The Governor's Educator of the Year program highlights the outstanding achievements of instructors who display leadership, classroom innovation, and inspire our students and faculty alike. The awards are not only an acknowledgement, but a celebration of the hard work demonstrated each day by our exemplary teachers.

The May 19th Board of Education meeting honored this year's recipients of the Governor's Educator of the Year Awards, featuring our Teachers of the Year, Educational Service Professionals of the Year, 2024 Exemplary Educators, and our Outstanding Employees of the Year. Our distinguished educators and staff were featured in a presentation and awarded while their families and community members looked on with pride.

Learn more about each of our distinguished professionals in a special presentation, linked below:

Bring Your Child to Work Day is a nationally recognized program in which parents bring their children into the workplace to gain an understanding of the work environment. The goal of the program is to provide insight to their caregiver's work day and gain an understanding of different careers and jobs. This year, our administrators, teachers, counselors and staff brought their children to see what a day at school looks like from the other side of the desk.

The Kearny School District is proud to host this annual event, with staff members opening their doors and welcoming our children to meet our "kids" for the day. With a host of activities designed to build community and foster an understanding of what their parents do all day, our kids not only gain insight and understanding, they make lasting memories as well. From student-led activities to Principal for a Day, our school kids had a blast working alongside our families for a memorable and exciting day. This annual event highlights the community spirit and familial energy brought to our schools every day.

The Optimist Club 6th Grade Spelling Bee 2025 was held at Lincoln Middle School, where sixth graders from each of our elementary schools competed. After many intense rounds and a whirlwind of challenging words, three outstanding students from Schuyler School emerged victorious, sweeping 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place!🏆✨

🥇 1st Place – Ava Taggart
🥈 2nd Place – Lucas Moreira
🥉 3rd Place – Sebastian Colon

The student competitors not only displayed exemplary spelling skills, but demonstrated camaraderie and respect: true values of the Kearny School District community.

A heartfelt thank you to The Optimist Club of West Hudson/South Bergen, and to Joseph Stanish for organizing this outstanding event for our students. Your commitment to youth excellence is deeply appreciated. Additional gratitude is extended to the parents, teachers, administrators, and Optimist International–Atlantic Central District for supporting our bright young scholars.

Winners were awarded generous prizes of $250 for first place, $200 for second, and $150 for third.

🏫Garfield School 6th graders visited Lincoln Middle School for an orientation session and Water Festival. The incoming 7th graders were treated to a tour of the building and learned about all the exciting programs and opportunities ahead, sparking anticipation all around.

💦Outside on the blacktop, the annual Water Festival featured demonstrations and informative stations for our 6th graders to learn about environmental sustainability and the multi faceted world of hydrology.

🚀Our future middle schoolers are officially ready to soar!🎒 We’re so proud of how curious, kind, and confident they were as they took their first steps into this next chapter. Here’s to a fantastic year ahead!

District families were invited to an informative orientation session at each of their incoming Kindergartner's home schools. Led by District Supervisor of Preschool and Kindergarten, Jen Brodsky, eager parents listened intently to an overview of programs, important information and were encouraged to ask pertinent questions about our Kindergarten program.

Curious to see what a typical day in Kindergarten looks like? Check out our orientation video here!

Franklin School was honored to welcome Gabriel Rivera from the 104th Brigade Engineer Battalion for a special Memorial Day visit. Rivera spoke to an attentive audience about his experiences in the military and answered student questions to round out the visit. The Kearny School District extends sincerest gratitude to Rivera for his service.

Mrs. Curry's KEEP students in grades 3-6 showcased their engineering sides at the annual STEM showcase. The gallery style event featured presentations at tables arranged around the gymnasium. Students and faculty were invited to interact with the students during their presentations, which showcased their use of Makey Makey and Microbit technologies.

Congratulations to Roosevelt 6th grader Sofia Silva Gauilanes on earning Honorable Mention in the Hudson County Improvement Authority’s 2025 Earth Day Art Contest. Hudson County students in grades K-8 were invited to design and create a poster that reflects an Earth Day theme. This year’s theme was “Clean Streets, Clean Waters.” The posters were entered into the contest, and Gaulianes' not only won a prize, but was featured in a display at Liberty Science Center through May.

