphasizing safety and a plan to develop district leadership from within.
Toback said safety and security is the district’s top priority and proposed a more comprehensive review of emergency drills, including increased feedback and partnerships with the New Jersey Department of Education and local police. "One of the things that we want to do is we want to have a more comprehensive review of our drills," he said, adding that the district will pursue more active simulations and enhanced communications.
His second goal centers on enhancing student achievement through better use of existing data systems to inform instruction. The third goal calls for expanded training and professional development for support staff so they are "the best trained support staff in the state of New Jersey," Toback said. The fourth goal seeks to increase early-child enrollment at Mill Ridge School; Toback noted structural barriers such as part-time programming and a lack of before- and after-care that make the program less attractive to families.
The fifth goal is to build internal leadership capacity with a formal program to prepare district staff for leadership roles. Toback said the district has set three training dates beginning in winter and has a substantial number of sign-ups.
Board members and committee chairs who reported earlier in the meeting highlighted related work: the education committee noted recent NJSLA/NJ GPA field testing and curriculum updates; operations reported a water grant and facility maintenance items. Toback also told the board the district is preparing for a comprehensive Cuzak review in early 2026 and that auditors are currently conducting the district financial audit.
The board did not take a final vote on the goals during the public portion of the excerpt; they were presented for consideration and alignment with committee work.
