The Moonachie School District is a culturally diverse school district with the primary goal of ensuring all its students are provided the opportunity for an exemplary educational experience and are challenged to a high level of performance. The Moonachie School District has developed a strong school community, finely attuned to the needs, values, talents, and interests of the students. The district’s goal is to prepare young people for the future; teach children the skills they need to be successful in life; and motivate our youth to read, write, and think creatively. Our focus is always on student learning, where education fosters independent thinking, exploration, and experimentation as a lifelong process.
The Moonachie School District places student and adult learning at its center, setting high expectations and standards for the academic and social development of all students and the performance of adults. The Board of Education has developed a culture of continuous learning for adults tied to student learning and other school goals. In the classroom, education in Moonachie means encouraging respect for each student and helping students do their best, sharing ideas, and taking risks as they learn and work individually and cooperatively. The goal is to create a condition at Robert L. Craig which will offer every student and staff member the opportunity to access and engage in learning and to fully develop his or her talents.
It is the mission of the Robert L. Craig School to help its students gain the academic skills and knowledge, intellectual integrity, and individual courage as risk takers, which will lead to their personal success. The Moonachie School District provides an education which enables students to operate as active citizens in America and in its democracy, as well as informed and concerned citizens of the world. This education is provided in an atmosphere which is disciplined, and fosters respect for others by a dedicated teaching staff and administration who maintain a knowledge of contemporary teaching approaches and strategies.
The following were several initiatives implemented for the 2009-2010 school year:
Reading Workshop (Grades K-8)
Reading Workshop is an organizational framework for teaching reading. It is designed to foster a love for reading within our students, and to differentiate, or personalize instruction in order to accommodate the learning needs of all students. In Reading Workshop, the students take more responsibility for their learning, choose books that appeal to them and are at their own instructional level, respond to the text they are reading, and share thoughts and ideas within small groups. In Reading Workshop, the teacher teaches mini-lessons based on observations of student needs, conferences with individual students, personalizes instruction, and keeps records of student progress.
(http://www.saskschools.ca/~bestpractice/reader/index.html)
Writing Workshop (Grades 6-8)
Writing Workshop is an organizational framework for teaching writing. In a writing workshop, students develop most of their writing projects. Teachers push for authority and purpose: students writing with passion about what they know and care about, for reasons they believe in. During genre studies, students choose their own subjects, themes, and approaches. The teacher’s mini-lessons grow from his observations of what students don’t know or will need to know to produce excellent, literary writing. Teachers meet with individuals to confer about their writing; they focus on content, style, and structure. (Atwell, Lessons That Change Writers)
HSP Math 2009 (Grades K-5)
HSP Math, carefully reviewed by mathematicians, offers an assortment of learning materials designed to provide students with meaningful and diverse educational experiences, including hands-on activities, literature connections, and problem-solving strategies. It also provides teachers with instructional materials that offer easy planning, options and suggestions for every stage of instruction. HSP Math is aligned to specific state standards. (http://www.hmhschool.com/)
MUZZY World Language Program (Grades K-2)
The MUZZY language program follows national foreign language standards which emphasize the use of functional language, repetition and “spiraling.” In MUZZY, words and concepts are first introduced, and then introduced again and again in many new contexts. MUZZY’s multisensory teaching technique appeals to all types of learners. MUZZY employs a natural immersion approach, surrounding learners with visual, aural, and contextual language, modeled on the way we learned our first language.
(http://www.early-advantage.com/)
Rosetta Stone World Language Program (Grades 3-5)
Rosetta Stone®, a web-based language program, uses rich visual imagery to help students learn and think in a new language. Rosetta Stone systemically builds nouns and verbs into complete sentences and dialogue. Keeping with national and state standards, the program helps students build everyday proficiency in each of the four key language skills: listening comprehension, speaking, reading, and writing. Advanced speech recognition technology guides students to more accurate pronunciation. Contextual Formation™ engages students in lifelike conversations that let them produce spoken or written sentences from words and phrases they’ve learned. Adaptive Recall™ schedules review material to appear at optimal intervals to test new language knowledge and ensure retention.
(http://www.rosettastone.com/)
Type to Learn, Jr. (Grades K-4)
Students with Type to Learn, Jr. experience age-appropriate instruction that will help them use the computer keyboard with greater use. The small size of young students’ hands are kept in mind in this animated program that takes students from keyboard awareness to typing carefully selected words into short sentences. Students will also locate the letter of the alphabet and numbers on the keyboard with increasing reliability as they divide the keyboard into left-hand or right-hand keys, use the shift keys to type uppercase letters, type short words and sentences, and master simple punctuation, the space bar, and the Return/Enter key. (http://store.sunburst.com/)
Character Education is offered to students in grades 1-8 to foster the development of values, which function as the cornerstone of ethical behavior. Conflict Resolution is conducted during lunch periods to help students find appropriate ways to diffuse and handle problems between students.
Peer Mediation
Peer Mediation is offered as an extension of the conflict resolution program where seventh and eighth grade students are trained by the school psychologist to mediate disputes between students and help them arrive at mutually beneficial compromises.
Peer Tutoring/Peer Mentoring
Peer Tutoring and Peer Mentoring provide additional support to struggling students in the mainstream setting and assistance to classified students in the special education setting. Seventh and eighth grade students volunteer their time and give up their participation in non-academic subjects, specials, and afternoon activities to work with students on a one-to-one basis.
Common Planning Time
The Moonachie School District has implemented school-wide common planning time at Robert L. Craig. During daily common planning sessions, teachers between 8:10 a.m. – 8:50 a.m. participate in staff training, curriculum development, articulation meetings, and provide additional assistance to students. The purpose of common planning time is to develop techniques in order to increase student achievement.
During the 2009-2010 school year teachers used the Oncourse Lesson Planner. Oncourse Lesson Planner is a web-based tool that automates the lesson plan process and comes pre-loaded with NJ Core Curriculum Content Standards. Teachers electronically create, archive, update, and collaborate on lesson plans. Staff websites are included to afford parent opportunities to participate in the education of their children. Teachers can automatically post homework online for students. Real-time reports indicate standards covered by individual teachers, how often and when standards were linked. (http://oncoursesystems.com/)
In addition, teachers completed curriculum mapping projects in the areas of Social Studies, Science, Special Education, Art, Music, and Physical Education. Curriculum mapping is a process for collecting and recording curriculum-related data that identifies core skills and content taught, process employed, and assessments used for each subject area and grade level. The completed curriculum map then becomes a tool that helps teachers keep track of what has been taught and plan what will be taught. (http://www.education-world.com/)
The Moonachie School District believes in the dignity and worth of each student, and that all youth must have equal opportunity for education consistent with their individual capabilities and with their personal and social needs. The Moonachie Board of Education recognizes home and school as educating institutions. The Board actively engages the community to create a shared responsibility for student and school success. Parents within the home must assume responsible roles that complement the efforts of the Robert L. Craig School. We encourage you to contact us with your questions and/or need for additional information at (201) 641-5833 x 100.