Galloway BOE Approves Parental Involvement Policy

The Galloway Township Board of Education re-approved parental involvement policies for all of the district's schools on Monday night, Sept. 24, in accordance with the No Child Left Behind act.

The policies, which, according to Superintendent of Schools Dr. Annette Giaquinto, were first approved last spring, must be reapproved every year. Giaquinto said that parents met with school officials during the summer, and parents expressed approval of the policies at that meeting.

According to No Child Left Behind, parents are to "play an integral role in assisting their child's learning," "parents are encouraged to be actively involved in their child's education at school," and "parents are full partners in their child's education," including decision-making.

Giaquinto said that parents in the district are very involved in student education, and that turnouts at back to school nights and parent-teacher conferences indicate high levels of involvement. She said that the Board of Education would like to see more parental involvement at board meetings, however.

School board member Beverly Evensen recently attended Back to School Night at Arthur Rann Elementary School, and she too reported high levels of parental involvement.

"I was really happy to see the enthusiasm of parents there. It was really well attended," she said.

Besides parental involvement, the Board of Education also acted on the following on Monday:

• The board unanimously approved the hiring of school social worker Dominic Mevoli at Galloway Township Middle School.
• The board approved a resolution for eighth graders at Galloway Township Middle School to volunteer at the Community Food Bank of Southern New Jersey in Egg Harbor on eight fridays after school.
• The board announced meetings: The NJQSAC Committee meeting will be held at 10 a.m. in the distict office on Thursday, Sept. 27 and the Community Superintendent's Advisory Team will meet at 7 p.m. at the Galloway Township Middle School on Oct. 4.
• Superintendent Giaquinto reported that the district has 3,400 students as of Sept. 20, which is 56 less students than last June. She said this is a small change, when broken down among all schools and grades.