Craig School New Jersey
Menu
MENU

The Craig School Announces Susan Schmitt as New Head of School

Susan Schmitt is a career educator and administrator and will be joining The Craig School as Head of School starting July 2023.  She comes to us with more than thirty years of experience including teaching at the high school and higher education levels, curriculum development, academic leadership, and expertise in language-based learning differences.

(more…)

Dear Craig Community,

I am writing to follow-up on my email from Friday January 12. Below are the details about parent meetings with our four finalist candidates. On each date listed below, there will be three parent meetings at the times and locations listed. We will send zoom information as the date gets closer.

Thank you,

Peter Maciejewski

Finalist meeting dates for parents 

  • Friday January 20
  • Tuesday January 24
  • Friday January 27
  • Wednesday February 1

Meeting details:

  • High School Parent Meeting    11:00-11:45 AM   - Montville Campus - HS Room 103
  • All School Zoom Parent Meeting – 12:45-1:45 PM – Online Zoom meeting
  • Lower/Middle School Parent Meeting 1:45-2:45 PM – Mountain Lakes Campus – Cozine Auditorium

Dear Craig Community,

I am very happy to announce that we have four finalists scheduled to visit our campus during the next three weeks. Each finalist will spend two full days
on campus with a robust schedule of meetings. I will distribute each candidate's background information shortly before each visit. Carney Sandoe, our search consultant, will distribute an online survey so that the entire Craig Community can provide feedback.
There will be a separate survey for each candidate. Teacher meetings are scheduled during the school day at times that have the least possible disruption to academic schedules. Parent meetings are scheduled on the 2nd day of each visit. There will be separate
in-person parent meetings for the lower/middle school and high school. In addition, there will be an online parent meeting for those whose schedule does not permit a campus visit.

I strongly encourage everyone to participate in the campus visits and provide feedback through the survey process. Please keep in mind the job description
that Carney Sandoe prepared based on input from the entire community. This document is available on the school website and it was emailed to you last week. We are evaluating candidates in the context of this key document.

Our finalists are accomplished educators who devoted their careers to helping children. It is my sincere hope that the entire Craig Community demonstrates
our school spirit towards the candidates. Let us welcome them to campus and show our Badger spirit! Regardless of the search outcome, these distinguished finalists are working towards the same goals as Craig in the wider community of independent schools serving
students with learning differences.

I will be in-touch with further information next week.

Thank you,

Peter Maciejewski, Chair of the Head of School Search Committee

HEAD OF SCHOOL CANDIDATE - CAMPUS VISITS

Thursday/Friday - January 19/20

Monday/Tuesday - January 23/24

Thursday/Friday - January 26/27

Tuesday/Wednesday- January 31 / February 1

Dear Craig School Community,

Welcome to the search process for our next Head of School. The selection of our next Head of School is one of the more important decisions we will make as a Board of Trustees. I am excited to serve as Chair of the Head of School Search Committee.

We are committed to a thoughtful process, inclusive of the Craig community. With that in mind, we want to share our progress to date. First, we are pleased to introduce the additional members of the Head of School Search Committee:

  • Jackie Veliky, Chief Financial Officer
  • Frank Velocci, Board Chair
  • Jennifer Schoolfield, Trustee
  • Laura Given, faculty member at the Craig Lower School
  • JC Simpson, faculty member at Craig High School

Dr. Kara Loftin, Head of School, and Janet Cozine, retired Director of the Lower and Middle School, will help the search committee, but they will not be voting members. I am sincerely grateful for their support and counsel. We will greatly benefit from their knowledge and experience.

We are grateful for the willingness of the committee members to engage in this important work and thank them in advance for giving their time and energy to support our school.

The Search Committee is committed to keeping the Craig community informed and engaged throughout the search process while respecting the confidentiality of the candidate recruitment process. We will coordinate input from Craig’s varied constituencies, work with our selected search firm, Carney Sandoe &Associates, and organize and conduct interviews with the semi-finalists and finalists. At the end of the process, the Search Committee will present one broadly supported candidate to be confirmed by the Board of Trustees. Information regarding the process and each communication will be available to you through the School’s newsletter as well as available on the Head of School search page on our website.

Save the Date – November 7th and 8th - Search firm campus visit and online survey

A successful head of school search requires input from the entire community. The search process starts with our external consultant, Skip Kotkins, Carney Sandoe & Associates, preparing a robust summary of the challenges and opportunities facing the Craig School. This important document is shared with prospective candidates. It is very important for everyone to understand the scope of work because it may seem like Skip is gathering data for a process improvement project, but he is really preparing a customized executive job description that will help connect us with the right candidate.