Schuyler's preschool families were invited to join our littlest learners at the annual Spring Fling event - a time to share, create, and make memories. The gymnasium was abuzz with bee-themed story tents, beautiful garden backdrops, and colorful rainbow activities. There were smiles for miles as our families enjoyed quality time together to celebrate the end of a great year. Special thanks to our PreK teachers: Ms. Ferreira, Mrs. Twisten, and Ms. DeRay as well as Principal Iacono for holding this cherished event.

West Ham’s Anton Ferdinand visited Washington School for an inspirational visit, speaking about a wide range of social issues such as diversity, teamwork, and resilience. After the meet and greet, the kids were able to do a skills session and even play against the West Ham legend in a 7 v 1 game.

Washington School 4th graders had an exciting visit from the New York Red Bulls to kick off a fun new fitness program! Each student received their very own pedometer to track daily steps and stay active - a fun challenge with an exciting reward - Red Bulls tickets!

The Washington School Newscasters finished up an incredible inaugural season with a visit to Mr. Miller's Broadcasting class at Kearny High. The future anchors, producers, and directors explored various elements of broadcasting and even got some hands-on experience with production techniques. It was truly a fun and inspiring day for our future broadcasters! Check out the Washington School YouTube channel to stay up to day with What's New at Washington School, linked below.

On April 30, Kearny, Belleville, and Harrison Middle Schools gathered at LMS for the 2nd annual Hudson Poetry Slam—celebrating the power of student voices.

Since 1979, the Math Olympiads for Elementary and Middle Schools (MOEMSⓇ) has challenged students worldwide with rigorous problem-solving opportunities, encouraging critical thinking and mathematical excellence. This year, 25 students from Lincoln Middle School proudly took part in this global competition, with standout performances by Julian Kulesza and Sophia Lima, who earned top honors and special recognition for their achievements.

The Lincoln Middle School Math Olympiads wrapped up a fantastic season with a trip to NYC’s Museum of Mathematics. From cracking cryptography codes to exploring hands-on exhibits and enjoying lunch in the park, it was a day of discovery, fun, and celebration.

The Kearny School district is proud of our mathematics scholars who have demonstrated exemplary logical abilities from code-cracking to problem solving. Well done, Olympians! 💪🏼

Lincoln Middle School was recognized by the National Wildlife Federation’s EcoSchools U.S. program for exceptional achievement in educating for sustainability and driving positive environmental change in the school and local community. The cohort now joins a growing network of environmentally committed schools across New Jersey, and is among those honored with the prestigious Green Flag—the highest recognition awarded by the Eco-Schools program.

To receive the Green Flag award, Lincoln Middle School’s students and faculty committed to a number of sustainability actions, earning enough points to earn a Green Flag award. This included engaging the local community, forming an action team, creating an action plan, collecting data, taking solution-based actions, and measuring impact.

These actions were all designed to provide opportunities for youth leadership, raise environmental awareness, connect students to the natural world, and drive positive environmental change.

Lincoln Middle School celebrated its first National Junior Honor Society Induction Ceremony on May 14, 2025—a truly special milestone for our school community.

The evening was filled with pride, inspiration, and recognition of our students’ outstanding commitment to academics, leadership, service, character, and citizenship.

Congratulations to all of our newly inducted NJHS members and their families! Thank you for your continued support in helping make events like this possible.

Watch the full NJHS Induction Ceremony here:

Mr. Miller's broadcasting students took home a Judge's Award in the Horror category for their entry, Icarus Academy, in the annual Montclair Emerging Filmmakers Competition.

The student creators walked the red carpet and received their award on Saturday, May 31st at the Claridge Theater in Montclair. The contest is very competitive and receives several hundred entries per year judged by a jury of film professionals.

Credited on the short film, Icarus Academy, are the following students:

Aurora Latona (director), Jasmine Viera (assistant director), Mauricio Gomez (lead cinematographer), Jonathan Desimon and Luis Refosco (assistant cinematographers), Gabriela Novillo (script continuity supervisor), Vanessa Costa (audio), Thomas Freitas Behrend (lead editor), Zaivette Gomez (assistant editor), and stars Aymar Hernandez, Rebecca Fontes, Omar Pardo, Kaira Vazquez, and Gia Kaminski.

View the short film on the KHS Broadcasting YouTube Channel:

Franklin’s Family Engagement Night was s’more fun than ever! A cozy "Campfire Fun & Literacy Adventures" theme set the tone for the evening as families gathered ‘round to build camp sites, play rhyming games, craft paper bag puppets, and enjoy delicious s’mores. A celebrated reading of A Camping Spree with Mr. Magee set the stage for a variety of activities such as “fishing for rhymes,” designing campsite maps, and playing board games together. The evening concluded with families making gooey s’mores and each student selecting a free book to take home. It was a joyful and memorable evening filled with learning, laughter, and connection.

