Board recognizes Teachers of the Year; parent and teacher urges expansion of preschool

The Frankford Township Consolidated School District board opened its May 17 meeting by recognizing Greg Simons and Ruth Ann Fry as the district’s Teachers of the Year.

A staff member reported that the two were honored at a Sussex County recognition event and praised both for their classroom work. The staff member also described recent school activities including a successful play (which began after a brief power outage), teacher appreciation events and upcoming end‑of‑year activities.

During public comment, a resident and classroom teacher urged the board to consider restoring or expanding public preschool. "I just wanted to comment on the importance of preschool," the commenter said, and described early intervention benefits: catching speech issues early, reducing later costs, and improving outcomes. She said public preschool "raises college enrollment, increases high school graduation rate rates," and reduces absenteeism and behavior problems, and provided written copies of her remarks to the board. The speaker later identified herself as Brianna Stevenson and noted she has experience teaching preschool and middle school.

The board thanked Stevenson for her input and indicated staff would note her materials. No formal agenda action on preschool programs was taken at the meeting.

What happens next: board members and staff may consider public comment as they review programming and budget decisions at future meetings.