Skip will visit the high school and the lower/middle school on November 7th and 8th. Please save the date on your calendar. We will schedule numerous meetings so that Skip can directly meet with the community and receive your feedback and perspective. We will send further details on the campus visit in the next few days. There will be separate parent meetings for the lower/middle school and high school. We will also have morning and evening parent meetings. Finally, we will have professional staff meetings in the morning and afternoon immediately before and after school.

Skip is also requesting your feedback through an online survey Craig School Survey The survey is independently administered by Carney Sandoe, and your contribution is anonymous. The survey questions are designed by Carney Sandoe and represent their standard questions. I would like to encourage everyone to complete the online survey and participate in the campus meetings next week. The survey is open from now until November 9.

While we embark on this endeavor to find the new head of school, the important work of the Craig School continues each day. On behalf of Frank and the board of trustees, we are sincerely grateful for the teachers, staff and administrators who help our students each day with passion and dedication. You are truly transforming lives and fulfilling the mission of the Craig School to educate students with language-based learning disabilities.

Respectfully,

Peter Maciejewski, Chair of the Head of School Search Committee

Wilson Cafeteria

10 TOWER HILL RD ,  MOUNTAIN LAKES ,  NJ   07046

Mar. 7 - Mar. 11

Every purchase from the Book Fair earns rewards for our school, so please stop by and support us.

Check out the elementary and Grades 6 and Up interactive book flyers

LEARN MORE HERE

Social Emotional Learning

[display-posts tag="social-emotional-learning" include_excerpt="true"]

Dr. Kara A. Loftin Writes About:

Learning Disabilities

[display-posts tag="learning-disabilities" include_excerpt="true"]

Dr. Kara A. Loftin Writes About:

Dyslexia

:

Dr. Kara A. Loftin Writes About:

Behavior

:

Dr. Kara A. Loftin Writes About:

THE CRAIG SCHOOL
HIGH SCHOOL  NEWSLETTER
Week of November 16th

This week’s Newsletter will lead us into Thanksgiving Break and cover us for the next two weeks.  We guess that means it might make sense to read it twice!  Just a gentle reminder that we will be closed on Tuesday, November 23rd which is a change from the original 12PM close.  If you haven’t already, please let your transportation company know about the scheduling change or they will be outside your house that morning! 

Dr. Cap

 

CALENDAR

Tuesday, November 17th

   Afterschool Volleyball Intramural League (3-4:30PM)

Monday, November 23rd

   Afterschool Volleyball Intramural League (3-4:30PM)

Tuesday, November 24th

   Closed: Thanksgiving Break

*Change to School Calendar. Contact Transportation Companies

Tuesday- Friday, November 25-27

   Closed: Thanksgiving Break

COMMUNITY NEWS

Program Spotlight

Student’s Poems Published:  Earlier this year, students from Ms. Gallagher's writing classes submitted poetry to a nationwide writing contest.  The contest was entitled Through Their Eyes and was offered by Young Writers USA.  Their challenge was to create a poem that was written from someone or something else’s point of view.  The Craig School-High School is very proud to announce that all of our students' submissions, selected from over 5000 entries, were chosen for publication.  Below is a group picture of our published writers and their proud teacher, Mrs. Gallagher.

Left to right: Aidan Marshall (Music), Derek Veal (The Rescue of the Princess), Julianna Christern (JC, Me Described), Nicole Murphy (Halftime)

Common Clubs Fall-Winter 2020: Last Thursday, we held our Fall-Winter Common Club Fair.  Our club leaders whose proposals were approved, set up shop in the gym and shared the goals, protocols, and processes of their clubs with prospective club members.  We held our first club meetings on Friday and are proud to share our official clubs for the 2020 Fall-Winter Session: ROBOTICS, PHOTOGRAPHY, INTRAMURAL SPORTS, GAMING, CASINO CLUB, and CROCHETING/KNITTING.

  Students signing up for their Fall Clubs 

 

HS Events

Craig 8th Grader Shadow Program: As a part of our school tradition,The Craig School 8th graders spent part of a day last week touring and seeing our high school up close and personal.  The purpose of our shadow program is to allow our 8th graders to experience a High School setting.  For some, it was their first high school visit so what safer and better place to start the high school exploration process than right here at The Craig School- High School.  Our guests did a walking tour, had a little  Q and A, enjoyed our Student Break Bar, and played a little volleyball with one of our PE Classes!   

