Our campus and facilities are an essential platform for our faculty and administration to bring their academic vision to life for our students. Our campus and facility strategy remains focused on two key elements: It is driven by the school’s needs as defined by our strategic plan, as well as the continual maintenance and modernization of our campus while being true to its original design.
Upgrades
We have continued efforts to upgrade and invest in our facilities to match the incredible programs designed by our faculty and administration. Including this year, the school will have invested over $7.6 million throughout our three divisions in the past 5 years.
Upcoming Projects
The Administration and Buildings and Grounds Committee are engaged in a continual evaluation of improvements and current projects for the spring and summer of 2025 and beyond including:
- Installation of the environmental program greenhouse.
- Replacement of Peter Lawrence Gymkhana roofing has been contracted and will be completed in the Summer of 2025.
- Initial engineering work has begun to upgrade HVAC in the Peter Lawrence Gymkhana.
- Infrastructure and systems updates, including security, network, electrical, exterior lighting, and landscaping, are ongoing campus-wide.
Food Service
EMS continues our partnership with Blue Akai, launched in January of 2024.
This partnership has increased the variety of lunch options, reduced costs, and significantly increased lunch program participation across all divisions.
We will continue to seek opportunities to refine offerings, reduce costs, and make the program as accessible as possible to all community members. Sustainability efforts in lunch packaging will remain an important focus of continuing to reduce plastics and pre-packaged materials in our lunch packaging.
Transportation
EMS offers traditional bus services where routes are able to be established for the upcoming school year, with a priority on establishing common stop routes that can serve more students with service areas. We continue to seek partnerships within providers to expand service availability.
Safety and Security
emergency operations plan
has been updated to current National Standards and aligned to best practices with the Englewood Police Department and the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office.
Monthly emergency drills
as required by the state are conducted regularly.
Visitor Management procedures
deployed during the pandemic remain in place for all campus visitors.
Visitor Screening
against a national sex offender database.
Visitor Scheduling
is required, with most unplanned campus visits, including food deliveries, not permitted.
Identification / Access Card system
requires employees and authorized visitors to wear visible provided IDs on campus. This system ensures all EMS community members can quickly and easily identify those adults who are authorized to be on campus.
Emergency Notification System
enables EMS to communicate with families across multiple platforms (phone, email, and SMS text) regarding important school updates and will be further refined for emergency planning use.
Emergency response training modules
are planned to provide practical training for all faculty and staff.
A Cloud-based safety app
was launched in November 2023. It organizes emergency response teams on campus with instant emergency alerts, while simultaneously notifying faculty and staff.
Faculty and Staff identification badges
allow movement between campus buildings through locked entryways. Badges are scanned daily into the SchoolPass system so we always have up-to-date information for accountability during any on-campus emergency.
Technology
Upgrade Overview
Nearly every computer-related device on campus is connected to our network and the Internet. This includes faculty, staff, and student laptops and iPads, copiers, printers, cameras, desk and mobile phones, Wi-Fi access points, door entry panels and sensors, and alarm control panels. Our upgraded network has proven to be reliable and stable. However, to better support the workload, we plan to upgrade the network wiring in Little School to CAT 6 / CAT 6A. This upgrade is necessary to meet high-speed communication demands and will complete our major campus wiring initiatives.
External wi-fi access points
We plan to extend our network to the campus limits by installing weatherproof Wi-Fi access points for Chilton House, Little School, and Morrow House. This will enhance communications with our SchoolPass system, used to manage carlines, and improve Wi-Fi calling for employees on campus.
campus emergency public address system
To augment our AUXS / Nightlock emergency mobile phone system, we plan to install a new network-based public address system. This will enable targeted audio communications to specific buildings as well as campus-wide announcements.
Technology Initiatives
EMS is in its fourth year of our one-to-one technology program initiatives. Upon entering fifth grade, each student receives a new Apple MacBook Air. Upon entering first grade, each Little School student receives a new Apple iPad with a rugged case and keyboard. iPads remain assigned to each Little School student until the end of fourth grade. MacBook Air laptops are assigned to each Morrow House student through eighth grade. Upon graduation from eighth grade, students are welcome to keep their laptops.
Internet safety on campus and beyond
EMS-issued laptops now use a new cloud-based internet firewall/content filter. This system is active worldwide, ensuring students are protected no matter where they use their laptops. The devices also have the latest endpoint security software installed, limiting the potential for students to visit inappropriate websites and preventing the installation of viruses and malicious software.
LEARN MORE ABOUT OUR VISION AND GOALS FOR THE FUTURE OF EMS
Important 2024–2025 State of the School topics include updates from Chilton House, Little School, and Morrow House, as well as Advancement, Auxiliary Programs, Communications and Marketing, Enrollment, Finances, and Community Life, Equity, and Belonging.
