EF ready for start of new school year

Today is the first day of school for students in the Elizabeth Forward School District.

Elizabeth Forward Warriors will head back to class today and leaders are excited to hear commotion in the halls.

During a voting meeting Wednesday, Superintendent Keith Konyk said while he is no longer at the head of a classroom, he will always be a teacher at heart and still gets excited for the first day of school.

“Tomorrow (today) will become a very busy day here,” Konyk said. “I say my favorite day of the school year is graduation because I love shaking all of the students hands, but I believe the first day of school is the most important.”

He said maintenance and custodial staff have spent the past few weeks getting buildings and grounds ready to welcome back students.

For the past two days, teachers have participated in extensive professional development ahead of the new school year, which brings a lot of new, exciting changes.

Konyk said EF plans to roll out the use of new technologies, such as AR (augmented reality) and AI (artificial intelligence), which will be incorporated in science and math classes.

Staff has participated in professional development to learn about AI and how to harness that technology and model it for students.

“I am really impressed with the preparations our staff has taken to get ready for this school year,” Konyk said. “And, want to thank our maintenance and custodial staff for everything they have done to get the buildings ready for our kids.”

Additionally, elementary school staff will begin to use a new, updated math curriculum this year. The high school will offer a new class in cybersecurity and also implement new cellphone procedures.

Konyk said he was recently at the administration building where a staff member brought her young grandchildren to print some paperwork. One of their grandchildren will start kindergarten this year.

“Seeing that child so excited to start kindergarten reminded me why I do this,” Konyk said. “As far removed as I am from it sometimes, I really am always a classroom teacher at heart.”

While administrators, teachers and staff have spent the summer getting ready to host students, and they are excited for students to get back to class, there are still some moves to be made when it comes to personnel.

“Staffing has been a challenge and I have spoke at length with our board about this,” Konyk said. “Our entire team has been focused on it.

“We still need to put the last pieces in place, so I am going to ask for a special meeting that will be advertised so we can do some additional hiring of staff. It’s been a great challenge, but we are working on getting folks into the classroom for kids. We have new administrators in new roles, a lot of new teachers who are getting ready, and we’re most excited about filling these buildings up with kids.”

Board member Scott Henry said as far as employment goes, it’s been difficult.

“There is a crisis for teachers, we’re dealing with resignations, hiring new staff, and they have done a great job of dealing with all of this. It’s not a job for the faint of heart and a lot of times I don’t think the public truly appreciates how much work is done behind the scenes before these people are brought to us to hire. So I just want to thank that team for all of the amazing work they have done.” The board unanimously agreed to the following personnel decisions Wednesday: • To create another kindergarten class at Greenock Elementary School.

• Hired middle school math teacher Katelyn Garland.

• Hired Cyber Virtual Instructors for the 2024-25 school year including: special education teacher (712), Marc Bellora; English teacher (7-12), Tara Wemyss; math teacher (7-12), Justin Korona; health and physical education teacher, Dave Byers; physics teachers, Michael Day and Sean Browne; social studies teacher (7-12), Brandon Gerba; biology/environmental/ science teacher (79), Vicki Jackson; chemistry teacher, Amanda Rose; art teacher (9-12), Megan Smith; elementary teacher (K-6), Andrea Solomon; French teacher, Shawna Boden; school counselor (K-5), Joseph McManus; school counselor (68), Crista Scalfari; school counselor (9-12), Joseph McManus; BCIT, Ryan Brain; and cyber coordinator, Amy Thurston.

• Hired Dr. Daniel Harrold as the Elizabeth Forward Virtual Academy K-12 cyber principal, effective Aug. 21.

• Hired 2024-25 classroom aides at a rate of $12 per hour with no benefits, not to exceed 25 hours per week: Central Elementary kindergarten aides: Tomi Kibe, Carolyn Long, Christina Leber; Central Elementary classroom aides, Christine Kelly, Nicole Stephanson; William Penn Elementary classroom aides, Valerie Crawford, Linda Pittner; William Penn Elementary kindergarten aides, Joanna Smaracheck, Amanda Washington; Greenock Elementary kindergarten aides: Tara Halterlein, Cindy Obley, April Mink; Greenock Elementary classroom aides, Kathy Palmer, Michelle Ratica; Mount Vernon Elementary classroom aide, Lynn Miller.

• Approved the School Resource Officer Agreement between Elizabeth Forward School District and Elizabeth Township Police Department. The agreement is for the 202425 school year at a cost of $84,460.

Konyk said a special meeting will be advertised in hopes of filling other open positions as needed. He anticipates the meeting will be held sometime next week.