Education

Montclair resident Angelica Allen-McMillan will be the next commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Education, Gov. Phil Murphy announced Tuesday, Oct. 20.

Officers were called to a Hillside Avenue house at approximately 3:27 p.m. after a 17-year-old girl told police that about two hours before she discovered an unknown man inside the house. The man demanded money, and when she did not comply, he physically assaulted her, police said. 

At the Oct. 7 Board of Education meeting, Superintendent Jonathan Ponds announced that the student equity advocate will be known as the student and family coordinator. The revised job description was approved at that same meeting.

Montclair School District's special needs students were to return to class on Oct. 15, ABA teachers and staff chose to stay remote.

“I’m here because I want my daughter to be in the classroom,” said Georgia Kral, whose eldest daughter started kindergarten at Edgemont this year. “If it’s safe to go on a hybrid schedule, I would love to make it happen.” 

At the Oct. 7 Board of Education meeting, Superintendent Jonathan Ponds announced that bus routes will be expanded to include students living 2.25 miles or more away from school. Previous rules were that busing was only provided to students who live 2.5 miles or more from school.  

At Montclair Kimberley Academy, the primary school campus has a large outdoor tent where students can go to take “mask breaks” during the day, or have socially distanced outdoor lunch breaks. 

Those teaching remotely will present a portfolio of their work to their supervisors, instead of undergoing a live observation. 

All of the projects in the program are expected to go out for bid in November, with construction to begin in April. The work is expected to be substantially completed by the spring of 2023. 

Montclair Kimberley Academy and Immaculate Conception both opened with hybrid schedules, but its the safety protocols which keep them open.