Schools

Expanded Counselor Program Comes to Middle School

School district's technology base revamped, expanded for classroom learning.

Students at the Long Valley Middle School will be getting additional support this year, as the Board of Education approved the hiring of a third guidance counselor. 

The move was included in last spring’s budget process and raised the issue of long-term academic goals, including a focus on college.

Long Valley Middle School Principal Mark Ippolito and district Superintendent Jeff Mohre met with the school’s three counselors this summer to establish a direction for the students in the coming school year.

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“We’ve redesigned the (counseling) program,” Mohre said. “It’s a program vision that directly reflects (the district’s) core beliefs.”

Activities have now been designed to result in direct and indirect actions between the counselors and students, Mohre said.

Find out what's happening in Long Valleywith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Among the focuses of the counselors will be to help prepare students for future academic challenges and long-term planning, Mohre said. “One of the responsibilities is to establish academic goals, and even talk about careers,” he said. “The counselors help students create a plan on how to get there.”

The implementation of the new system is being closely watched in the district, as one of the school board’s goals in 2013-14 – along with the start of full day kindergarten – is to monitor and help achieve success with the program.

Time for Tech

In a year where many changes are taking place in the district, a sign of the times is finding its way into the classroom as well.

The district brought in five West Morris Regional High School District students over the summer to assist the pre-existing tech team in preparing the classrooms with new devices and technologies.

Among those new pieces of equipment are 20 new smart boards and 125 laptops for classroom use throughout the district’s five school buildings, Mohre said.

In the full day kindergarten classrooms, iPad technologies will also be available to students. The B.A. Cucinella and Kossman computer labs have also been revamped with new equipment, Mohre said.

This is also the first school year in which Bring Your Own Device – BYOD – is being implemented at the West Morris Regional High School district as well.

What do you think of the changes in technology in our local school districts? Too much, too soon? Just enough? Not enough?


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