In partnership with our community, Lavallette School District is committed to providing and preserving a safe and personalized environment where each student embraces learning and strives for excellence.

Welcome to the 2025-26 school year! Lavallette Elementary School had a very successful opening this month as we welcomed students back with the message, “Your Future Is So Bright.” At our school, we believe every child has unique gifts and endless potential waiting to shine. Through joy, curiosity, kindness, and hard work, our students are building the foundation for a future filled with possibilities. We are excited to encourage them each day to dream big, set goals, and know that their journey is just beginning - and it’s looking brighter than ever!

Back to School Night

Thank you to everyone who came out to Back To School Night on September 16th. This event is always a great opportunity for parents to meet their child’s teacher and to better understand the academic framework and activities students will experience throughout the year.

Attendance Matters!

Thank you to our parents for helping support our belief that attendance matters….truly! We reduced our chronic absenteeism by 5% and are committed to reducing that an additional 5% this year.  Our goal is a collective one that supports helping every child reach their full potential: 

• Starting in preschool and kindergarten, too many absences can cause children to fall behind in school. 

• Missing 10%, or about 2 days each month over the course of a school year, can make it harder to learn to read. 

• Students can still fall behind if they miss just one or two days every few weeks. 

• Being late to school may lead to poor attendance. 

• Absences and tardiness can affect the whole classroom if the teacher has to slow down learning to help children catch up. Attending school regularly helps children feel better about school - and themselves. Start building this habit in preschool so they learn right away that going to school on time, every day is important. Consistent good attendance will be a skill that will help students succeed in high school and college.

It’s also important that parents are aware that our district policy #5200 requires students to be in school for at least four (4) hours, excluding lunch and recess, for the day to count as a full day of school.

Parent Universities

We have several Parent Universities being planned this fall. The first is “Converlation,” which is the curriculum we use for digital safety and responsible usage for students in grades 5-8.  Join us for this virtual Parent University on September 30th at 6:00 PM.  Information was emailed to all 5th-8th grade parents.  

The developers of the curriculum are also working closely with the research from the book, The Anxious Generation, which will be the focus of this year’s community book club, beginning in December.  The goal of both of these community engagement events are to support reflection on how technology, social pressures, and modern parenting trends are shaping our children’s lives, and how we can build a healthier, more balanced future for them. Parents, teachers, and other community members are encouraged to join us.  

We will also have a Parent University on October 28th on water safety, including dry land strategies for safety in pools and hot tubs. Through a partnership with the ZAC Foundation, Lavallette will be integrating water safety lessons in the health curriculum throughout the year for grades K-4. Additionally, we plan to continue our student trips to the Neptune Aquatics Center each spring where our students in grades 1-8 work with certified water safety instructors on rescue techniques for themselves and others, as well as other water safety strategies.

Targeted Assistance Program (TAP)

This year we will continue to use federal Title I funds to support identified students who need additional instruction in English language arts and mathematics. Our Targeted Assistance Program (TAP) will begin later this fall  and will provide instructional support from 7:30 AM - 8:15 AM on designated days.  More information will be forthcoming.

Books and Barks

We are excited to introduce our new program for students in K-3, called Books and Barks. Each classroom will be assigned a therapy dog several times each month to come into the classroom during the literacy period. Therapy dogs are especially effective during reading periods for elementary students because they create a calm, supportive, and emotionally safe environment - key conditions for literacy development.

Family Night Coming Soon - “One Community, Many Cultures”

Join us on November 18th from 6:00-7:30 PM as we celebrate the many unique and special cultures and traditions of all of our families. This event is a wonderful opportunity to share your family’s special recipes, stories, traditions, crafts and more. 

More information, including a family sign up sheet, will be shared shortly.

Calling All Parents! 

We need you! Your creativity, imagination, and investment in our students is needed as we embark upon the process of Portrait of a Graduate. This process engages all stakeholders in the school community in developing a comprehensive picture of the 21st century skills that our district believes students should embody and exemplify by 8th grade graduation. More information will be forthcoming about this committee. 

New Community Book Club at Lavallette Elementary School - “The Anxious Generation”

Lavallette Elementary School is excited to host a 10-week community book club beginning this December.  The book club will be a hybrid of in-person and virtual sessions and all participants will receive a copy of the book, The Anxious Generation. Join speaker, Jonathan Baressi, as he opens our first book club session on December 2nd, as well as several of our virtual meetings!

According to a recent report from the Pew Research Center, 95% of teens use a smartphone, and 45% say they are online almost constantly. About 70% of teens are on Snapchat and Instagram, while 85% are on Youtube. One would think all this near constant “socializing” would make teens feel more connected than ever before.  However, the research continues to reveal the connection between social media and anxiety and depression.  In 2018, the Centers for Disease Control issued some sobering statistics about student anxiety and depression. Teens are more lonely, anxious and depressed than ever. About a third of teens surveyed by the CDC said they’d felt persistent sadness or hopelessness. Social media, says John Richter, director of Public Policy at the Mental Health Association, believes social media is exacerbating this trend. (Excerpt from NEA Today, January 2019)

The book “The Anxious Generation” is attracting the attention of parents and school district leaders as we continue to navigate more effective ways to support improved student mental health and wellness.  Author John Haidt, a social psychologist and professor of Ethical Leadership at New York University, suggests this book is a “generation-defining investigation into the collapse of youth mental health in an era of smartphones, social media, and big tech.”  

More information will be shared with families this fall. We hope you’ll join us!

Family- School Partnerships Support Learning and Achievement

Studies consistently link family engagement  in education to students’ academic success. When teachers, families and students work together, anything is possible! Like any successful partnership, a strong family-school relationship thrives on trust, clear communication and mutual respect. Here’s how to build that foundation: 

• Set the tone - Show your interest  by participating in back-to-school events. Introduce yourself to the teacher and exchange contact information. Ask how you can support learning at home. Fill out and return school forms promptly. 

• Share information throughout the school year - Tell the teacher if there are any changes at home, such as a new sibling or a divorce,  that may affect your child in the classroom. Communicate as partners. Respectful communication fosters better outcomes than demands. Try framing requests using “we” to emphasize teamwork. “How can we work together to support Erin?” Remember, the teacher is your  partner in your child’s education. 

• Maintain a positive outlook - Future conversations with the teacher will likely highlight your child’s strengths. Be open to also hearing about areas for growth.  You and the teacher share the same goal: your child’s success.

Lavallette School’s Social Media and Communication Platforms

We have so many wonderful things happening here at Lavallette Elementary School and our staff is committed to highlighting all of these exciting learning activities and school community events. We invite you to download the Lavallette School mobile app, visit our website at www.lavallettek12.org, and  follow Lavallette School on the following social media platforms:

Thank you to each and every one of our parents for your ongoing support and partnership in your child’s education at Lavallette Elementary School!

Sincerely,

Dr. Lisa J. Gleason
Superintendent/Principal
Leadership Achievement Values Aspirations
#LAVAproud