Some of our 8th Grade guests joining in on a little Volleyball! 

 

December Parent-Teacher Conferences: It is hard to believe that we are bringing up the month of December already!  During the second week of December (W-Fr, Dec. 9-11), we will be hosting our Fall Parent-Teacher Conferences.  For our new parents, you can choose a one-hour block in either the morning or afternoon and have the opportunity to visit your teen’s classrooms for one-on-one conversations with your teen’s teachers.  Days and Hour-Blocks to choose from are:

 

WEDS, Dec. 9th 

7:45AM-8:45AM 

1PM-2PM

2PM-3PM

3PM-4PM

 

THURS, Dec. 10th 

7:45AM-8:45AM 

1PM-2PM

2PM-3PM

3PM-4PM

 

FRI, Dec. 11th 

7:45AM-8:45AM

 

To schedule a conference, you can email Mrs. Maas at DMaas@craigschool.org or call (973)334-1234 to set up your hour block window. Also, let Mrs. Maas know if you would like to also touch base with any of our specialists (Mrs. Blount, Mrs. Brown, Mrs. DeSimone-WEDS and FRI only) during your conference block. For those parents whose schedule doesn’t allow you to attend, you also have the option of a phone conference. Let Mrs. Maas know this and provide her with a phone number and time within our conference blocks that teachers can touch base.

DEVELOPMENT

ANNUAL FUND DRIVE

WE NEED YOUR SUPPORT!

Today, after many months of change in our world, our mission and core values endure, and the need for The Craig School is greater than ever before.  This is why we are encouraging our community members to participate in the Annual Fund in  a capacity that is meaningful to you.  All gifts received go right back into the school we all love by supporting our teachers  and specialists, providing cutting edge technology and programs, a safe and secure campus environment, and continuing growth of all of our students.

Click the donate here button below.

 

 

IMPORTANT INFORMATION

COVID-19 & Travel During Breaks

The Craig School is asking families who choose to travel outside of the state during the Thanksgiving and/or Winter break notify the school of such travel. Per New Jersey state guidelines, if one travels to a state listed as restricted for travel due to COVID-19, a self-quarantine of 14-days is advised. More information regarding out-of-state travel for New Jersey residents may be found here: Travel Advisory. Per medical guidance, testing upon arrival back into the state of New Jersey does not replace self-quarantine as one may spread COVID-19 to other people including family, friends, and community for 14-days after exposure to the virus, regardless of the presence or absence of symptoms. The NJ Department of Health provides a rationale for this: Why can't I test out of COVID-19 quarantine? 

Nurse

Daily attendance recording is a vital housekeeping task here  that keeps us all organized, communicative and running smoothly.  It is imperative that the school be informed and updated on each student in our care.  To that end, I’d like to remind parents to please let us know at Craig if we are to expect a change in your child’s status:  distracting mornings and changes in schedules aside, please remember your child’s welfare matters greatly to us and we need to be informed if they will not be in attendance as expected.  Call or e-mail us regarding attendance as follows:

High School Communication-Student Absences and Late Arrivals: If a student is going to be absent or late you can call the school at (973)334-1234  or email our school attendance specific email at HSAttendance@craigschool.org, both of which will go directly to Mrs. Maas.  If we don’t hear from you by 9AM, you will hear from us!  

Please indicate if your student is:

(a) absent and is unable to attend virtually. This student will be marked “Absent.” 
OR
(b) absent AND attending classes virtually. This student will be marked “Present.”
 

BUILDING
FOUNDATIONS
craig-school-badge
INSPIRING
SUCCESS
CraigSchoolLogo-white

Giving at Craig

For more information on ways of giving or to make a donation online you can clicking here.

© 2019-2024 CraigSchool.org. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

Follow Us

NOTICE OF NONDISCRIMINATORY POLICY AS TO STUDENTS 
The Craig School admits students of any race, color, national and ethnic origin to all the rights, privileges, programs, and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the school. It does not discriminate based on race, color, national and ethnic origin in the administration of its educational policies, admissions policies, scholarship and loan programs, and athletic and other school-administered programs.

Quick Links

Online Inquiry
Highlight text to read and push play.
Top envelopelicensephonemagnifiercrosschevron-down Skip to content