Berkeley Heights administrators report progress on district goals, spotlight DEI, sustainability and targeted student supports

Acting Superintendent Mr Nixon and the district administrative team presented a multi-part update on the Berkeley Heights School District's five strategic goals, telling the board at its public meeting that several action items are complete while others remain in progress.

Administrators said the district has moved to a new website platform, described as Thrillshare, and plans to replace SchoolMessenger with a district app to improve mass communications and increase transparency. “We’ll be able to push out notifications like you might get an app notification on your smartphone,” the administration said during the presentation.

On sustainability, Mr Dennis Dunes outlined plans to establish school-based green teams, adopt New Jersey climate-change standards in classrooms, audit energy use, expand solar capacity where feasible and develop an anti-idling and tree-replacement policy. He noted student-led activities — a climate symposium with about 200 participants and Earth Week projects — and said students are preparing petitions and data to present to the board about potential energy and cost-saving measures.

The district’s DEI work was framed by Mr Stephen Hopkins, who traced inclusion efforts to a 2003–04 stakeholder review and described sustained concerns voiced by students in subsequent years. Hopkins described building-level DEI action plans and recommended continuing small-group interventions led by principals. He said early, local analyses revealed gender and racial/ethnic disparities in honors and AP enrollment that will require multi-year interventions to address.

Administrators reported that K–5 literacy and math targets are tracking well. Dr Christine Seminario and elementary leaders said the district set an 80% proficiency goal (based on I‑Ready and phonics diagnostics); several early-grade results are already above that threshold, with second grade cited as roughly 97% assessed and meeting current benchmarks. Presenters added that the district purchased about $330,000 in math intervention materials funded by a New Jersey High-Impact Tutoring grant to support small-group instruction across buildings.

At the high school, staff described a new Math and English Strategies Application (MSTA) program that provided targeted small-group support during lunch rotations; administrators said 159 students participated this year and that preliminary building-level comparisons to prior cut scores suggest gains in proficiency.

Board members asked for additional evidence on proposed sustainability changes (for example, LED and solar proposals) and for more detailed DEI enrollment data. Mr Nixon said students and principals have data ready and encouraged board members to invite student presenters to a future meeting. The administration also reiterated that several policy and curriculum items previewed during the presentation remain subject to follow-up, public committee review and legal review where required.

The board received the presentation and opened the floor to questions; administrators said they will provide supporting data and can schedule follow-up presentations on student petitions, cost estimates and DEI metrics.