Millburn Township highlights $district wellness programs; superintendent recommends Jennifer Baldassari as Washington School principal

The Millburn Township Board of Education heard an overview of the district’s health and wellness work and heard a personnel recommendation at its May 18 meeting.

Superintendent Dr. Diskin recommended appointing Jennifer Baldassari as Washington School principal, effective July 1, 2026, citing her “more than 20 years of experience in education” and current role as assistant principal at both Washington and Glenwood schools. The recommendation was presented during the superintendent’s report; personnel items were later handled on the posted personnel agenda.

The district wellness presentation, led by district wellness coordinator Tricia O’Gorman, described the board’s approach to physical, emotional and social student health. “Our district wellness policy is built upon state and federal guidelines designed to support the whole child,” O’Gorman said. She outlined a mix of programs that go beyond nutrition and physical education to include social-emotional learning, mindfulness, school-climate initiatives and family engagement.

O’Gorman detailed school-level examples: therapy dogs and brief solution-focused counseling at Millburn High School; student-led peer-support groups and a middle-school “Well and Arrow” peer-leader program; and elementary activities such as mindful coloring, bracelet-making and theme days during wellness week. She noted the district’s food-service partner runs a student recipe challenge; this year’s winner was Jake Esrae Umgard, whose blackberry-corn-muffin meal is now featured in cafeterias.

The presentation described safety and monitoring tools the district uses to identify online concerns early. “The district utilizes tools such as GoGuardian and Gaggle to monitor online activity and identify potential safety concerns, allowing staff to intervene early,” O’Gorman said. She also described the district wellness committee’s role (representatives from each building and the food-service program) and that the committee meets quarterly to set goals and review compliance with state and federal requirements, including the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act.

Dr. Diskin framed the wellness work as part of the district’s broader obligations and recognized staff and community partners who support student well-being. The superintendent also noted recent district activities and community events, including scholarship announcements and upcoming school festivals.

The board did not take immediate separate public action on the wellness presentation; the appointment of Ms. Baldassari was introduced as part of the personnel report and personnel agenda items on the posted agenda were acted on in the meeting’s votes.