I encourage all parents and guardians to participate in  Parent-Teacher Conferences scheduled for October 26th, 27th and 30th.  As partners in education, these conferences offer you the opportunity to directly communicate with your child's homeroom teacher, ask questions and address any concerns.  

Please follow the directions provided by Principal Graham on October 5th to schedule an appointment via the Genesis Parent Portal.  As a reminder, these 3 days are also early dismissals. October 31st is also an early dismissal for afternoon staff in-service. 

Our teachers look forward to hosting you at this year's Parent-Teacher conference!

                           Scott Heino, Superintendent

We love our educators and staff year-round, but this is the week we formally celebrated their dedication to our students!  The CES PTA also treated our staff to treats each day, and today the CPEF hosted a luncheon with beverages provided by the PTA for all staff.  A nice way to end the week!

We have an unbelievable staff at CES who work tirelessly on behalf of our students and serve incredibly important roles in the lives of so many.  I am grateful to be part of such a supportive school community.  Thank you again for all that you do!

Scott Heino

At last week's Board of Education meeting, I shared a presentation about the annual School Budget process.  The development of a new school year's budget actually begins in the fall of the previous school year, and is a 6-month process. 

The process starts with an administrative discussion about budget focus areas including technology upgrades or increased cyber security, new curriculum and the resources required to implement new programming.  We then move through several phases, developing budgets for smaller areas or departments within the district, securing quotes, adjusting for increases/decreases in services or changes in staffing based on anticipated student numbers.

Our Business Administrator then compiles all departmental budgets into one district budget. During this time, administrative meetings are also held to review (line item by line item) each departmental budget.

Our  BOE subcommittees begin their review of this preliminary budget with the majority of work being done within the BOE’s Finance Committee. However, all subcommittees are responsible for reviewing a specific part of the preliminary budget.  Budgetary changes are made based on the reviews that took place within each BOE subcommittee and during this time we also begin to receive final budgetary numbers.

This timeline affords the Business Administrator time to finalize a budget to present to the public, allowing the full Board and public to receive a full budget presentation before its preliminary approval. Once the BOE approves the preliminary budget, it is forwarded to the Department of Education for review and approval.

Once that preliminary budget is approved by the DOE, it is returned to the district for its annual budget hearing and BOE approval. Changes in the budget are minimal at this point, but they can occur. This  process gives the Board and public an opportunity to make any final suggestions prior to the final approval of the budget following the public hearing. 

We are grateful each year for the efforts made by our Board of Education members on behalf of our students. As part of the Chesterfield community, we encourage you to attend the public presentation on the budget that is usually held at the April BOE meeting.

               -  Scott Heino, Superintendent

The first day of school is fast approaching, and the excitement is building as we prepare to start the 2022-2023 School Year! Hopefully you enjoyed the summer break and took time to spend quality time with family and friends. 

As a reminder, Genesis Parent Access will open on Monday, August 29^th at 4:00 p.m.   Back to School Night is on Wednesday, September 14th and there is an early dismissal for students. 

Enjoy the final days of summer and we look forward to seeing you on the 7th!

Next week we will be honoring our teachers by celebrating Teacher Appreciation Week.  Over the past two years, our Chesterfield teaching staff has gone above and beyond by constantly making adjustments, incorporating new technology, and adopting different approaches to ensure students would be able to learn remotely.  They also provided for a smooth transition when returning to in-person instruction. Thank you to our dedicated teaching and paraprofessional staff who faced many challenges on a regular basis.  We could not have navigated the pandemic so successfully and returned to in-person instruction without their professionalism and dedication to our students.

I think we could all agree that Chesterfield teachers are superstars!  Please take the opportunity to personally thank your child's teachers next week and acknowledge them for all that they do throughout the school year.  

At last night's Board of Education meeting, I shared a presentation about a very important District goal regarding equity.  While the District’s equity initiative is heavily focused on training and planning during the 2021-2022 School Year, it is important to think of this work as a journey that will span many years as we continue to grow as a school district and to ensure each child receives what they need to develop to their full academic and social potential.

Our current Equity Team members have begun their journey by attending the first two sessions of a four-part series at the Equity In Action Leadership Academy.     

The Team started its heavy lifting by first looking inside as individuals and examining how we each perceive equity, discussing common language and where we can begin to find data.  We then discussed our “why”:  Why are we doing this work?  followed by discussions on types of data and how we look at data through an equity lens.  We finished up our first two sessions by beginning to think about a “problem of practice”.  In future sessions we will begin to look at this problem of practice and potential barriers.

