Piscataway is once again the most celebrated school district in the state for school communications.

 

Piscataway Township Schools won six awards at the New Jersey School Communication Awards on Thursday, Oct. 9 – the most of any school district in the state for the 2^nd straight year.

 

The awards are given out by the New Jersey School Public Relations Association and were developed to recognize New Jersey’s professional school communicators and their community outreach programs that go above and beyond to disseminate important messages to their school communities. Winning entries are from the 2024-25 school year.

 

“Congratulations to Piscataway Township Schools for setting the standard for effective school communications here in New Jersey,” said Maren Smagala, President of NJSPRA and Communications Officer for Hunterdon Central Regional High School.

 

Piscataway’s awards included:

 

• An award of merit in the Newsletter category for the monthly Superintendent’s Report newsletter, which shares celebratory news from all the schools in the district. In March 2025, the newsletter was expanded from a traditional newsletter that is housed on the district website to include an e-newsletter that is shared with all families and staff through email and text messages via the district’s ParentSquare communication platform. The district also now includes a link to a text-only translatable newsletter for the community’s non-English-speaking families.

 

• Three Awards of Merit in the Photography category for photos showing:

- Boys tennis player Frank Duan, now a senior at Piscataway High School, celebrating a doubles partner’s point during a match.

- Class of 2025 graduate Elvin Le pointing into the crowd at graduation and holding up his diploma in celebration.

- Three seventh-graders at Schor Middle School dissecting a synthetic frog in the class of science teacher Trystin Plank as part of a new initiative in the district. The girls are Igneiris Torres Peralta, Michelle Mudiyanselage, and Omnia Mohamed.

 

• Two Awards of Merit in the Media Coverage category for:

- Coverage of the district’s initiative to give free breakfast to all students.

- Coverage the Piscataway High School Students Against Destructive Decisions winning a $10,000 prize for their “Pway You Know: Drive Safe, Drive Slow” traffic safety campaign.

 

Public Information Officer Gary Miller accepted the awards at the NJSPRA fall workshop in Monroe.

 

“These awards are indicative of the importance we place on transparency and community in Piscataway Township Schools,” said Interim Superintendent Dr. Johanna S. Ruberto. “Thank you to Gary Miller for continuing to keep our parents, staff, and community informed in a multitude of ways, and celebrating our schools and students by putting their achievements and positive impact in the spotlight. He is very deserving of this wonderful recognition.”

 

The 2025 N.J. School Communication Awards contest was among the most competitive on record with 140 total submissions from 53 different school districts. The submissions were judged by an esteemed panel of 12 judges from eight states including experienced and award-winning school communications professionals.

 

Piscataway Township Schools won four awards in the 2024 N.J. School Communications Awards, one of just two district to do so.