At the last Marlboro School Board meeting for 2023, Superintendent Michael Rydell spoke about how the district will spend funding they received from the American Rescue Plan Act, starting with consideration of an electronic hall pass system.

 

“The students would use their Chromebook or a kiosk model and they would enter in their number and select from the drop-down where they’re going; the teacher could have it set up where they have to approve it or not approve it and just simply give them the verbal okay and they can take the standard pass out of the class. It will track all the student’s movements so at any given time we could pull up a report and see if the student is not in their assigned location and maybe where they are, so if it’s four minutes after they got their pass and they were going to the Guidance Suite we would know where they were. It gives us a real time look at all authorized student movement and it can also be used on the back end should we have to take a look at something that happened, who was out in the hallways during that time or who was in the restroom. It also gives us some modality [proscribed method of procedure] and again, this is where the gotcha concept comes in, but that is not exclusively why we’re doing it...We’re looking at piloting this to see how it works for our school district.”

Rydell said the district is also looking to hold another round of ‘Handle With Care,’ train the trainer model using ARPA funding. This program is designed to safely manage behaviorally challenged and disruptive behavior.

 

Rydell said he has received a request that the district increase classroom libraries leveled readers, “so there is a wide range of books available for our students, particularly in the K3 grade level where we are seeing great disparities between some students reading at the lowest levels and we have some that are reading at remarkably high levels for their age. We want to make sure we have ample books in the classroom, so we’re looking at this as an opportunity to do that.”

 

Rydell highlighted the purchase of classroom furniture for Grade I and for the STEM classes.

 

“It’s on a rotation and we will be using ARPA funding. That would be for the chairs as well as the tables that allow for small collaborative groups. We are ordering dry erase whiteboard surfaces so students will be able to use their markers on them and they do clean up very nicely,” he said.

The district is also adding hand dryers at the elementary school that will provide increased efficiency, use High Efficiently Particulate Air [HEPA] filters and operate at reduced noise levels.

 

The district will be adding Instructional Coaching that is project-based learning and will incorporate new technology. Added choral risers will be installed at the Middle School

 

The District will procure Vex Robotic kits that, according to the company, will, ‘promote high quality STEM education that is essential, relevant and continual while educators will get professional development and curriculum support.’ The company stated that, ‘we envision a world where every student has the opportunity to be inspired by the excitement of hands-on, minds-on STEM learning and the feeling a creating something with technology.’