Mount Laurel Schools

The Mount Laurel Schools is a public school district that serves students in pre-kindergarten through eighth grade from Mount Laurel Township in Burlington County, New Jersey, United States. Mount Laurel Township School District includes eight schools.

Mount Laurel Schools
Address
330 Moorestown-Mt. Laurel Road
Mount Laurel, NJ 08054
United States
Coordinates39.943625°N 74.90468°W / 39.943625; -74.90468
District information
GradesPreK-8
SuperintendentGeorge J. Rafferty
Business administratorRobert F. Wachter Jr.
Schools8
Students and staff
Enrollment4,214 (as of 2018–19)[1]
Faculty350.0 FTEs[1]
Student–teacher ratio12.0:1[1]
Other information
District Factor GroupI
WebsiteDistrict website
Ind.Per pupilDistrict
spending		Rank
(*)		K-8
average		 %± vs.
average
1ATotal Spending$17,33144$18,891−8.3%
1Budgetary Cost13,6843814,159−3.4%
2Classroom Instruction8,928568,6593.1%
6Support Services1,648162,167−24.0%
8Administrative Cost1,361221,547−12.0%
10Operations & Maintenance1,550441,612−3.8%
13Extracurricular Activities5915104−43.3%
16Median Teacher Salary65,2706661,136
Data from NJDoE 2014 Taxpayers' Guide to Education Spending.[2]
*Of K-8 districts with more than 750 students. Lowest spending=1; Highest=84

The grade configuration includes six schools serving pre-kindergarten / kindergarten through fourth-grade students. Students are assigned on a geographic basis to one of the six K-4 schools; Countryside serves the township's northwest; Fleetwood, the northeast; Hillside covers the north central portion of the township; Larchmont, a piece of the eastern side; Parkway, covers the western portion; and Springville the southern tip.[3] All students from the six K-4 schools feed into a single upper elementary school (for grades 5 and 6) and middle school (grades 7 and 8).[4]

As of the 2018–19 school year, the district, comprising eight schools, had an enrollment of 4,214 students and 350.0 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 12.0:1.[1]

The district is classified by the New Jersey Department of Education as being in District Factor Group "I", the second-highest of eight groupings. District Factor Groups organize districts statewide to allow comparison by common socioeconomic characteristics of the local districts. From lowest socioeconomic status to highest, the categories are A, B, CD, DE, FG, GH, I and J.[5]

Public school students from Mount Laurel in ninth through twelfth grades attend Lenape High School, located in Medford Township.[6][7] As of the 2018–19 school year, the high school had an enrollment of 1,895 students and 156.6 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 12.1:1.[8] Lenape High School is part of the Lenape Regional High School District, a regional secondary school district in Burlington County that also serves the eight municipalities of Evesham Township, Medford Lakes, Medford Township, Shamong Township, Southampton Township, Tabernacle Township and Woodland Township at its four high schools.[9][10]

The district has 420 certified staff members and 320 support staff. The district's transportation department operates a tiered busing system that covers the municipality's 22 square miles (57 km2) four times each day. Mount Laurel Schools' maintenance and custodial staff maintains 669,928 square feet (62,238 m2) of educational space on a daily basis.

Awards and recognition

Parkway Elementary School was one of four schools in New Jersey recognized by the National Blue Ribbon Schools Program, awarded by the United States Department of Education, for the 2005–06 school year.[11]

For the 1995–96 school year, Parkway Elementary School was named a "Star School" by the New Jersey Department of Education, the highest honor that a New Jersey school can achieve.[12]

Schools

Schools in the district (with 2018–19 enrollment data from the National Center for Education Statistics)[13] are:[14][15]

Elementary schools
  • Countryside Elementary School[16] (with 309 students; in grades PreK-4)
    • Lori Zataveski, principal[17]
  • Fleetwood Elementary School[18] (372; K-4)
    • Michael Profico, principal[17]
  • Hillside Elementary School[19] (348; PreK-4)
    • Dr. Briean Madden, principal[17]
  • Larchmont Elementary School[20] (395; K-4)
    • Donna Kinn, interim principal[17]
  • Parkway Elementary School[21] (342; K-4)
    • Mercedes Chang, principal[17]
  • Springville Elementary School[22] (512; PreK-4)
    • Dr. Gailen Mitchell, principal [17]
Middle schools
  • Mount Laurel Hartford School[23] (961; 5-6)
    • Marques Stanard, principal [17]
  • Thomas E. Harrington Middle School[24] (963; 7-8)
    • Ryan Caltabiano, principal[17]

In 1948, during de jure educational segregation in the United States, the district had a school for black children. There was half a block between the white and black schools.[25]

Administration

Core members of the district's administration are:[17][26]

  • George J. Rafferty, superintendent
  • Robert F. Wachter Jr., business administrator and board secretary

