Hurricane Sandy

Summit Superintendent Updates School Schedule Information

The following information is for Nov. 8 and 9.

Due to power conditions that persist in Summit, Superintendent of Schools Nathan Parker has issued an updated to parents on schedules. Through Friday, elementary schools will continue with a single session and primary centers will be closed to their students. Students in upper grades will continue to attend middle and high school on a full schedule. However, students are getting a break during these difficult times. "Students are not expected to do homework or to be given assessments that will impact their grades," Parker wrote in his message today. Unless power is restored to Franklin and Lincoln-Hubbard by next week, Parker plans to place those elementary school students into Jefferson and Washington schools. The next update on school …

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Superintendent Welcomes 2012-2013 School Year

The letter to students and parents highlights changes to school buildings and school policies.

Editor's Note: The following letter was sent to parents earlier this month and appeared on the school district website Aug. 22, 2012. Welcome to the 2012 - 2013 school year!  I would like to extend a special welcome to students and parents new to the Summit School community.  All schools will open for a full day of classes on Thursday, September 6th, 2012.   Student Achievements I am pleased to share good news regarding the Class of 2012 and several district achievements. The Class of 2012 excelled academically, athletically, artistically, and in the area of community service.  The percentage of 262 graduates attending the most competitive colleges is the highest in the history of the district.    Our graduates also excelled in the number …

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BOE Renews Superintendent Nathan Parker's Contract

As the BOE reorganized and replaced two outgoing board members, Superintendent Nathan Parker announced that he felt "humbled" to have his contract renewed.

Superintendent Nathan Parker has a new contract with the Summit school district, according to comments made by outgoing board members, and Parker himself, at last night’s Summit Board of Education reorganization meeting. The terms of Parker’s new contract aren’t clear at this time, but it’s assumed he had to forgo any bump in pay due to a state salary cap. His previous contract was set to expire at the end of June. “I’d like to express my appreciation and my humility for my contract being renewed,” he said during the reorganization presentation. “It’s truly humbling.” Given the cap placed on superintendents’ salaries last year by Gov. Chris Christie, it was not a given that Parker would stay on.  According to an NJ Spotlight  article, the …

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School Overcrowding Is Topic of BOE Meeting Tonight

The board meeting will be held at Jefferson School at 7:30 p.m. tonight.

Following a recent population study conducted by the Summit Board of Education, members of the Franklin elementary school PTA met with school superintendent Nathan Parker last night to discuss several options to deal with overcrowding issues. Franklin is expected to be the school hardest hit by an uptick in students in the next five years. The board will meet on the topic tonight at 7:30p.m. at the Jefferson School. According to reports of last night's PTA meeting, parents workshopped solutions to the overcrowding issue which currently affects the school. Different proposals were brought up among five groups of parents, which include talk of bringing in a trailer to hold classes, moving Franklin first graders to Wilson elementary school …

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Last Chance: Franklin School PTA Petition on Overcrowding

Summit Superintendent Nathan Parker will be at Franklin School today at 6:45p.m. to talk with Franklin parents about space planning at the school.

A meeting is scheduled tonight exclusively for Franklin School parents. The Following is from an email sent by the Franklin School PTA. Petition Signing at Blackburn Road. Stop by Cindy Clark's garage (blue house across the street from Franklin). Saturday and Sunday between 10-6, or Monday-Wednesday during school hours. Details of petition below: To: Board of Education of the Summit School System We the undersigned citizens of Union County respectfully request that a solution regarding the loss of music room, art room and computer room for the Franklin School be implemented prior to the start of the next scheduled academic school year- i.e., September 2012. We respectfully submit that art/music/computers on-a-cart is not an effective …

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Summit Superintendent Speaks at State Education Meeting

"Attracting high-quality teachers poses a huge challenge for some schools, said Nathan Parker, superintendent of Summit Public Schools in Union County, and a former superintendent for Orange Township Public Schools in Essex County."

Speak Up Summit to Hold "State of the District" Talk

The Saturday event, moved to Jan. 28, will feature discussion with Summit's superintendent, Nathan Parker.

Will all this talk of Charter Schools impact Summit? What is the latest in our standardized test score performance? Where do we stand on full-day kindergarten? Do teachers have a contract yet? What does the new slate of Common Council electees and the new Mayor mean for the Summit Board of Education? What are focus areas and how have they changed? How does next year's budget look.where are we in the planning process? Will there be changes in the curriculum? What else is going on in the Summit School District? Find out the answers to all your education queries and more when you chat with Dr. Nathan Parker and Julie Glazer at Speak Up Summit's "State of the District" meeting on Saturday, January 28, 2012, at 9:30a.m. at the home of Diane …

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Summit Scraps Full-Day Kindergarten Plan

Superintendent Nathan Parker explains in a letter the reasons behind the decision against the $7,500 - $9,000 plan, and how the kindergarten committee is aiming for a tuition-based program at a lesser cost.

Nathan N. Parker, Ed.D. Superintendent of Schools November 29, 2011   Dear Summit School Community: Summit Public Schools Earlier this year a committee was formed to determine the potential costs and benefits of implementing a tuition-based, full-day kindergarten pilot program. Under the pilot, each Primary Center would have one full-day kindergarten class of 20 students, with a tuition charge in the range of $7,500 - $9,000 for each student. The designated tuition charge was intended to create an entirely self-funded program to mitigate the need to impose any new obligations on limited budget resources. The intent was to leverage existing space and resources, as far as possible, while raising sufficient new funds from the tuition charge …

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Board of Ed Agenda Meetings Start Tuesday

A letter from the Summit Board of Education about meetings to set new focus areas for public education.

Dear Summit Schools Parents and Community Members, A unique opportunity to participate in planning for the future of the Summit Public Schools is being offered by the Summit Board of Education. Through an online survey and four community planning meetings – one of which will feature an inspiring and energizing presentation by nationally recognized author, speaker, and educational consultant Jamie Vollmer – the Summit community and school parents and staff can participate in planning the direction of Summit Schools. Planning for the Future Every three years the board, with input from the community, parents, and district staff, develops “focus areas” to serve as goals and guidance for the schools and for decisions made by the board and …

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