Several teachers at the Conover Raod School teach from rolling carts that they move from classroom to classroom including art, health and Spanish. In an effort to keep class size small Colts Neck averages 22 pupils a classroom, which is the state average the system has added more teachers and classrooms. Martino, who first worked in the district as a Rutgers University mathematics consultant and then six years ago joined the district as a teacher, now runs weekly training seminars in math. The emphasis on mathematics shows in the fourth grade test scores this year 51.6 percent of the 4th graders were ranked proficient and an additional 29.9 scored in the advanced range of the mathematics test. The district uses a whole language approach to education one that integrates correct language use into every subject and emphasizes problem solving rather than memorization.
Teachers often use their own materials in a classroom, rather than relying on textbooks.
We don't teach children by rote. It's not good, it's not bad, it's just different. And if there is a problem, I find that the administration and the teachers are very willing to help work things out. Since the shootings at Columbine High School in Colorado, the use of peer-mediation groups to resolve student conflicts has become a popular approach, but Colts Neck has had the program in place for several years. In peer mediation, student mediators settle disputes by getting two sides to agree to appropriate behavior.