Welcome to the home page of Thurgood Marshall School! We are a premier Pre-Kindergarten through Grade 5 school with a strong sense of pride, school spirit and community. We are committed to providing tomorrow’s leaders with the highest quality educational experience possible. At Thurgood, scholars learn to become the architects of their futures and they are guided by a network of parents, teachers, administrators, and other valuable staff members. Our partnership provides a supportive and safe learning environment for all scholars.

Thank you in advance for your trust and support during our 2023-2024 school year. Help us strengthen your child by joining our PTA and sharing your awesome ideas that will propel us to greatness. The Parent Teacher Association (PTA) enables parents to become an integral part of their children’s education in collaboration with teachers and other community stakeholders. We believe that no school can truly be successful unless all parents are seen as valued and essential components in the educational process of our scholars. The PTA meets on the last Wednesday of each month.

We are a community of educators who believe the best interests of our scholars come first. The instructional and support staff members are here to create a positive and safe learning experience for your child. In conjunction with providing an amazing experience for each scholar, we will focus on mastering the standards in the areas of greatest need, English Language Arts (ELA) and Mathematics. Our teachers are prepared to implement many new strategies to differentiate the instruction for all of our scholars’ needs. Our teachers work hard in preparing lessons that promise to make for an exciting and productive year at Thurgood Marshall.

Staff and parents work together to benefit our scholars in academic achievement. This year, we are taking extra measures to build self-directed learners. To meet this goal, we will prepare our scholars to become innovative learners and resourceful problem solvers equipped with the skills needed to succeed in a competitive global society. Our goal is to maintain an instructional setting that stimulates curiosity and sensitizes scholars to the world they live in. To achieve these objectives, there are many shared opportunities in all aspects of the teaching/learning process. All the members of our educational community share an important role in providing our scholars with programs and services that will encourage and enrich their love of learning.

When you enter our building, we want you to feel as if you are a part of our family. We embrace the challenge of providing a world-class, high-quality education to our scholars. The team at Thurgood Marshall School is dedicated to providing a respectful, safe, and multicultural environment that will foster passionate, lifelong, and self-directed learners. We recognize that our scholars need learning experiences that engage them deeply and let them progress at a pace that meets their individual needs and helps them master the skills for today and tomorrow. It is our belief that when our children are met with such learning experiences, they become successful adults who are able to explore their global citizenship via education.

Scholastic achievement, academic success, and social development are cultivated and fostered through authentic and meaningful educational experiences at Thurgood Marshall School. We offer a print-rich, language and literature-based curriculum heavily incorporating technology to inspire our scholars towards academic achievement and support a love of learning. We want our scholars to recognize that learning is a lifelong process that starts in the classroom but can be taken wherever they go.
Thurgood Marshall School celebrates diversity infused with creativity, recognizing the uniqueness of each scholar. Scholars are encouraged to actively participate in all aspects of school life such as the Elementary Honor Society, Safety Patrol, after-school tutorials, Student of the Month, Student Council, basketball team, Cheerleaders, community-sponsored activities, and performing arts programs.

Parental involvement is integral to a scholar’s success. Thurgood Marshall prides itself on greater, effective communication with parents and the community through the efforts of the Parent Coordinator, Cindy Clark. The Parent Coordinator works with scholars, teachers, parents, and administrators by implementing programs like the Backpack program, Kids Closet Program, and the Community Food Bank of Hillside. These programs provide food, school supplies, and various other family assistance. Furthermore, open communication is encouraged with monthly Positive Parent Conversations.

We believe that respect and understanding grow when children of differing abilities and cultures play and learn together. Our school has Inclusion classes in each grade level for scholars who require additional educational support. We provide interventions such as speech, occupational and physical therapies. Our Autistic Program, servicing scholars from grades K-5, is so outstanding that we are now up to seven classrooms. In the course of Autism Awareness Month, our school celebrates with the Light it Up Blue Campaign, an Autism Awareness Symposium assembly to raise Autism Awareness in the greater community. During the summer, students may attend the extended year summer program for our scholars with special needs.

With the continued cooperation and commitment of all parents, families, and staff, Thurgood Marshall School will succeed in giving our community’s future leaders a rewarding and successful educational experience.

I am asking that you partner with us in increasing the academic progress of your child by doing the following:

  1. Please make sure that your child has an area free from distractions
  2. Limit the amount of television viewing and video game playing each day.
  3. Make sure that your child is well rested by having a set bedtime every evening.
  4. Meet with teachers regularly to learn about your child’s needs and strengths.
  5. Reinforce the expectation that your child reports to his/her teacher’s Google classroom ready to learn, ready to follow school rules, respects his/her fellow scholars and the adults in charge, and is a productive member in the Thurgood Marshall learning community.

Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions. It is an honor to work with you and your child.

slove@irvington.k12.nj.us
973-399-6800 x2202