Brick Received 638 Applications for Kindergarten Teacher Jobs

The Brick Township Board of Education on Thursday night approved the hiring of nine teachers, eight of whom were hired to teach in the district's new full day kindergarten program which will begin in the fall.

The eight fortunate candidates were hired out of a pool of 638 applicants, said Superintendent Dr. Walter Uszenski.

There are "piles" of applications to go through for the next round of hirings.

"We still need more teachers," said Uszenski, but the hiring is being separated into three phases since it isn't possible for district staff to comb through all of the applications at once.

The district will switch kindergarten classes from a half day to a full day program for the 2013-14 school year following a unanimous decision made by board members earlier this year. Kindergarten classes will migrate from the Primary Learning Center on Chambers Bridge Road back to local elementary schools.

"It was about 14 months ago when we had our budget sessions for our current year's budget," said board member Larry Reid. "We talked about the goal in the district of having a full day kindergarten. We thought that was something we should strive for. We never really considered not having a full day kindergarten. The main concern was how we were going to fit it into our schools."

But with a declining student population came extra room in the district's seven elementary schools.

"There's no value to an unused classroom," said Reid.

The board has not yet made a determination of what to do with the Primary Learning Center, though several ideas have been batted around, including opening a specialized academy school.

According to state statistics, 70 percent of New Jersey school districts now offer full day kindergarten programs, and many in the education community feel state-mandated full day kindergarten is on its way.

The eight new teachers hired for the program will earn between $51,896, the district minimum under a collective bargaining agreement, and $54,811.

"Yes, we have to add additional kindergarten teachers, but it was well within the ability of the district to fund that, and the educational value of that full day kindergarten is … priceless," said Reid.

The district has posted a flyer for parents on its website to advertise a June 5 presentation which will explain the full day program.