Lower Elementary

About

Serving students in grades K-3

The Lower Elementary School serves 480 children in grades K-3. The school focuses on providing every student with a strong academic foundation in math and language arts using integrated approaches that incorporate science, social studies and world languages.

Instructional Programs

Innovative Curriculum & Self-directed Learning

  • Structured and extensive instructional time to maximize the amount of instructional time provided in each content area. Including ninety minutes of Mathematics and ninety minutes of English Language Arts each school day, and one-hour core extension time built to provide teachers to review subject matter as a class or work.
  • Innovative curriculum focused on helping young children to develop the cognitive, social-emotional, self-regulatory, and foundational academic skills they need to succeed in school and beyond. The school uses Tools of the Mind as its main curriculum to give children the tools needed to take charge of their own learning.
  • Self-directed learning that focuses on having students create their own learning plan throughout the day through the use of classroom based independent activity centers and the motivation to work with “study buddies” in the classroom.
  • Immersing students in technology through regular class periods dedicated to teaching basic computer skills as well as early coding skills. All Kindergartners have access to IPads and to notebooks in grades 1-3

Principal's Message

Preparing Children to Thrive as Global Citizens

Welcome to the STEM Elementary School. As your principal, it is my pleasure to serve our learning community and ensure that our students are successful, safe and happy.

The STEM Elementary School campus serves 480 students in grades K-3. The academic focus of the school is on providing a strong foundation in math and language arts, integrated with the teaching of other core content areas such as Science, Social Studies and World Languages. Our school’s curriculum is aligned to the Common Core State Standards, and our school’s schedule is specifically tailored to maximize the amount of instructional time provided in each content area. Students receive ninety minutes of Mathematics and ninety minutes of English Language Arts each school day. In addition, students have one hour of core extension time built into their schedules to allow classroom teachers to review a subject matter as a class, or work individually with students that are struggling to master a specific skill.

To ensure that our students are immersed in STEM content areas, we offered the Tools of the Mind curriculum in the early grades to give children the necessary academic foundation to take charge of their own learning by allowing students to create their own learning plan throughout the day. The instructional day in our classroom is structured through a combination of activities that include teacher-led instruction combined with learning centers where students engage in independent activity.

We provide a variety of support services for our students to ensure that everyone is at the academic level needed to achieve proficiency and enjoy learning. On a regular basis, we provide support from a Reading Specialist, Occupational and Speech Language Therapy and ESL Support for our second language learners.

Every family in our school is very important to us, as we create a school community that will prepare children to thrive as global citizens and be successful in their school and college career.

Come and visit us!!

Faculty/Staff


Administration

  • Building Administration

Faculty

  • Kindergarten
  • First Grade
  • Second Grade
  • Third Grade
  • Special Services
  • Special Area Teachers (Arts, Music, Theater, Spanish & ESL)

