2022_09_New_Jersey_Monthly

Our STATE of EDUCATION
teract with students, and an already-existing
relationship between the district and local
government can help seniors land internships
that could springboard them into government
careers and other relevant professions.
—Gary Phillips
CUMBERLAND STUDENTS
MENTOR EACH OTHER
Ten years ago, parents of freshmen
at Cumberland Regional High School
were concerned when their children
were chosen to participate in the inaugural
senior mentorship program. They didn't want
their kids, who were struggling academically, to
be singled out, recalls Terence Johnson, assistant
principal of the school.
But now, he says, parents—and students—are
fighting over the few dozen spots.
“Through a rigorous selection process, Johnson
collaborates with guidance counselors
and teachers from the seven districts that
comprise the regional high school’s student
body to flag incoming freshmen who would
be a good fit. Those students are then coupled
with a compatible senior whose “sole responsibility
is to help them in their transition
into high school, socially, intellectually and
emotionally,” Johnson says.
“A lot of things that freshmen wouldn’t
communicate or share with their parents,
from a day-to-day perspective, they have a
big brother or sister as a senior mentor that
they will share with,” Johnson says.
The program includes a class that meets
daily for one semester, plus outside activities.
For the first month, the class features bonding
activities, so that the program’s selection committee
can best pair up the freshmen and seniors.
Each senior is then assigned two or three
freshmen, with about 100 freshmen total in the
program at a time. “We don’t just immediately
assign kids to a mentor, because it’s all about
who is best for who,” Johnson says.
The remainder of the semester is spent on
a curriculum based on Joseph M. Hoedel’s
textbook, Role Models: Examples of Character
and Leadership, which teaches the value of
qualities such as preparation, perseverance,
respect, honesty and courage. The program
has improved students’ self-awareness, selfmanagement,
social awareness, relational and
decision-making skills, says Matt Lawrence-
Evans, the high school’s wellness counselor.
The program is project heavy. One interesting
project involves the freshmen writing
letters—to their role models, which they read
aloud at a ceremony. —Falyn Stempler
EDUCATING STUDENTS IN
CHALLENGING TIMES
Teacher shortages, safety and mental health are on the
agenda for Angelica Allen-McMillan this school year.
[ ]
&
A
by jacqueline mroz
ACTING EDUCATION COMMISSIONER ANGELICA
Allen-McMillan welcomes the opportunity to increase
educational equity for New Jersey’s 1.4 million students.
She faces multiple challenges as the state’s commissioner,
including educating students during a pandemic, keeping
children and educators safe, teacher shortages, mentalhealth
issues and aging school buildings.
Allen-McMillan has spent 25 years in public education.
A Cedar Grove resident and a parent of three, she has been a teacher, served on a school
board, launched a charter school, served as a principal and an assistant superintendent,
and was interim executive county superintendent for Morris County. Her permanent
appointment awaits state Senate confirmation.
PHOTOGRAPH: COURTESY OF JAMAR CHAMPION, SPECIAL ASSISTANT
TO THE COMMISSIONER
66 SEPTEMBER 2022 NJMONTHLY.COM