The following are highlights from the Board of Education tonight which marked the last meeting of the school year. There were multiple presentations made at the Board meeting this evening.

The Board acknowledged BCSSSD Transition Student Armani Marino for the many achievements and dedication to the sport of soccer and who participated this month in the Special Olympics USA games in Florida where he and his teammates earned a Gold Medal.  We are so proud of Armani. Congratulations.

The Board recognized a number of donations on the Board agenda. The Board is grateful to our community members and Burlington Chevrolet represented by John Broderick and Bob Deaton for their generosity and scholarships. Two students in the automotive technology program, Sammad Michel and Breon Turner, were honored with scholarships from Burlington Chevrolet.

The Board, administration and staff are also grateful to Board member Anna Evans for her service on the Board and to our two Districts and to Assistant Superintendent Dr. Lisa English for her dedication and contributions to both districts and who will be moving on as the appointed superintendent of the Shore Regional School District effective the beginning of July.  Congratulations and thank you. A certificate of appreciation was presented to Ms. Evans and Dr. English.

Dr. Nagy acknowledged the successful commencement ceremonies held for BCSSSD and BCIT over the past two weeks. He recognized the outstanding work of the administration, staff and student speakers and commencement participants which made the celebrations very special. We want to thank the Burlington County Commissioners, Senator Singleton and our Board of Education members for their participation and to our education foundations.

Dr. Nagy noted that the Districts saw the end to the school year at BCSSSD earlier this week and the last day for teachers at BCIT was today.  What a year and much to celebrate while putting the pandemic as much as possible in our rearview mirror. We must remain vigilant and follow appropriate protocols put in place and endorsed by the CDC and BCDOH.  I want to thank all our staff, students and parents for working together to get through this year, which was the third year in a row that was interrupted by Covid-19.

We say thank you to all of those staff whose retirements will be approved this evening. We wish all of you the very best and good health in your new endeavors.

The Board approved updates to job descriptions, contract approvals, appointments and resignations. 

The Board approved the Limited Certificate of Eligibility and Certificate of Eligibility with Advanced Standing Five Year Pilot with the NJDOE. This will provide us with flexibility for hard to fill certificated positions.

The Board also approved statements of assurance, affiliation agreements and NJDOE Facility approval submissions as well as the addition of a few more special education classrooms based on growing enrollment and need.

The next Board of Education meeting will be the reorganization meeting which will be virtual at 9am on July 7, 2022.

The following are a few highlights of activities and honors announced during the past month:

• BCIT WesTech and MedTech have been awarded CTE grants in the amount of over $16 million for submitted architectural and programmatic expansions on both campuses as part of the Securing our Children's Future Bond Act. In addition, Burlington County is generously providing a 25% match of the total cost of the project, which is in addition to the grant money! Thank you to all the administrators & CTE instructors who provided input into the project design, to the County for all of their assistance, and to our administrative team who provided all key data and information for the submission of the grant applications.
• BCIT Dental Occupations was highlighted in an article by Jackie Burke, the Executive Director of the NJ Council of County Vocational-Technical Schools, which was featured on ROI-NJ, a business news website.
• BCIT WesTech Ad Art, Fundamentals of Art, and Entertainment Tech students virtually participated in the 2022 Burlington County Teen Arts Festival. Of over 350+ Visual Arts entries, the work of 4 students from Ad Art were selected to be on display and serve as State Representatives for Burlington County at the NJ State Teen Arts Festival. Additionally, the digital work of Freshman, Demanie Boone-Chubb, was 1 of 4 pieces selected to be part of a touring exhibit in NJ representing Burlington County. In the Filmmaking category, a Film titled, "Strangers" by Entertainment Tech students was selected as a representative for Burlington County at the NJ State Teen Arts Festival. All of this beautiful and inspiring work can also be seen on our Facebook page.
• MedTech celebrated the time-honored tradition of the Jaguar's Choice award Ceremony. Students are nominated by staff members to attend the Jag Awards and while there are no particular requirements for this, staff members are invited to acknowledge those students that have impressed you with their manners, determination, willingness to help others, dedication, or maybe they have just made you smile every day.
• Juniors in MedTech Welding all passed their OSHA10 Training and received their certificate. They are now ready to move on to Work-Based Learning!
• Senior Awards & Scholarship Ceremony. A senior in each shop and academic area is nominated/recognized by a staff member for academic excellence. Scholarships are also presented at this award ceremony.
• MedTech hosted their Sports Awards Ceremony to celebrate all fall, winter, and spring athletes. In addition, each coach nominated the top athletes for each sport and these students were awarded trophies.
• Students in VOTAG (gifted talented program) were celebrated this month as well. These students were nominated for excellence in vocational, academic, and leadership. In addition, student projects were displayed in a showcase and scored.
• MedTech held an Academic Honors Breakfast for students who have maintained Honor Roll for Marking Periods 1, 2 and 3. Breakfast is prepared by Culinary students and Mr. Parker presented the students with academic certificates and pins.

Both BCIT Campuses Awarded a Combined $16 millon Plus for Program and Building Expansion

The Superintendent's Office received word yesterday that BCIT has been awarded CTE grants for both campuses for a total of over $16 million for submitted architectural and programmatic expansions on both campuses. The county is providing a 25% match of the total cost of the project which is in addition to the grant money which has been awarded as part of the Securing our Children's Future Bond Act approved a few years ago. We applied for the second round of grants as part of this bond act.

BCIT West Scope

This project scope includes the augmentation and renovation of our transportation, distribution,and logistics classrooms. The project will include the reconfiguration of three storage rooms; the addition of an auto technology room and a diesel technology room; and the new construction of a corridor, TLD warehouse, and an outdoor covered garage area.

BCIT Medford Scope

This project scope includes the augmentation and renovation of our welding technology, HVAC, and green technologies programs. This will include the enlargement of HVAC and welding program footprints along with the remodeling of the classrooms and storage areas. 

Note of Gratitude

This is an exciting chapter in our district history and will provide for the growth for many generations to come through the halls at BCIT. I want to thank all of our administrators, CTE instructors who provided input into the project design, to those in the County for all of their assistance and to our administrative team who worked with the architect, grant writer and provided all key data and information for the submission of the grant applications.  I am grateful to all of whom have worked diligently with the architect and Andrew to get the applications through in a timely manner. This is exciting. Stay tuned for more details as when we can expect the project to begin. Congratulations to all of you.

Governor's press release

https://www.nj.gov/governor/news/news/562022/approved/20220531b.shtml

List of the six projects funded

https://d31hzlhk6di2h5.cloudfront.net/20220531/00/db/b1/b3/0a7c713738aaf249862fad9e/County_Vocational_School_Chart_2.pdf

Burlington (BCIT Medford):  $5,895,488
Burlington (BCIT Westampton): $10,416,657
Cape May: $14,450,859
Salem:  $2,250,000
Hunterdon: $3,750,000
Passaic:   $197,024