The State of the District currently was on the agenda, but many of those in the audience at Wednesday’s night Board of Educaton meeting brought questions about the future. Speaking to an audience of some 50 Board of Education members, parents, teachers, and other staff, Superintendent Brian Osborne offered a synopsis of where the South Orange – Maplewood School District stands, especially in regard to district goals. This is the fourth year the district has compiled a Report to the Community and Osborne has prepared a public presentation; a detailed list of goals, objectives and indicators is…

As of September 2010, nearly 44% of Columbia High School graduates who began college in the fall of 2005 had graduated, according to a study conducted by the National Student Clearinghouse on behalf of the South Orange-Maplewood School District. At first glance, the study's findings appear to paint a disappointing picture for South Orange and Maplewood public schools. However, though the statistics demonstrate more than 50% of Columbia's 2005 college-bound seniors have yet to earn a college diploma, it is likely the reality is more positive and more promising than one might think at first …

I am a freshman at Temple University, one of only of 12 students admitted to  Temple's highly competitive Musical Theater program. I am also a proud member of the Columbia High School Class of 2010.It is clear to me that the music and arts education training I received in the South Orange-Maplewood School District was key in helping me achieve admission to the Temple program.With the budget process underway for 2011-2012 school year, it's important to me that my friends at CHS, as well as future students who come through the South Orange-Maplewood sistrict, have the best music and arts …

A storm is a'coming. And it's the 2011-2012 school district budget process. School district administrators and board members alike have been talking ominously for months about the perfect storm of rising costs and sinking revenues, plus a lack of substantial aid from the state that will lead to yet another challenging budget cycle. Board of Education members—particularly those on the finance committee—have promised a number of cost-benefit analyses for the December meeting so that the Board can start discussing prioritization of programs, projects and materials. Board of Education President …

This fall has been a particularly anxious one for students—and their parents—who are adjusting to college life. The suicide of Tyler Clementi at Rutgers and the shooting death of Seton Hall student Jessica Moore at an off-campus party have put some on edge. "Going away to college is milestone of independence for students," says Maureen Tillman. "Parents are no longer there to monitor their lives, and freshmen need to find balance with academics, social life, activities and sports, sleep, exercise, food, partying, personal responsibilities." Tillman, L.C.S.W., is the founder of the Maplewood-…

Last May, in a sight not seen in most schools, aGrammy-winning alum and a dozen or more Broadway stars lit up the stage at Columbia High School. Amidst the revelry, South Orange-Maplewood Superintendent of Schools Brian Osborne, in a parody of Fiddler on the Roof, wheeled across stage in a broken office chair singing "If We Were a Rich School." It was one of the few light-hearted moments of a tense and contentious budget season that saw the South Orange-Maplewood School District stripped of most of its state funding. Special education washard hit. Teachers continued to work without a contract…

The story is part of a nationwide Patch education series probing the economy's effect on local schools. While budget woes and cutbacks have claimed education headlines this year, two local schools are quietly growing. Both Our Lady of Sorrows and Marylawn of the Oranges Academy have added students to their rolls this September. A recent reported authored by The Governor's Study Commission on New Jersey's Nonpublic Schools, and released in July by Governor Chris Christie, noted that nonpublic schools serve some 160,000 students in New Jersey. However, the report, "Quality Education for All of …