Melanie Burney
Education Reporter at The Philadelphia Inquirer
Education reporter at The Philadelphia Inquirer based in South Jersey, [email protected]
Articles
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1 week ago |
inquirer.com | Melanie Burney
For an hour every day, the preschoolers in Beth Garofola’s class get to choose their favorite activity — from reading to playing with water and sand. The rambunctious 3- and 4-year-olds rotated through seven stations set up in their brightly decorated classroom in Cherry Hill School District’s Estelle V. Malberg Early Childhood Center. They are allowed to choose how to spend their time during the period.
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2 weeks ago |
inquirer.com | Melanie Burney
Embattled Washington Township school superintendent Eric Hibbs remains on a paid leave imposed by the school board, pending an investigation into an ethics complaint against him. At a marathon board meeting Tuesday night spanning nearly seven hours, Assistant Superintendent Annette Miller filled in as the schools chief and will serve in that capacity moving forward, board President Julie Kozempel said. The rift between Hibbs and the board has caused turmoil in the district amid a budget shortfall.
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2 weeks ago |
inquirer.com | Melanie Burney
A firm tasked with spearheading the search for a new Camden schools chief heard an earful Monday from the community on choosing a successor to outgoing Superintendent Katrina McCombs. About 40 residents, educators, and students participated in a virtualcommunity forum with Hazard Young Attea Associates, an executive search firm. The selection process is expected to take several months.
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3 weeks ago |
inquirer.com | Melanie Burney
Two South Jersey school districts plan to take a tougher stance to ban cell phones during the school day to lessen classroom distractions. Deptford and Moorestown will both require students to keep their phones put away during the school day, and the move comes as the New Jersey Legislature considers requiring all schools to adopt such policies.
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3 weeks ago |
inquirer.com | Melanie Burney
Camden school district plans to lay off 117 employees July 1 to close a $91 million budget deficit, marking its most sweeping job cuts in recent years. The cuts run deep in the South Jersey school system and include teachers, custodians, security guards, counselors, nurses, and support personnel. Superintendent Katrina McCombs has said she had no choice but to impose the cuts to balance the budget for the 2025-2026 school year.
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