Piscataway Township Schools is one of three grand prize winners.
Steven Dunmore of Sodexo; Teresa Rafferty, Piscataway superintendent of schools; William Irwin, Piscataway Board of Education president; Alexandra Lopez, Piscataway Board of Education vice-president; Tom Connors, Piscataway Board of Education member; and Thomas J. Gentzel, NSBA executive director and CEO at the Magna Award ceremony.PISCATAWAY -- Piscataway Township Schools is one of three school districts to receive the National School Board Association's Magna Award, given to school districts for "innovative programs that improve the lives of their students and their communities." Piscataway took the top prize among schools with enrollments between 5,000 and 20,000.
The Piscataway school district won for a program called "You, I, We Inspire." The program, now in its third year, encourages teachers to reach out to businesses and other educational institutions to create nontraditional programs for students. Examples of those programs are a panel discussion led by young women working at L'Oreal, who for the last two years have come the district to talk about their careers and the paths they took to get there, and a partnership with Rutgers University that allows Piscataway High School students to take Rutgers courses and earn college credits.
The school district received a $5,000 award during a ceremony held in Denver on March 25.
"The Magna Award-winning districts are prime examples of how public schools all over the country are working to give students a high-quality education and life," said Thomas J. Gentzel, NSBA executive director and CEO.
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