Board of education

The district's board of education, with nine members, sets policy and oversees the fiscal and educational operation of the district through its administration. As a Type II school district, the board's trustees are elected directly by voters to serve three-year terms of office on a staggered basis, with three seats up for election each year held (since 2012) as part of the November general election. The board appoints a superintendent to oversee the day-to-day operation of the district.[27][28][29]

References
  1. District information for Mount Laurel Township School District, National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed April 1, 2020.
  2. Taxpayers' Guide to Education Spending April 2013, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed April 15, 2013.
  3. Map of Boundaries, Mount Laurel Schools. Accessed June 8, 2020.
  4. About Your Schools, Mount Laurel Schools. Accessed June 8, 2020. "Our grade configuration includes six schools serving kindergarten through fourth-grade students. Students are assigned to our six kindergarten through fourth-grade schools based upon a geographic districting plan. All students move into the upper elementary level together for fifth and sixth-grade, and remain together for entrance to the middle school for grades 7 and 8. Mount Laurel is one of eight sending districts to the Lenape Regional High School District located in adjacent Medford for ninth through 12th-grade."
  5. NJ Department of Education District Factor Groups (DFG) for School Districts, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed December 10, 2014.
  6. Lenape High School 2016 Report Card Narrative, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed May 28, 2016. "Attendance Area: Mount Laurel. Lenape High School opened in 1958 on a 53-acre plot of land in Medford and, since that time, has undergone multiple renovations to accommodate the educational needs of the sprawling community of Mount Laurel."
  7. High School School Sending Districts, Burlington County Library System, backed up by the Internet Archive as of September 27, 2006. Accessed December 10, 2014.
  8. School data for Lenape High School, National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed April 1, 2020.
  9. Lenape Regional High School District 2016 Report Card Narrative, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed November 30, 2017. "The Lenape Regional High School District (LRHSD) serves the eight municipalities of Evesham, Medford, Mount Laurel, Shamong, Southampton, Tabernacle and Woodland Townships and Medford Lakes Borough. Encompassing an area of 350 square miles the Lenape District is the largest school district in Burlington County."
  10. Staff. "Regional School Districts", Burlington County Times, April 26, 2015. Accessed November 30, 2017. "Lenape Regional Serves: Evesham, Medford, Medford Lakes, Mount Laurel, Shamong, Southampton, Tabernacle, Woodland"
  11. Schools selected as No Child Left Behind-Blue Ribbon Schools in 2005, United States Department of Education. Accessed December 10, 2014.
  12. Star School Award recipient detail, New Jersey Department of Education, Archived December 18, 2006. Accessed November 30, 2009.
  13. School Data for the Mount Laurel Schools, National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed April 1, 2020.
  14. Schools, Mount Laurel Schools. Accessed June 8, 2020.
  15. New Jersey School Directory for the Mount Laurel Schools, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed December 29, 2016.
  16. Countryside Elementary School, Mount Laurel Schools. Accessed June 8, 2020.
  17. Contact Information, Mount Laurel Schools. Accessed June 8, 2020.
  18. Fleetwood Elementary School, Mount Laurel Schools. Accessed June 8, 2020.
  19. Hillside Elementary School, Mount Laurel Schools. Accessed June 8, 2020.
  20. Larchmont Elementary School, Mount Laurel Schools. Accessed June 8, 2020.
  21. Parkway Elementary School, Mount Laurel Schools. Accessed June 8, 2020.
  22. Springville Elementary School, Mount Laurel Schools. Accessed June 8, 2020.
  23. Mount Laurel Hartford School, Mount Laurel Schools. Accessed June 8, 2020.
  24. Thomas E. Harrington Middle School, Mount Laurel Schools. Accessed June 8, 2020.
  25. Jensen, Noma (Winter 1948). "A Survey of Segregation Practices in the New Jersey School System". The Journal of Negro Education. Journal of Negro Education. 17 (1): 84–88. JSTOR 2966093. - CITED: p. 85.
  26. New Jersey School Directory for Burlington County, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed December 29, 2016.
  27. New Jersey Boards of Education by District Election Types - 2018 School Election, New Jersey Department of Education, updated February 16, 2018. Accessed January 26, 2020.
  28. Comprehensive Annual Financial Report of the Mount Laurel Township School District, New Jersey Department of Education, for year ending June 30, 2019. Accessed June 1, 2020. "The School District is a Type II district located in the County of Burlington, State of New Jersey. As a Type II district, the School District functions independently through a Board of Education (the “Board”). The Board is ccomprised of nine members elected to three-year terms. These terms are staggered so that three member's terms expire each year. The Superintendent is appointed by the Board to act as executive officer of the School District. The purpose of the School District is to educate students in grades PK through 8 at its eight schools."
  29. Board of Education Members, Mount Laurel Schools. Accessed June 8, 2020.
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