Planning for Growth - Facility Tours
On Tuesday, September 30, the Planning for Growth Working Group convened at Warren Middle School to review current space usage and specialty programs across the district. Following an initial discussion, members visited Mt. Horeb School, where the school principal, Mr. Cook provided a tour highlighting how classrooms and specialized spaces are being utilized. The group continued to Central School for a similar walkthrough with the school principal, Mrs. Tugya. The group then returned to the middle school for the final tour by the middle school principal, Mr. Villar. Touring the schools during the instructional day offered members a valuable, firsthand perspective of student life across multiple schools and grade levels.
The group reconvened on October 1 to reflect on the tours and key observations. During this session, Dr. Mingle provided historical context on the town’s development and outlined how the Board of Education has managed both periods of growth and decline over the years.
Materials from the meeting are available below.
Planning for Growth - General Education & Support Programming Space Needs
The Planning for Growth Working Group met on September 22 to review current space usage across the district and had a follow-up Q&A from the last meeting. Please see the summary below.
Elementary Schools: Elementary schools operate on a six-day cycle, relying on shared and repurposed spaces. Art and Music have dedicated classrooms, while World Language and Gifted & Talented often share or adapt spaces. Intervention programs such as Accelerating Student Academic Progress (ASAP), English as a Second Language (ESL), and Speech also use a mix of full, shared, and small group rooms.
Middle School: Core subjects require multiple full classrooms per grade, with Science needing specialized labs. World Language and Encore programs each require a dedicated classroom or lab. Innovation & Design, Technology, Home Economics, Band, Choral Music, and Physical Education have specialized spaces, while support staff primarily use small group rooms.
District Programs: Curriculum, Special Education, IT, and Data Management staff are housed at Angelo L. Tomaso School and Warren Middle School, often using instructional or small group spaces as offices.
Materials from the meeting are available below.
Special Education Session Follow-Up Questions and Answers
General Education & Support Programming Space Needs
Planning for Growth - Preschool Follow-Up
On Thursday, September 4th, the Planning for Growth working group reconvened at Angelo L. Tomaso School to continue discussions on the district’s preschool program. The session followed up on information presented at the previous meeting and focused on costs, program requirements, and long-term outcomes. The Director of Special Services, Molly Lange, and the Preschool Administrator, Melissa Smolenski, shared insights on what is required to operate the district's special education programs, highlighting both state mandates and district-level needs. They were also able to provide valuable insights into the students' educational journey, from preschool through Middle School, and how those needs will change in the future. Members also toured special education classrooms to observe programming firsthand. Materials from the meeting are available below.
Planning for Growth - Preschool
The Planning for Growth Working Group met on July 21 to examine the future of Warren Township’s preschool program. The session centered on how to best serve the needs of current preschool students while also preparing for projected enrollment growth across the district.
Participants reviewed the history and evolution of the preschool program, including its expansion from a half-day special education-only model to today’s full-day integrated program. The group also considered the increasing number of classified students and the resulting need for more general education peers to meet state inclusion requirements.
The discussion included the roles of early identification and intervention through the Child Study Team, the physical space needed to support expanded services, and the impact of recent programmatic shifts on student development.
Members explored the potential benefits and challenges of applying for Preschool Expansion Aid (PEA) from the state, which could support broader access to preschool but would also bring specific implementation requirements, such as transportation, staffing, and facility constraints. The group compared this option to maintaining a tuition-based model and discussed the financial and equity implications of both.
Throughout the meeting, members emphasized the importance of delivering a high-quality, inclusive preschool experience while remaining mindful of long-term sustainability, space availability, and community needs.
Materials from the meeting are available below.
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Last modified on Thursday, April 24, 2025