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Parent presses Bayonne district on gifted program, missing textbooks and discipline; superintendent outlines steps
Summary
A parent raised multiple concerns about gifted-and-talented programming, textbook availability, summer assignments and student conduct; the superintendent responded citing a 2019 law change expanding G&T, said books were ordered late in some schools, that summer Bridges is voluntary (with donated bookbags) and that the district uses i-Ready for progress monitoring.
At a Bayonne Board of Education meeting on Sept. 17, a parent identified as Arela Bon pressed school leaders on several classroom and student-support issues, asking about the gifted-and-talented program, field-trip opportunities, textbooks, summer Bridges assignments and how the district measures student learning.
"My name is Arela Bon. I have a couple questions," she said, and then asked whether the district would offer a more challenging curriculum for students in the gifted-and-talented (G&T) program and whether the district could arrange trips (for example, to NJPAC or to see the New York Philharmonic) to motivate musically talented students.
The superintendent answered that a 2019 law change expanded G&T from a narrowly defined grades-5'8 program to K'12, and that the district is approving additional field trips and has arranged activities with Johns Hopkins University. "If there's a specific question with what's going on in your child's classroom you need to start with the teacher," the superintendent added, noting principals and teachers are the first line for classroom-level concerns.
On textbooks, the parent said it was the second full week of school and some children still did not have textbooks for home use. The superintendent said principals reported books had been ordered late in some buildings and that the books were "coming here"; the superintendent did not say which schools or how many students were affected.
Regarding summer Bridges, the superintendent said the program is voluntary, provides math and ELA materials, and that many bookbags are donated ("for instance at our last board meeting we had another 300 donated by Costco"). The district gives extra credit for completing summer work, the superintendent said. For progress monitoring, the district is "moving forward with the I-Ready program" for elementary math and ELA, the superintendent said.
The parent also pressed the district on student conduct and called for a stricter approach to disruptive or violent behavior. The superintendent said the district enforces its code of conduct, meets with teachers and counselors, and favors restorative practices while also following up on particular incidents.
The board did not publish detailed counts in the meeting transcript for missing textbooks or indicate which schools were affected. The superintendent invited the parent to meet afterward to discuss specifics and said the district would follow up individually where necessary.
