The Manchester Township School District encourages parental involvement in our schools. There are many ways for parents to become involved, including:

Back-to-School Night

This is an opportunity to meet your child's teachers, get a sense of what their typical day is like, and find out about homework and discipline policies. Held at every school in September and early October, parents are strongly encouraged to attend. Check your school calendar for schedules.

Parent-Teacher Conferences

Anytime you have a concern, parents may schedule a telephone or in-person conference with your child’s teacher by calling the school office to set up an appointment. In October & November, your school will schedule a week of parent-teacher conferences during the afternoon and evenings, so that all parents have the opportunity to meet with their child's teacher on a one-on-one basis at least once during the year. Check your school calendar for schedules.

Parent Volunteers

There are many ways for parents to volunteer in school or at home. Parents who want to volunteer at the elementary schools on a regular basis may help out in the library, art room, music room, office, gym or in a regular classroom. Parents who can’t make it to the school during the day may help teachers by volunteering to do cutting, stapling, typing, or other projects at home. Other ways you can become involved on a less regular basis are by being a guest reader; helping with special events; sharing your travel or career experiences; demonstrating a craft, skill or hobby; etc. Parent volunteers must take a mandatory training before working with students. For more information please contact your child’s teacher or school office.

Manchester Township PTA

The Manchester Township PTA (Parent-Teacher Association) is a volunteer organization of parents, teachers, school staff, and other interested community members that works for the benefit of all six schools in the Manchester Township School District. The PTA works to enrich our students educational experience by promoting parental involvement and increased home and school communication, providing scholarships and awards, keeping parents informed on educational and child-related issues, and providing educational assembly programs to our students. General meetings are held four times a year (see the district calendar for dates).

For more information on the Manchester Township PTA, pick up a membership brochure at any of our schools. You can also drop a note to the PTA by sending it into school with your child in an envelope marked "ATT: PTA" - or visit the Manchester Twp. PTA web site at www.ManchesterPTA.org.

Manchester Twp. Educational Foundation

The Manchester Township Educational Foundation is a non-profit 501(c)3 charitable organization with a long-term mission to improve the quality of educational experiences for all students the Manchester Twp. Public School District. Their goal is to gain support from all facets of the Manchester community (parents, seniors, businesses, organizations, alumni) as well as larger corporations and foundations. The Foundation works to foster community support and find creative funding alternatives to assist in meeting educational needs not completely met through the annual school budget or other resources. They provide classroom mini-grants, scholarships and equipment donations. For more information visit the MTEF website at www.mtef4kids.org.

Parent Advisory Committees

All of our schools have Parent Advisory Committees that meet about once a month with the principals to discuss school programs, policies, and upcoming events, and to make suggestions to improve the school environment. All parents are welcome. For more information contact your school principal or see your school's calendar for meeting dates.

Superintendent's Advisory Committee

This group meets several times during the year with the Superintendent to discuss district programs, policies, the school budget, and more. They also help the superintendent identify district needs and make suggestions for improvements. New members are always welcome. For more information contact cmackenzie@manchestertwp.org .

Booster Club

The high school's Booster Club supports athletic and music programs at the school.

Special Events

Throughout the school year, parents are invited to special events like band and chorus concerts, science fairs, festivals, holiday celebrations, sporting events, drama productions, class plays, student of the month assemblies, and more. See your school calendar and your school news page for upcoming events.

Students Fall Behind When they Miss School

School attendance is linked to school achievement. Students fall behind when they miss school. Empty seats in our classrooms mean our students are missing out on learning. A student who is absent from school may be able to copy missed notes, complete missed worksheets and receive help after school. However, important aspects of the lessons are lost forever.

Absent students miss out on explanations, discussions, questions raised and much more. What a student misses in one class session is needed as a foundation for what will be taught in the next lesson. Absent students start to fall behind and some never recover.

Please become familiar with your school’s attendance policy, which may be found in school handbooks posted under Backpack on each school’s website and on our Annual Notices page.

When a student is absent a parent or guardian should call the nurse or attendance office to report the absence and request homework for extended absences. Parents must also send a note of explanation for any absence upon the child’s return to school. A doctor’s note may be required for certain illnesses and/or extended absences. This policy was set up in conjunction with the State Board of Education’s New Jersey Administrative Code title 6A:16-7.8-Attendance.

Remember that learning builds day by day, so we encourage you to schedule appointments and family trips during non-school hours.

Top Reasons for School Absences

Clearly, a child who wakes up with a fever should stay home. But many students miss school when they’re not sick. Here are some of the top reasons for school absences—and how you can help your child avoid them:

Medical appointments

Schedule visits to the doctor and dentist after school or during school holidays.

Oversleeping

If your child is having trouble waking up in the morning, make bedtime earlier. Sleep is important—but so is school.

Disorganization

If looking for homework papers and preparing lunch in the morning causes your child to be late, prepare school items before going to bed.

School refusal

If your child doesn’t want to go to school, make an appointment for a parent-teacher or guidance conference. Working together, we can identify and resolve problems that make your child reluctant to go to school.

We Want to Help! 

Your child’s education can lead to a world of possibilities, but walking through the school door on time every day is the first step. If there are circumstances that cause your child to continually miss school, please let us know. We want to help. Let’s work together to make attendance a top priority!

Guidelines for Effective Parent-School Communication

Parents should be concerned about their child's educational experience, and our district staff wants to know about your concerns and answer your questions. However, with nearly 3,000 students in our district, you can understand why it is necessary to follow some general guidelines to help streamline communication and provide security for our students and staff. The most important guidelines are that appointments must be made to meet with a staff member, and that parents should follow the chain of command in addressing concerns.

Chain of Command

The first person you should contact about your concerns is the staff member closest to the situation, usually the classroom teacher. Most problems can be solved at this level. If not, you should move through the following chain of command: guidance department (high school and middle school), child study team (special education students), assistant principal, principal, district department head (curriculum, special services, student/administrative services, transportation), superintendent. Only after you have followed this chain of command to the highest level should you bring your question or concern to the Board of Education.

How to Contact Staff Members

Our staff members are dedicated to providing an excellent educational experience for your child and want to give all of our students their complete attention during the school day. For this reason, and to maintain building security, it is necessary to make an appointment to meet with any staff member. Please do not expect a teacher to speak to you about individual student concerns while his or her class is present, or while you are there for another purpose such as volunteering, attending a class party or event, or at Back-to-School Night.

To make an appointment to speak with a school staff member (either by phone or in person), please call the school's main office or guidance office. It is important that you include the best times to reach you if you leave a message.

To speak to a district staff member, please call the Board Office at 732-350-5900 and your call will be directed to the proper office.

You may also search our Staff Directory for email addresses for our staff.