Garfield School's Family Engagement Night brought our K-6 students and their families together to discuss limiting screen time, explore fun math activities, and enjoy hands-on crafts and games. This fun and informational session brought our families together in convivial spirit for hands-on learning activities and diminished screen time.

The May Family Engagement Night held at Lincoln Middle School featured the Meadowlands Science Bus, a hydroponics station, and outdoor garden activities in the lush courtyard. Thank you to all of our families who joined us in learning, growing, and connecting!

Schuyler School families gathered together for a fun filled evening of bonding, memories, and wellness activities. From crafting to social-emotional exercises, the peaceful night brought joy to our families as they bonded over learning, memories and joy.

The 2025 Kearny High School Valedictorian, Johanna Elisabeth Escalante, and this year's two Salutatorians, Jordan Baily and Evan Ruan, were honored at the 2024-2025 Hudson County Academic Achievement Dinner on May 28, 2025 at LeReggia Restaurant in Secaucus. This prestigious event celebrates all of the Hudson County valedictorians and salutatorians. The Kearny School District extends sincerest congratulations to our scholars.

Congratulations to Raquel Lamego for receiving the NJPSA Student Leadership scholarship. Raquel was invited, with twenty-five other scholarship winners, to a luncheon on at Forsgate Country Club. Raquel is the first recipient of the scholarship from Kearny High School.

Twelve Kearny High School seniors recently became the first cohort to graduate from the HCCC Early College program, each earning an Associate of Arts in Liberal Arts degree from Hudson County Community College just before receiving their high school diplomas.

This dual-enrollment pathway—established in 2021 through an agreement between HCCC and the Kearny Board of Education—allows students to complete college-level coursework taught both on their high school campus and at HCCC, saving on tuition, accelerating their academic journey, and positioning them for future success

The students celebrated their graduation in May. With inspiring speeches from counselors and administrators and warm embraces from proud family members, the students celebrated this momentous achievement with grace. The Kearny School district is proud of their students for achieving this milestone and we look forward to celebrating your continued successes.

Academic Excellence chairperson and Kearny High School counselor, Dorian Fasciano was elated to award medals to 73 students this year. The audience took in inspirational speeches from Mayor Carol Jean Doyle, Superintendent of Schools, Flora Encarnacao, and keynote speaker Amanda Eustice, a 2015 KHS alumnus and NJ12 News reporter. The joyous day culminated in a superb reception catered by the Kearny High School Culinary program. Congratulations to this year’s honorees!

Watch the full ceremony here:

152 seniors qualified for the Seal of Biliteracy, demonstrating proficiency in two or more languages. The languages represented included: Kazakah, Japanese, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Spanish and Tagalog. Of the 152 students, 76 were current or former ESL students. The Kearny School District is proud to celebrate the accomplishments of our incredible students and held a moving ceremony at Kearny High School in honor of this milestone. The students received medals, certificates, and wrapped up the event with refreshments catered by the KHS Culinary department.

On May 20th, Kearny High School proudly held its first induction ceremony for the National Mathematics Honor Society, Mu Alpha Theta. This event marked the establishment of our inaugural charter, dedicated to recognizing excellence in mathematics.

During the ceremony, 30 senior students were formally inducted into the society, celebrating their academic achievements and passion for mathematics. As founding members of our chapter, these students pave the way for future scholars and set a strong precedent for mathematical excellence within our school community.

Congratulations to all inductees and look forward to the continued success of Mu Alpha Theta at our school.

The ESL Honor Society recently inducted 13 new members and presented 8 graduating seniors with their honor cords. We are incredibly proud of the notable academic achievements and leadership demonstrated by these outstanding students!

This year, the Kearny High School Class of 2025 inaugurated the Red Letter Project - a tradition in which seniors in high school receive envelopes with congratulatory messages from family, friends, faculty, coaches, or local community members. These words of encouragement empower our students and celebrate their achievements as they move on from high school. Sophomore Class advisor Emilee Marshall was inspired by this project and spearheaded the initiative, receiving more than 500 letters addressed to every member of the Class of 2025.

The Kearny School District invites our community join in our congratulations. The sampling of red letters here depicts the heartfelt pride for all of our students, and we are grateful to share a few of the sentiments sent to our students.