• Category 3

    Selected in 2023

  • Grades: pre k - 4
    School Setting: suburban
    Town Population: 24
    Student Enrollment: 290
    Student Demographics:

    Black/African American: 1%
    White/Caucasian: 32%
    Hispanic: 64.7%
    Hawaiian/Pacific Islander: 0%
    Asian: 2%
    Native American: 0.3%
    Other: 0%

    Teacher/Student Ratio: 1:11
    % Reduced Lunch: 39.3%
    % ELL Learners: 17.5%
    Founded: 1926
  • PRINCIPAL:
    Dana Martinotti
  • CONTACT:
    214 Day Avenue
    Cliffside Park, NJ 07010
    201-313-2350
    dmartinotti@cliffsidepark.edu
Cliffside Park School No. 5
Cliffside Park, NJ
Teachers, specialists, administration, and parents all work together to develop action plans tailored for each student.
1. Tell us about your school’s success.
We are proud of the success of Cliffside Park School No. 5. and we attribute much of our success on the experience of our teachers and relatively low turnover rate. Our support services have improved in regard to scheduling and instructional efficiency. Many of our students start school an hour earlier so they can receive support in our "Early Riser" program. In addition, we have increased our multilingual classes as this population has increased over the last few years. Title I supplemental services have also increased. Most recently we attribute the need for more services due to Covid. We have implemented both push-in and pull-out programs depending on the needs of our students. These instructional models drive collaboration among teachers in planning lessons and analyzing data. Our I&RS process allows for early intervention and monitoring student progress. Teachers, specialists, administration, and parents all work together to develop action plans tailored for each student.
2. Talk about the greatest contributing factor(s) that promoted positive change in your school.
Over the past couple of years we have been strengthening the collaborative ties between the classroom teacher and support teachers. All teachers tied to a particular student contribute to a shared lesson plan document and review and update each student's data folder which travels with the student. Faculty and grade level meetings have been reorganized and provide a forum for collaboration. As a result, instruction between support and classroom teachers has become more fluid and consistent. We also feel that communication with parents has improved mostly due to the advances of hosting virtual meetings that accommodate parents' busy schedules. In addition, we send out notices in Spanish as the majority of our student body is Hispanic. Teachers are also able to communicate electronically with emails and messaging systems that can be translated to our parents' native languages. Recently we have reorganized the registration process in a way that we can best serve our new students.
3. How has ESEA funding supported the school's success?
We have implemented the Fountas and Pinnell Guided Reading program coupled with the Benchmark Assessment System. Both supplemental and classroom teachers have found the components and materials to be effective and useful for early literacy instruction. In addition, we have adopted the Level Literacy Intervention program also by Fountas and Pinnell as part of our multi-tiered support system. ESEA funding has also provided us with the means and opportunity to organize parent information sessions. We have also increased staffing for our supplemental services. ESEA funding has also helped to acquire research-based programs and the necessary materials to enhance instruction. The acquisition of digital tools have helped to support student learning, especially at home where students can log-in to programs such as Raz-Kids and IXL. Funding has also allowed for more professional development opportunities and materials needed for professional learning communities.
4. What professional development activities were used to improve teaching and learning?
Professional development is ongoing in our school and district. Most recently we have focused on strengthening guided reading instruction and early literacy assessment. Teachers have had opportunities to enhance their literacy instruction through sessions with representatives for both the instructional and assessment components. Additionally, teachers have designed Professional Learning Communities based on data, as well as personal and district goals. Topics have included reading and writing strategies, developing assessments, and taking accurate running records. We started off this year with focusing on our multilingual students. This is largely due to the increase in students transferring in with interrupted formal education. The first professional development designed for teachers was sensitivity training in educating these students. As a result, teachers formed a PLC in which they study strategies to support our ML students and reflect on the successes of the strategies.
5. Talk about the cultural shift leading up to your school's success.
Cliffside Park is a very diverse, densely-populated borough. While it is only one-square mile it is home to over 25,000 residents of many ethnicities and languages. Our school population is mostly hispanic and a third of our students are multilingual learners. We put a new intake process in place as we want to ensure the proper placement is provided. Once placement is determined and new students are integrated to our school community, we introduce them to our school-wide customs and rituals. Students are responsible for creating our School No. 5 Constitution as we start off each new year when we celebrate Constitution Day. During the school year we focus on instilling pillars of character education and acknowledging students' successes in monthly assemblies. Teachers often plan cross-grade level activities such as creating holiday crafts or writing celebrations. These activities help to create an atmosphere of friendship and respect for students outside classroom doors.
6. How has community involvement strengthened your success?
We have great support from many facets in our community. The county Food Outreach program supplements our families' nutritional needs. Snack packs and meal kits are provided on a monthly basis.
Our emergency responders help to create safety and security plans so our students and staff feel safe and secure and provide programming to our students such as fire safety. The Cliffside Park Public Library is our partner in literacy. Representatives visit frequently to read with our students, assist families in securing library cards, and informs our families of the programs that are offered. During the summer, programs are created for summer reading. In addition to these agencies, local businesses also support our school through donations, participation in fundraising initiatives, and coming in to present programs to our classes, especially during Health and Wellness week. We plan fun events for our families to celebrate cultures such as our International Night.
Stats
  • Category 3

    Selected in 2023

  • Grades: pre k - 4
    School Setting: suburban
    Town Population: 24
    Student Enrollment: 290
    Student Demographics:

    Black/African American: 1%
    White/Caucasian: 32%
    Hispanic: 64.7%
    Hawaiian/Pacific Islander: 0%
    Asian: 2%
    Native American: 0.3%
    Other: 0%

    Teacher/Student Ratio: 1:11
    % Reduced Lunch: 39.3%
    % ELL Learners: 17.5%
    Founded: 1926
  • PRINCIPAL:
    Dana Martinotti
  • CONTACT:
    214 Day Avenue
    Cliffside Park, NJ 07010
    201-313-2350
    dmartinotti@cliffsidepark.edu