Special Programs

"Title I" refers to Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Schools Act. The name of the title is: Improving the Academic Achievement of the Disadvantaged. The purpose is defined as, "The purpose of this title is to ensure that all children have a fair, equal, and significant opportunity to obtain a high-quality education and reach, at a minimum, proficiency on challenging State academic achievement standards and state academic assessments." It is designed to provide additional financial resources to meet the needs of children who attend schools where the poverty level is greater than the poverty level in the district as a whole. Two schools in the district have programs that are supported by Title I funds: Adamsville Primary and John F. Kennedy Primary. Other schools are eligible for Title I funds, but are supported with equivalent district funds: Hillside Intermediate and Bridgewater-Raritan Middle School. 
 

Response To Intervention

This program uses a multi-criteria system which identifies students who would benefit from additional instruction from Intervention Specialists (certified teachers) in the areas of mathematics and/or language arts due to skill gaps that cause them to perform below grade level. A broad spectrum of strategies is employed for diagnosing learning areas of strength and specific skills gaps, prescribing specific learning interaction, and monitoring and sustaining student academic performance. Interventions may include planned differentiation by classroom teachers as well as focused direct instruction in push-in/pull-out, small group/individualized instruction.

The goal of the RTI program is to intervene regarding student learning concerns, resolve those concerns, build success, and release the student gradually toward independence. The RTI program does not track students into alternate ability-level groupings; instead, it endeavors to identify and address the specific learning and neuodevelopmental strengths and weaknesses as well as the experiential knowledge gaps in the profiles of individual students. In turn, instruction is scaffolded into guided, independent, and applied practice, and assessment of skill acquisition and content application is ongoing. As such, RTI maximizes student understanding and academic potential.

Note that the High School RTI program does not replace Language and Literature English courses or Mathematics courses; instead, it supplants an elective.
 

English as a Second Language

The Bridgewater-Raritan Regional School District has a comprehensive program that is designed to assist English Language Learners (ELL) students in grades K-12 and help them to achieve the goal of communication in their home and school environments in English. The major goal of the program is to prepare students to participate fully in the English speaking world while encouraging students to maintain their cultural identity, native language, and cultural heritage as they learn a new language and adapt to a new cultural environment. Curriculum implementation supports the goals of developing language skills, critical thinking skills, and problem-solving skills. Teachers utilize intensive English instruction to help students develop listening, speaking, reading and writing skills in the English language.

Students who participate in the ELL program are identified by examination of multiple measures, including a state approved assessment (ACCESS). Intensive language instruction in a pull-out setting, language support during content area instruction, student-clustering in classrooms, and sheltered instruction classes that combine subject area/content specific instruction concurrently with language instruction according to the Sheltered Instruction Observation Protocol (SIOP) model are the mechanisms employed to address the range and variety of individual students' language service needs. Students who are successfully exited from the ELL program continue to be taken into consideration, with the ESL teacher as a resource for recommendations regarding differentiated instruction. In addition, at the high school level, Language and Literature Transition and Language and Literature Transition 2 bridge language study and literature study for advanced and former ELLs.
 

According to state administrative code (N.J.A.C. 6:8-4.5(a)4i), “The district shall make provisions for identifying students with gifted and talented abilities and for providing them with an educational program and services.” The Bridgewater-Raritan Regional School District defines “Gifted and talented” students as those students who are capable of high academic performance and who require differentiated programs and/or facilities beyond those normally provided in order to fully develop their gifts and talents, lead more satisfying lives, and enhance the quality of life in their communities. The BRRSD offers a range of programs to meet the needs of these students. Some of the programs involve ability-grouping or homogenous classes. Please click on the links to the left for more information on each of these programs.

Gifted and Talented Programs

• Academically Independent (AI) Classes: Grades 2-6
• Enrichment (E) Classes: Grades 5-8
• Honors Classes: Grades 9-12
• Advanced Placement (AP) Classes: Grades 9-12

District Policy 2464 - Gifted and Talented Students (M)

AI EG5 Program Parent Info Night Presentation 10/19/2018