The Equity Team will also receive coaching in February/March 2022 in an effort to plan how to best provide support for our students and staff while working through our problem of practice and developing a plan for action. Coaching will also help lead us through an audit of our district from an equity perspective that includes the completion of our Comprehensive Equity Plan.

Chesterfield staff also had its initial equity training during the November 2021 in-service.  A second staff training session is scheduled for our February 2022 in-service day. Training will continue into the next year.

The Equity Team will also continue to grow as we consider enlisting a parent advisory group and including two newly-formed student groups: student government and S.A.K.E.  For the 2021-2022 School Year, we have 3 activities planned.

Finally, as Chesterfield celebrates its second consecutive year as a No Place for Hate school , I encourage you to celebrate this achievement by fostering your child's participation in Random Acts of Kindness Week during the week of February 7th - 11th.  This week will focus on the spirit of hope and goodness and will celebrate our differences while offering an opportunity to concentrate on how kindness towards others can make us feel better about ourselves.  With community participation and support, Chesterfield Elementary will continue to be stronger together.

                            - Scott Heino, Superintendent

Yesterday I was pleased to provide a December 15th Board of Education Meeting Update.  While it has been nearly two years since we shared an update due to the pandemic, we plan on returning to a monthly update to keep our school community informed of the work of our Chesterfield Township Board of Education.  I am extremely thankful for the Board's ongoing support as we navigate these extremely challenging times. 

While we prepare for the Winter Break,  I would also like to express heartfelt gratitude to the Chesterfield Elementary school community for its continued support and help in keeping our students and staff safe.  Despite the marked increase in positive COVID-19 cases, we have truly remained stronger together.  I wish all of our students, staff, and parents/guardians Happy Holidays, and hope that you enjoy the Winter Break.

                         - Scott Heino, Superintendent

As cases of COVID-19 climb across our country and state, we are seeing a similar trend here in Chesterfield.  Last week the Southwest Region of the State (our region) moved from the Moderate Risk level to the High Risk level.  The BCDOH also reported the number of positive cases in Burlington County doubled within a 24-hour period in the past week, and I have sent several notifications of an increase in positive cases at Chesterfield.

Once we moved into the High Risk Level, specific protocols became more restrictive.  While at the High Risk Level, unvaccinated close contacts are required to quarantine for 14 days, rather than 10, and a negative COVID-19 test can no longer be used to shorten the quarantine period.  Another change is specific to close contact of a positive case in the same household:  the quarantine period for an unvaccinated individual who is identified as a close contact of a positive case in the same household is “10 + 14”.  This means that the 14 day quarantine period begins after the positive case in the household has isolated for 10 days.  Thus, in this case, the quarantine time frame is 24 days total.

I cannot stress enough to please continue to follow all COVID-19 health and safety protocols, including keeping your child home if your child is experiencing symptoms of illness or has been a close contact of a positive case.  I also encourage you to keep our school nurses in the Health Office informed if you are experiencing any issues with COVID-19 that would impact our school community. 

Let’s do our part and work together to keep our school community healthy and safe.  

                                                      -Scott Heino, Superintendent

Chesterfield Elementary proudly hosted a Veterans Day Assembly which was live-streamed to all students and staff this morning.  The presentation was developed by the 6th grade safeties under the direction of our school counselors, and included a brief history of Veterans Day and an overview of all branches of the service. 

Chesterfield students and staff were also given the opportunity to honor veterans from their own families by sharing their stories about why they joined the Armed Forces, their job and in what branch they served.  Many veterans and several active-duty members (including parents of Chesterfield students) also joined us at the assembly and were invited to provide personal remarks.  They all expressed the importance of serving our country while themes of honor, duty, diplomacy and genuine pride in representing our great nation both here and abroad also resonated throughout the presentation.  

The Chesterfield school community extends its heartfelt gratitude to all veterans and active-duty service members for their service and sacrifice, and for keeping us safe.

                                                                            - Scott Heino, Superintendent

As Chesterfield students enter school each day, they can easily see a banner hanging in the Lobby that reminds them about our theme for this school year: We Are Stronger Together. 

As we considered our theme for the school year we looked for a theme that celebrates our return to the building.  However, it is much more than that. 

Our staff knows that as we implement the new ELA curriculum, We Are Stronger Together.  As we begin to look at resources and instruction through an equity lens, We Are Stronger Together.  As we work to support students, staff and families from a mental health and social emotional learning perspective, We Are Stronger Together. 

The students have already been engaged in activities that focus on strength in teamwork and collaboration. I invite the entire school community to join us in our theme and capitalize on our strengths as a school community and show how we truly are stronger together.