Rockaway Township Public Schools Explained

The Rockaway Township Public Schools is a comprehensive community public school district that serves students in pre-kindergarten through eighth grade in Rockaway Township, in Morris County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.^[1]

As of the 2022–23 school year, the district, comprised of six schools, had an enrollment of 2,386 students and 248.2 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 9.6:1.^[2]

The district is classified by the New Jersey Department of Education as being in District Factor Group "I", the second-highest of eight groupings. District Factor Groups organize districts statewide to allow comparison by common socioeconomic characteristics of the local districts. From lowest socioeconomic status to highest, the categories are A, B, CD, DE, FG, GH, I and J.^[3]

Public school students in ninth through twelfth grades attend either Morris Hills High School (those living in the White Meadow Lake section and other southern portions of the township) or Morris Knolls High School (the remainder of the township). Morris Hills (located in Rockaway Borough) also serves students from Wharton and some from Rockaway Borough (those mostly north of Route 46); Morris Knolls (located in Denville) serves all students from Denville and portions of Rockaway Borough (those mostly south of Route 46).^[4] As of the 2022–23 school year, Morris Hills High School had an enrollment of 1,187 students and 117.3 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 10.1:1,^[5] while Morris Knolls had an enrollment of 1,447 students and 130.9 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis) and a student–teacher ratio of 11.1:1.^[6] The Academy for Mathematics, Science, and Engineering, a magnet high school program that is part of the Morris County Vocational School District is jointly operated on the Morris Hills campus.^[7] The two high schools are part of the Morris Hills Regional High School District.^[8]

Awards and recognition

In 2024, Catherine A. Dwyer Elementary School was one of 11 school's statewide that was recognized as a Blue Ribbon School of Excellence by the United States Department of Education.^{[9] [10]}

Schools

Schools in the district (with 2022–23 enrollment data from the National Center for Education Statistics^[11]) are:^{[12] [13]}

Elementary schools

• Birchwood Elementary School^[14] with 279 students in grades K-5
  • Jennifer Macones, principal^[15]
• Catherine A. Dwyer Elementary School^[16] with 322 students in grades K-5
  • Michael McGovern, principal^[17]
• Katherine D. Malone Elementary School^[18] with 259 students in grades K-5
  • Brian Rawlins, interim principal^[19]
• Dennis B. O'Brien Elementary School^[20] with 275 students in grades PreK-5
  • Chris Maragon, principal
• Stony Brook Elementary School^[21] with 391 students in grades K-5
  • Stephen Wisniewski, principal^[22]

Middle school

• Copeland Middle School^[23] with 853 students in grades 6-8
  • Dustin Bayer, principal^[24]

Administration

Core members of the district's administration are:^{[25] [26]}

• Richard R. Corbett, superintendent^[27]
• Megan Slamb, business administrator / board secretary^[28]

Board of education

The district's board of education, comprised of seven members, sets policy and oversees the fiscal and educational operation of the district through its administration. As a Type II school district, the board's trustees are elected directly by voters to serve three-year terms of office on a staggered basis, with either two or three seats up for election each year held (since 2012) as part of the November general election. The board appoints a superintendent to oversee the district's day-to-day operations and a business administrator to supervise the business functions of the district.^{[29] [30] [31]}

External links

• Rockaway Township Public Schools
  • Rockaway Township Public Schools, National Center for Education Statistics

Notes and References

1. https://www.straussesmay.com/seportal/Public/DistrictPolicy.aspx?policyid=0110&id=f19fdb4722d748d08be21dd1dd7af1a6 Rockaway Township Board of Education District Policy 0110 -Identification
2. https://nces.ed.gov/ccd/districtsearch/district_detail.asp?Search=2&details=1&ID2=3414130&DistrictID=3414130 District information for Rockaway Township School District
3. http://www.state.nj.us/education/finance/rda/dfg.shtml NJ Department of Education District Factor Groups (DFG) for School Districts
4. https://www.mhrd.org/Page/1031 About Us
5. https://nces.ed.gov/ccd/schoolsearch/school_detail.asp?Search=1&DistrictID=3410740&ID=341074004352 School data for Morris Hills High School
6. https://nces.ed.gov/ccd/schoolsearch/school_detail.asp?Search=1&DistrictID=3410740&ID=341074004354 School data for Morris Knolls High School
7. https://www.mhrd.org/Page/863 Home page
8. http://www.nj.gov/education/pr/1415/narrative/27/3370/000.html Morris Hills Regional High School District 2015 Report Card Narrative
9. https://nationalblueribbonschools.ed.gov/awardwinners/ Current Awardees
10. Kelley, Tina. "11 new National Blue Ribbon Schools named in N.J.", NJ Advance Media for NJ.com, September 23, 2024. Accessed September 24, 2024. "Eleven public and private schools have been chosen as New Jersey's newest National Blue Ribbon Schools, the U.S. Department of Education announced Monday."
11. https://nces.ed.gov/ccd/schoolsearch/school_list.asp?Search=1&DistrictID=3414130 School Data for the Rockaway Township Public Schools
12. https://rc.doe.state.nj.us/selectreport/2022-2023/27/4490 School Performance Reports for the Rockaway Township School District
13. https://homeroom6.doe.state.nj.us/directory/school/districtid/4490 New Jersey School Directory for the Rockaway Township Public Schools
14. https://bw.rocktwp.net/ Birchwood Elementary School
15. https://bw.rocktwp.net/o/bw/page/principals-message Principal's Message
16. https://cad.rocktwp.net/ Catherine A. Dwyer Elementary School
17. https://cad.rocktwp.net/o/cad/page/principals-message Principal's Message
18. https://kdm.rocktwp.net/ Katherine D. Malone Elementary School
19. https://core-docs.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/documents/asset/uploaded_file/1490/KDM/3494066/KDM_-_First_Day_of_School_Letter.pdf Principal's Message
20. https://dbo.rocktwp.net/ Dennis B. O'Brien Elementary School
21. https://sb.rocktwp.net/ Stony Brook Elementary School
22. https://sb.rocktwp.net/o/sb/page/principals-message Principal's Message
23. https://cms.rocktwp.net/ Copeland Middle School
24. https://core-docs.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/documents/asset/uploaded_file/1490/CMS/4756682/Parent_Guardian_Opening_Letter_2024-2025_.pdf Principal's Message
25. https://www.rocktwp.net/page/administrative-team District Administration
26. https://homeroom6.doe.state.nj.us/directory/district/county/morris New Jersey School Directory for Morris County
27. https://www.rocktwp.net/page/superintendents-office Office of the Superintendent
28. https://www.rocktwp.net/page/business-office Business Office
29. https://www.nj.gov/education/finance/fp/dwb/DistrictByTypeList2018.pdf New Jersey Boards of Education by District Election Types - 2018 School Election
30. https://www.nj.gov/education/finance/fp/acfr/search/23/4490.pdf#page=40 Annual Comprehensive Financial Report of the Rockaway Township School District
31. https://www.rocktwp.net/page/about-the-board About the Board of Education