Staff

  • Support Staff

Building Administration

Samantha Rodriguez

Principal

Srodriguez@leap.rutgers.edu

Nancy Torres

Vice Principal

856-614-3292Ntorres@leap.rutgers.edu

Charles Benito

Director of Assessment

856-614-5631Cbenito@leap.rutgers.edu

Kindergarten

Catherine Clark

Kindergarten Teacher

Cclark@leap.rutges.deu

Ashley Hudock

Kindergarten Teacher

ahudock@leap.rutgers.edu

Heather Szychosky

Kindergarten Teacher

hszychoski@Leap.Rutgers.Edu

Jennifer Quinn

Kindergarten Teacher

JenniferQuinn@Leap.rutgers.edu

Bartola Rivera-Zapata

Instructional Assistant

briverazapata@leap.rutgers.edu

Greseida DeJesus

Instructional Assistant

gdejesus@leap.rutgers.edu

Joan Rodriguez

Instructional Assistant

jrodriguez@leap.rutgers.edu

First Grade

Elizabeth Alper

1st Grade Teacher

ealper@leap.rutgers.edu

Divya Chohan

1st Grade Teacher

dchohan@leap.rutgers.edu

Lindsay Minton-Jack

1st Grade Teacher

LMinton@leap.rutgers.edu

Tiyana Hicks

1st Grade Teacher

THICKS@LEAP.RUTGERS.EDU

Michele Pierce

1st Grade Teacher

MPIERCE@LEAP.RUTGERS.EDU

Caroline Connors

1st Grade Teacher

Cconnors@leap.rutgers.edu

Second Grade

Arfa Baker-Dean

2nd Grade Teacher

Abakerdean@leap.rutgers.edu

Amanda Carpenter

2nd Grade Teacher

ACARPENTER@LEAP.RUTGERS.EDU

Candice Stephens

2nd Grade Teacher

cstephens@leap.rutgers.edu

Courtney Lavin

2nd Grade Teacher

clavin@leap.rutgers.edu

Karelis Pickus

2nd Grade Teacher

kpickus@leap.rutgers.edu

Gwendolyn Soltys

2nd Grade Teacher

gsoltys@leap.rutgers.edu

Lydia Acevedo

Instructional Assistant

lacevedo@leap.rutgers.edu

Third Grade

Isabell Howell

3rd Grade Teacher

IHOWELL@LEAP.RUTGERS.EDU

Christine Meslar

3rd Grade Teacher

cmeslar@leap.rutgers.edu

Darla Merrill

3rd Grade Teacher

dmerrill@leap.rutgers.edu

Maria Orlina

3rd Grade Teacher

morlina@leap.rutgers.edu

David Richardson

3rd Grade Teacher

DRichardson@leap.rutgers.edu

Paul Scott

3rd Grade Teacher MA+15

pscott@rutgers.leap.edu

Special Services

Donita Zepeda

Title I reading specialist (K-3)

dzepeda@leap.rutgers.edu

Sarah Horneff

Special Education Teacher

SHorneff@leap.rutgers.edu

Special Area Teachers (Arts, Music, Theater, Spanish & ESL)

Shannon Covington

Health/P.E. Teacher

scovinton@leap.rutgers.edu

Jesse Barton

Art Teacher

jbarton@leap.rutgers.edu

Christine La Paglia

Basic Skills Teacher

clapaglia@leap.rutgers.edu

Armani Cruz

Music Teacher

acruz@leap.rutgers.edu

Lissel Vasilaskis

Spanish Teacher

lvasilaskis@leap.rutgers.edu

Silvia Vasquez

Fab Lab Teacher

svasquez@leap.rutgers.edu

Support Staff

Yahaira Perez

Office Manager

856-614-2088Yperez@leap.rutgers.edu

Vanessa Cruz

College Access Associate

856-614-2075Vcruz@leap.rutgers.edu

Samantha Deletto

School Nurse

856-614-2097sdeletto@leap.rutgers.edu

Maria Cruz

Director of Parent Engagement

856-614-5084mcruz@leap.rutgers.edu

Juan Rivera

Custodian

jrivera@leap.rutgers.edu

Nutrition

View & Download Menus for Lower Elementary Students

Food is cooked daily in each school.  The staff works diligently to provide balanced and nutritious meals. Menus are available each week.

ESL & Special Service

English as a Second Language (ESL) Program and Special Services


LEAP Academy’s ESL Program aims to provide culturally and linguistically responsive education for all English language learners to ensure equitable access to opportunities that promote language acquisition, life long learning, and global citizenship.

The office of Special Services supports families, students, and their teachers by providing the necessary tools and resources to ensure that all eligible diverse learners; students with disabilities, students with a 504 plan, and multilingual learners. Under special services, LEAP Academy students receive a free appropriate public education (FAPE) through the provision of special education and/or related services to meet the unique needs of all qualified diverse learners. Rigorous, high-quality instruction is essential to our practice and our teachers and staff are committed to prepare our students for success.