Harrison Elementary School

Harrison Elementary School
Location
148 North Livingston Avenue
Livingston, NJ 07039
Information
Type Public elementary school
School district Livingston Public Schools
Principal Cynthia Healy
Faculty 45.5 (as of 2007-08 on FTE basis)[1]
Grades K-5
Enrollment 531 (as of 2008-09)[1]
Student to teacher ratio 11.6 (as of 2007-08)[1]
Campus type Suburban
Color(s) Blue and Gold
Team name Hawk[2]
Information 1-973-535-8000, ext. 8110
Website School website

Harrison Elementary School is located in Livingston, New Jersey. It is one of six elementary schools located in town. There are about 550 students spread out among 27 classes. The grade levels range from Kindergarten to 5th grade. All graduates continue on to Mt. Pleasant Middle School. The school, opened in 1929, was named after Amos W. Harrison who was a lifelong Livingston resident and a former President of the Board of Education.[3]

Curriculum and Academic Departments

Harrison School runs in team levels. Every grade level is a team and the teachers and students work together. All of the teachers for each grade work together to be sure their students are getting the same education. There is a team for every grade K-5. Core curriculum includes mathematics, language arts literacy, social studies, and science.[4]

The Core Content Specials includes art, music, physical education, and world languages. Children have the opportunity to participate in all of these classes.[5]

Gifted and Talented Enrichments

The school provides gifted and talented opportunities for an identified population through a pull-out program. All students in grade 2-5 are considered during the month of September and parent consent is required for testing. The students will be identified starting from grade 2 by a process that includes district/state standardized tests, academic achievement as well as other multiple criteria.[6] The student meet and participate in interest-based clusters beyond the regular curriculum. Examples of those clusters are Communicating with Lights, Investigative Journalism, Pond and Ocean Life, and Stock Market Game.[7]

There are also school-wide enrichment opportunities for any students to participate in extra-curricular activities such as Academically Speaking, Forensics, and Law Fair/Law Adventure.[8]

The school also provides gifted and talented opportunities in art and music for grades 4 and 5, for students who have talent in these departments, which run separately by the art and music departments.[9] The program for gifted and talented in art is a before-school art program for an identified population which offers various art mediums for students to use and has many sketching assignments.[10]

World Language

The school introduces Spanish to the students starting from Kindergarten. The school's world language program cites New Jersey World Languages Curriculum Framework for benefits of world language study in young children such as cognitive benefits, academic achievement, and development of positive attitudes toward cultural diversity.[11] Students also have opportunities to use Spanish in school projects such as Symbolic Migration which encourages students in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico to interact about the annual migration of Monarch butterflies.[12][13]

Other Departments

Media Center

The media center provides many books for the children to borrow and use. The librarian helps suggest ways to choose books, and works with children on projects related to reading and writing.[14] Those include school-wide reading/writing projects such as Read Across America.[15]

School Counseling

The counseling program provides support for any child or family in need.[16]

Student Services

Student Services helps parents connect and be involved with their special needs child’s education. The Department of Student Services includes a child study team, special education teachers, school counselors, speech and language therapists, occupational therapists and assistants, aides and behaviorists. The goal of the Department is to provide a support of integrated services to any child with special needs.[17]

Health Office

The schools health office provides care for the students and does annual checks for scoliosis and lice. The health office performs health screenings for every child by checking height, weight, vision, hearing, and blood pressure. The school also has many health-related policies including sick child, medication and nutrition policies.[18]

Extracurricular activities

Beside many activities offered as part of the co-curricular school-wide enrichment programs, PTA also organizes an after-school enrichment program called Kidz Klub. The program offers a variety of activities such as art, cooking, science, games, Lego building, and robotics.[19] Students also take part in outside activities such as town-wide Junior FIRST LEGO League Expo[20] and Imagine Mars exhibition.[21]

The school also regularly organize night programs such as two-hour science nights with presenters from outside in science topics with hundreds of participating students and parents.[22]

