Official Site of The State of New Jersey
Issue 13: May 2024
Joesph Nappi
2023-2024 New Jersey State Teacher of the Year
Monmouth Regional High School
Monmouth Regional High School District
Hello educators and Happy Teacher Appreciation Month! In my role as New Jersey’s State Teacher of the Year I’ve had the opportunity to tour the state and see all of the amazing things that are happening in our schools. I’ve gotten to meet with teachers and students from Cape May to Sussex County and nearly every place in between. In those visits I always ask the students I meet the same question: “What do you love about this school?” And the answer is always the same: “My teachers!”
The students I meet know that their teachers show up each day to nurture, support, and enrich their lives. They understand better than anyone that educators are the beating heart and soul of every school in every district in this great state. Regardless of the challenges, regardless of the headaches, regardless of the misconceptions about what it takes to do this work, teachers come prepared to educate, to inspire and to help their students realize their own potential to achieve great things.
If there was one part of this experience of being State Teacher of the Year that I wish I could share with all of you, it would be the overwhelming outpouring of support and well wishes I’ve received from former students. I joked with my brother that this was an experience akin to attending your own funeral, in that too often people wait until it’s too late to tell people how they really feel about them. Yet, due to the public nature of my award, students had a reason to reach out and say what I had meant to them, or how I had inspired them and positively impacted their lives. And I know that this is not something unique to me, but something that is true for each of us who dedicates ourselves to this noble profession. Somewhere out there are dozens of students whose lives you have changed for the better and who think about you all the time. That is what it means to be a teacher and that is why we do this work.
So, while we should never lose sight of the challenges that must be addressed in this profession, we also can’t lose sight of just how much our work matters and just how much what we do makes a difference in our students’ lives every single day. Whether this school year has been a great one for you, or one of the most challenging of your career I want you to know that you are appreciated, not just by the New Jersey Department of Education (NJDOE), not just by the New Jersey Education Association (NJEA), not just by your colleagues and your community, not just by me but by the people you impact the most: your students. Never lose sight of what you mean to them, believe me, they never will!
Featured NJDOE Office of the Month—Office of Comprehensive Support
The Office of Comprehensive Support (OCS) provides support to more than 264 schools identified as needing comprehensive and targeted support and improvement. OCS helps identified schools by deploying teams with expertise in instructional leadership, data-driven action planning, and developing cycles of continuous improvement.
Identifying Comprehensive and Targeted Schools
Schools are identified based on the following indicators:
- Proficiency in math and English language arts;
- Growth in math and ELA for grades 3–8;
- High school graduation rate;
- Progress toward English language proficiency (as measured by ACCESS); and
- Chronic absenteeism.
Guided by a growth mindset, OCS uses accountability as a flashlight—not a hammer—to build capacity in schools and districts. They support collaborative school leadership teams in implementing evidence-based interventions to improve instruction and promote student learning.
Theory of Action
To facilitate school and district improvement the office:
- Customizes support to enhance capacity building,
- Models accountability and continuous improvement for our schools and districts,
- Applies principles of improvement science to create systems for success in schools,
- Embraces a collaborative approach to accountability; and
- Builds relationships based on trust and humility to foster supportive partnerships.
Supports for Comprehensive and Targeted Schools
The OCS assists with creating, implementing, and monitoring Annual School Plans, facilitating and supporting the continuous improvement cycle for sustainable systems change, and developing a network of support with other school and district leaders.
Examples of Differentiated and Tiered Supports:
- Facilitate professional growth opportunities;
- Provide coaching to school and district leaders;
- Deliver targeted technical assistance; and
- Support professional learning on pedagogy and instructional strategies.
Accomplishments
As of June 2023:
- 65% of all eligible schools exited their identified status.
- 84% of all comprehensive schools increased their summative ratings.
| Identified Schools | Non-Identified Schools |
|---|---|
| Increased by 6.9 percentile points | Decreased by 7.9 percentile points |