Dear Wharton Families and Staff,
My first six months with Wharton have given me a deep appreciation for the dedication across
our community. Families, staff, and partners share one clear goal, providing a strong education
for every student in our care. As we approach our sixtieth day of school and move toward
Thanksgiving, I want to share an update on the work we have done to support teaching,
learning, and daily operations.
This year we launched Eureka Math in elementary school and EdGems in middle school.
Elementary school teachers already completed six hours of professional learning this fall on our
new program, with additional consultative sessions scheduled for December. These sessions
support teachers in growing their instructional practice and help students feel confident as they
build their problem solving skills.
Students at Marie V. Duffy now have more opportunities for STEM, the arts, and hands-on
learning during the school day with our schedule enhancements. Teachers are creating lessons
that support curiosity and engagement. We also strengthened our approach to ensuring positive
student behavior. With a focus on positive relationships, clear expectations, and supportive
interventions, we have not had a single suspension this school year. Because of our more
proactive approach based on well rounded social emotional supports, we have not had any
suspensions this school year..
Improvements have transpired throughout the district, with Alfred C MacKinnon also
celebrating their first day of school with 100% attendance, with every child present in the
building ready for learning. Our middle school breakfast program also went from having three
children to welcoming 35 children daily assuring more students are getting access to the
nutrition they need to be successful in school.
Communication across the district continues to improve. We have updated our district and
school websites and our new social media pages help families stay informed about learning,
events, and celebrations. We have also launched Town Halls to keep families and the
community informed.
Our teacher-led enrichment programs continue to grow due to student interest. Duffy Force,
Board Games Club, Duffy Art Academy, Crochet Club, Garden Club, Duffy Do-Gooders, Books
and Braids or Books and Blocks, as well as Service Stars and Books Clubs are underway. More
than 80 students signed up for our Board Games Club and more than 50 signed up for the
Crochet Club. We also began a partnership with the Canal Society of New Jersey, right here in
Wharton. To promote local history and engineering. We are also working more proactively with
the Wharton Public Library.
It is important that we reward commitment while increasing programming for our students. For
this reason we have increased teacher stipend rates for the SOS Homework Club and
Enrichment Clubs, which honors the time teachers give to support students and builds more
robust enrichment options for before and after school. Our SOS Club is now more intentional
and supportive of the students that attend.
This fall, we have also been working on several mandated district improvement plans required
by the NJ Department of Education, as a result of data from prior years. Each plan devised helps
to give our district a clear path forward and will strengthen how we serve students, teachers
and staff. Here are some of the plans:
• Attendance corrective action plan(CAP) for Marie V. Duffy Elementary School. This helps us
partner with families so that students build stronger attendance habits and feel more connected
each day.
• Corrective action plan(CAP) for our bilingual waiver. This ensures multilingual learners
receive the instruction and support required to achieve academic language acquisition. It also
assures teachers receive the mandated professional development hours. We will also celebrate
students who complete our ESL program and achieve bilingualism. Recognizing their ability to
speak more than one language is important because it honors their hard work and the value of
being multilingual.
• Safety Drill improvement plan(CAP) which focuses on mandated safety drills. This
strengthens how we prepare, practice, and respond during emergencies and ensures we
complete all required drills. Our safety plan will be reviewed with local law enforcement next
month so we address all necessary issues and coordinate closely with public safety officials.
These steps give students a safer learning environment and give families confidence that our
schools are prepared, consistent, and aligned with community safety partners.
• A district improvement plan (CAP) aligned to instruction and curriculum. This strengthens
consistency across classrooms so your child receives clear expectations, aligned lessons, and
strong instruction every day.
As we near Thanksgiving, I want to express my gratitude for your support, your partnership,
and the care you show our students each day. Every step we take reflects our shared
commitment to strong instruction, meaningful enrichment, safe schools, and supportive
relationships. I am enclosing a video with highlights from our first 60 days which helps
highlight our success. Videography is not my strength, but I hope these clips capture the sense
of community and care that surrounds our students every day.
Thank you for walking alongside me as we continue this important work together.
Sincerely,
Dr. Connie Sánchez
Superintendent