Awards and recognition

Harrison Elementary School was recognized by The Business Coalition for Educational Excellence (BCEE) for attaining high rates of student achievement. The school was listed in 2007 Just for the Kids — a list of 73 New Jersey Benchmark Schools. It was among 20 schools in New Jersey in the Proficient/Advanced Proficient benchmark for grade 4.[23]

Harrison Elementary School participates in many academic competitions at county, interschool, state, and national levels. Highlights of the accomplishments are:

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 HARRISON 2008-09 SCHOOL REPORT CARD, NJ Report Cards - accessed March 28, 2010
  2. About Us, Harrison Elementary School - accessed March 28, 2010
  3. Evenchick, Barry H. (1999). Livingston. Charleston, SC: Arcadia. p. 50. ISBN 0-7385-0023-2. Retrieved 11 July 2014.
  4. Curriculum and Instruction, Livingston Public Schools - access April 3, 2010
  5. Core Content Department, Harrison Elementary School - accessed March 28, 2010
  6. Identification and Clusters, Livingston School District - accessed November 29, 2011
  7. Interest-Based Clusters for Elementary School Students, Livingston School District - accessed November 29, 2011
  8. Schoolwide Enrichment Opportunities, Livingston School District - accessed November 29, 2011
  9. Welcome to Mrs. Matten's Music Website, Harrison Elementary School - accessed November 29, 2011
  10. New Jersey Child Artist from Livingston Presents Children’s Masterpiece to Malaysia’s First Lady, The Alternative Press, April 27, 2010 - accessed November 29, 2011
  11. Spanish, Harrison Elementary School - accessed November 29, 2011
  12. Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) About the Symbolic Migration, Journey North - accessed July 2, 2010
  13. Symbolic Monarchs Received in Mexico, Journey North - accessed July 2, 2010
  14. Media center, Harrison Elementary School, - accessed November 29, 2011
  15. 2008 Read Across America celebrations, New Jersey Education Association, p.2 - accessed July 2, 2010
  16. Counseling, Harrison Elementary School - accessed November 29, 2011
  17. Student Services, Harrison Elementary School - accessed November 29, 2011
  18. Nutrition Policy, Harrison Elementary School, - accessed November 29, 2011
  19. Harrison News, LPS-HARRISON-PTA Archives, November 12, 2009 - accessed July 2, 2010
  20. Junior FIRST LEGO League Expo Came to Livingston, The Alternative Press, June 3, 2010 - accessed November 29, 2011
  21. Imagine Mars Project Gallery, NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory - accessed November 29, 2011
  22. Witzgall, Bonnie B. (February 2006). "From Chaos… Order". The Asterism 17 (5): 1. Retrieved 11 July 2014.
  23. 73 New Jersey Schools Recognized for High Achievement, The Business Coalition for Educational Excellence (BCEE) - accessed October 8, 2010.
  24. Mock Trial Competition for Grades 3 Through 6, NJ State Bar Foundation - accessed October 8, 2010
  25. Cray-Pas Wonderful, Colorful, World Contest 2009 - Finalists, Sakura of America - accessed November 29, 2011
  26. Livingston School District Meeting Agenda, June 16, 2008, Livingston Board of Education
  27. Landmark Editions - access October 8, 2010
  28. Girls' visions of skis and skates earn Arts Olympiad honors, The Star Ledger, July 25, 2007, p.63
  29. Livingston School District Special Meeting Agenda, June 7, 2004, Livingston Board of Education
  30. Livingston School District Workshop Meeting Agenda, June 12, 2006, Livingston Board of Education
  31. Livingston School District Meeting Agenda, June 18, 2007, Livingston Board of Education
  32. HONORS AND AWARDS 2003-2004, Livingston School District - accessed October 8, 2010
  33. Clara's Surprise By Shannon Colonna, WNET. Accessed March 8, 2010

External links

Coordinates: 40°48′16″N 74°18′48″W / 40.80434°N 74.31343°W