During the Tuesday, February 25, Livingston Board of Education meeting, assistant superintendent for curriculum, instruction, and innovation Mark Stem shared that the recent Education Recovery Scorecard report designated Livingston Public Schools as fully recovered from the COVID pandemic.
This scorecard is a a collaboration between the Center for Education Policy Research at Harvard University, the Educational Opportunity Project at Stanford University, and faculty at Dartmouth College. It aims track district-level changes from 2019 through 2024.
“They took a look at state assessments and put that on grade level performance, and Livingston Public Schools was one of 106 nationally and six in the state ofNew Jersey that are being designated as fully recovered from the pandemic, so that we are now performing at a level higher than we were in 2019,” Stem said. He noted the success is due in large part to the resilience and perseverance of the students and staff.
The six New Jersey public school districts designated as “fully recovered” are Livingston, Montclair, Montgomery Township, Princeton, Rutherford, and Union City.
2026-27 Calendar
The Board also discussed the proposed calendar for the 2026-27 school year.
Interim superintendent Daniel Fishbein explained that the proposed calendar will start the school year on August 31, 2026, with the last day of the academic year falling on June 22,2027. The calendar also includes two break weeks, one in February andthesecondinApril, andallocates for 183 student days. All schools are required to be in session 180 days per school year, so this calendar would allot three inclement weather days. If they do not prove to be necessary, the calendar will be revised and three days will be removed.
The calendar also includes three full days of professional development and four partial days. The full days will be on August 26, 27, and October 12,2026. The four half days will be September 22 and November 30,2026, and January 19 and March 9, 2027.
The Board will vote on this proposed calendar at a future meeting.
Certified Board Leader
Board president Seth Cohen acknowledged Board member Pam Chirls ’ long history with Livingston. She recently complete training to become a Certified Board Leader, the highest level of individual certi (Continued on Page A-7) fication offered by the New Jersey School Board Association.
“It is with great respect and honor to be able to congratulate you on behalf of all of us at this table,” Cohen said. “Not just for becoming a certified Board Leader and putting forward the time it takes to do that, but all of the years prior. We are blessed to have your leadership.”
The Board will next meet on Wednesday, March 11.
