Nathaniel Hawthorne Elementary School is a part of the Teaneck Public Schools

Teaneck Public Schools

Teaneck Public Schools are a comprehensive community public school district in Teaneck, New Jersey, United States, serving students in kindergarten through twelfth grade....

 in Teaneck, New Jersey

New Jersey

New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...

, United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. The school, built in 1925, with several additions since, serves students in grades one to four. As in all of Teaneck's public schools, Hawthorne School's classes are balanced as regards gender

Gender

Gender is a range of characteristics used to distinguish between males and females, particularly in the cases of men and women and the masculine and feminine attributes assigned to them. Depending on the context, the discriminating characteristics vary from sex to social role to gender identity...

, race, or ethnicity.

As of the 2007-2008 school year, the school had an enrollment of 371 students. The average class size was 16 students. The school had 36 teachers, including art, world language, vocal music, instrumental music, physical education, ESL, and resource room teachers.

Mission Statement

The Teaneck Public Schools aim to develop well-educated, ecologically aware, multiculturally sensitive, and creative young adults.

Community

Hawthorne School has a Parent-Teacher Association

Parent-Teacher Association

In the U.S. a parent-teacher association or Parent-Teacher-Student Association is a formal organization composed of parents, teachers and staff that is intended to facilitate parental participation in a public or private school. Most public and private K-8 schools in the U.S. have a PTA, a...

 (PTA) which provides support for numerous educational and social programs which enhance the curriculum. Presentations to parents at the PTA meetings,as well as at grade level programs, such as the information evening for incoming first grade parents, Math Night, Back-to-School Night, Authors’ Nights, and International Night help parents become acquainted with the curricula. Bergen Reads provides volunteers from the broader community who spend time reading with students. The Junior Achievement

Junior Achievement

Junior Achievement or JA or JA Worldwide is a non-profit youth organization that was founded in 1919 by Horace A. Moses, Theodore Vail, and senator Winthrop M. Crane. JA focuses on educating kids in K-12 about the free enterprise system...

program annually provides volunteers from BD Corporation to teach students about the economy and business.

Teaneck Academically Gifted Program

The TAG program was a new initiative in the Teaneck Public Schools during the 2007-2008 school year. The Hawthorne School program is guided by the standards set by the National Association for Gifted Children. The TAG team developed a fourth grade seminar program focusing on mathematical games. Student participants used a “Games Theory Hierarchy” to learn, analyze, create, write and present information to peers. At Hawthorne, the TAG teacher also implemented a third grade pilot program which centers on higher level concepts of problem solving and logical thinking. To nurture gifts of all students in grade 1-4 the TAG teacher assists every classroom teacher with the Junior Great Books program. Staff development for TAG takes place throughout the year along with an in-class coaching model. The TAG teacher helps to create and develop lessons to support and challenge the math curriculum.