Morris School District
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Morris School District is a comprehensive community public school district that serves students in kindergarten through twelfth grade from three municipalities in Morris County, New Jersey, United States, with a total student population of approximately 4,800. The communities in the district are Morristown (2,443 students from a 2000 Census population of 18,544) and Morris Township (2,121 students from a population of 21,796), along with students from Morris Plains (175 students) in grades 9-12 who attend the district's high school as part of a sending/receiving relationship with the Morris Plains Schools.
In addition to its preK-12 program, the Morris School District operates a Community School that offers an extensive adult school curriculum. The Community School also provides a before and after-school childcare program, Sunrise Sunset, for Morris School District children of busy parents. Housed in each of the District's elementary schools, Sunrise Sunset offers a supervised environment in which boys and girls can work and play before and after school. The Community School's summer program, Summer Plus, provides children with a local alternative to summer camp.
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[edit] Schools
Schools within the District (with 2003-04 enrollment data from the National Center for Education Statistics) are:
Primary Schools (K-2)
- Alfred Vail School with 358 students
- Hillcrest School with 273 students
- Woodland School with 303 students
Intermediate Schools (3-5)
- Alexander Hamilton School with 278 students
- Sussex Avenue School with 277 students
- Thomas Jefferson School with 270 students
Multiage Magnet School (K-5)
- Normandy Park Magnet School with 356 students
Middle School (6-8)
- Frelinghuysen Middle School with 978 students
High School (9-12)
- Morristown High School with 1,251 students
[edit] Administration
- Dr. Tom Ficarra - Superintendent
- Ms. Susan Young - Board Secretary
- Mr. Douglas Garatina - Executive Director of Curriculum
- Dr. Albert Mussad - Director of Curriculum
- Dr. Sandra Reid - Supervisor of Curriculum
[edit] Board of Education
The Morris School District Board of Education is comprised of ten individual members. There are five representatives from Morris Township, four from Morristown, and one from the Borough of Morris Plains. Representatives from each constituent municipality are elected by the voters to three-year terms of office. The Morris Plains representative is a member of the Morris Plains Board of Education appointed annually by that body to the Morris School District Board to represent Morris Plains on issues affecting Morristown High School.
School Board elections are held in April of each year. In addition to selecting members of the Board of Education, voters also are asked to vote on the proposed budget for the subsequent school year.
[edit] History
Two schools are known to have operated in near the Green in Morristown in the 1700’s. One was in use from 1732 - 1767; the other, known as the “Steeple School,” stood from 1767 - 1799.
From the early to mid-1800’s local schools included the Franklin Street, Bridge Street, Mt. Kemble, and Washington Valley Schools.
The Maple Avenue School opened in 1869 on land donated by George T. Cobb.
An early school (1700’s) located three miles west of Morristown was described as follows: ”The building was constructed of logs, and instead of glass window, sheep skins were stretched over apertures made by sawing off an occasional log.
In 1971, the district was regionalized under an order by the New Jersey Supreme Court, which ruled that the state education commissioner can cross district lines for desegregration purposes.
