Our Missions

Sussex County Educational Services Commission Mission

 Our Mission at SCESC’s Northern Hills Academy in Sparta, NJThe mission of the SCESC is to provide services and programs of the highest caliber for students/clients and their families, as well as for schools, school districts, and the community at large. SCESC services and programs focus on maximizing individual potential, enhancing the quality of life, and promoting lifelong learning and application of skills. Through on-going assessment of community needs and through self-evaluation, the SCESC continually strives to discover new potentials for growth and success.

As an educational services commission, we are committed to providing quality programs. Towards this end we are bound to provide services in a manner consistent with ethical standards that are commonly accepted by the communities we service. The staff members will demonstrate personal/professional qualities, perform all duties, and fulfill all the responsibilities necessary to create a sound and meaningful educational climate within the assigned instructional location.

The quality of time spent in pupil contact and effective instructional endeavors must be of the highest caliber. The students, their parents/guardians/sponsors, the nonpublic schools, and the local school districts look to us for our expertise and professionalism, to assist in the educational process in a special and specific way. We are called upon to reinforce the basic skills, to provide supplemental instruction for the exceptional student, to remediate articulation, fluency, language, and vocal dysfunctions, and to integrate the non-native speaker into our language.

As partners in this endeavor, we accept this responsibility for ourselves and expect it from each other. The good each person does enhances all of us. At times, the physical isolation of our work locations may foster a feeling of isolation from the group. We might not consider the commonalities that unite us as clearly as we would were we working in one building. However, these commonalities do indeed exist, and they do so in ways that can be appreciated only by us because they are unique to us as a group of professionals.

The mission of the SCESC is to provide services and programs of the highest caliber for students/clients and their families, as well as for schools, school districts, and the community at large.

SCESC services and programs focus on maximizing individual potential, enhancing the quality of life, and promoting lifelong learning and application of skills. Through on-going assessment of community needs and through self-evaluation, the SCESC continually strives to discover new potentials for growth and success.

As an educational services commission, we are committed to providing quality programs. Towards this end, we are bound to provide these services in a manner consistent with ethical standards that are commonly accepted by the communities that we service. The staff members demonstrate personal/professional qualities, perform all duties, and fulfill all the responsibilities necessary to create a sound and meaningful educational climate.

We are called upon to meet the needs of the exceptional students at Northern Hills Academy (NHA). Therefore, the quality of time spent in pupil contact and effective instructional endeavors is of the highest caliber.

Northern Hills Academy Mission

Northern Hills Academy’s Mission NHA seeks to work with the home in a team relationship to give each student the best possible educational experience. We look forward to sharing the insights you bring us. We hope you will enjoy your experiences with us. Together through our endeavors, we can brighten the children's tomorrow.

The mission of Northern Hills Academy is to provide a positive, nurturing, and therapeutic environment, with an educational focus maximizing individual strengths and encouraging lifelong learning. The curriculum, which promotes academic, daily life, and interactive social skills, as well as character development, seeks to discover and provide for the unique potential of the students.

Northern Hills Academy continually seeks to improve its programs and services to the students and families through staff development, implementation of research-based programs, and investments in up-to-date equipment and materials. Communication between home, school, and community provides the continuity necessary for the students' success.

Northern Hills Academy (NHA) is a receiving school that provides extended year programs for special needs students ranging in age from 3 to 21 years. School is in session 210 days each year. As part of a public school district, we report to the New Jersey Department of Education (NJDOE) and are bound by its various codes and regulations. Our school has two Multiple Disability classes, a Moderate Cognitive Disabilities class, two Autistic classes, a primary Behavior Disabilities class, and a Preschool Disabilities class.

NHA offers a full-day program. Students attend daily sessions from 8:30am to 2:30pm. Although students are in school six hours each day, there are parental and family needs which have an impact on the students' success in school. Needs at home arising from the care of a student with a disability may be addressed in part by a number of programs, agencies, or governmental services. The school staff has information on such support sources and will gladly assist families in contacting potential resources of assistance. Ancillary services made available to students in need are arranged through such groups as the Division of Developmental Disabilities (DDD) and the Association for Retarded Citizens (ARC).

The front office staff at NHA includes the Interim Superintendent/Principal, the Business Administrator, and Secretarial support. We have a full-time and a part-time nurse, a full-time physical therapist, a full-time speech therapist, and the equivalent of a full-time occupational therapist. We have six full-time teachers and one part-time teacher. The part-time teacher conducts each classroom's program while the respective teacher is at lunch. In addition to classroom aides, many of our students have the services of personal aides, and some of our students have personal nurses.

Professional development of all staff is valued. We have developed Professional Improvement Plans for the certified faculties that have been successfully implemented. Indeed, the skill level and enthusiasm of our faculty are noteworthy. In addition, in-service programs for our teacher aides have been a major focus of training over the past several years. These training opportunities are well received and have proven to be highly successful, benefiting both staff and students.

Parents are encouraged to arrange visits to NHA. Additionally, they are regularly kept informed through teacher notes in the communication books, phone contacts, as well as with formal and informal meetings with the staff.

Several years ago, we instituted the Northern Hills Academy Professional Development Book Club. Participants already have read and discussed several educationally based books. Copies of the books NHA staff have read, among others, are available in the Northern Hills Academy Staff and Parent Resource Library. We encourage you to take advantage of the opportunity to borrow the resource library materials. We will continue to increase our resource library's holdings and hope that you will find our books, videos, and audiotapes to be of value to you. The library is open to parents from 9:00-10:45am and 2:00-3:30pm on each day that the school is in session.

NHA endeavors to provide each student an environment that is warm, positive, and therapeutic, with an educational focus maximizing individual potential and enhancing the quality of life. NHA provides an individualized program of instruction and Individualized Education Program (IEP). The IEP is reviewed annually during a formal IEP meeting. Progress Reports are shared with each student's parents and the student's school district. NHA continually strives to improve programs and services to its students and families through staff development programs, self-evaluation, program research and development, investments in up-to-date equipment and materials, improved communication between home, school, community, appropriate educational facilities, and all other areas consistent with student needs.