Piscataway Township School District was honored four times at the 2024 New Jersey School Communication Awards on Thursday, Oct. 10. Piscataway is one of just two districts in the state to win four awards.

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 2023-24 school year.

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

Piscataway’s awards included:

• An Award of Merit in the Special Interest Publication category for the district’s annual School Guide & Calendar for the 2023-24 school year. The 26-page booklet contains a trove of district information that acts as a handy reference guide for district staff and families, as well as full 12-month wall calendar showing important dates and events. The booklet is mailed to all district families at the start of the school year and is available for pickup at all district schools. It is paid for through a grant from the Office of Community Education and uses no taxpayer funds.

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

- Knollwood Elementary School third-grader Hannah Baillie (now a fourth-grader at Martin Luther King Intermediate School) showing wonder at her new dictionary from the Piscataway Rotary Club. It was taken in October 2023.

- A holiday celebration at Grandview Elementary School. It was taken in December 2023.

- Piscataway High School volleyball players Margaret Davis and Semiat Aminu going up for a block in a September 2023 match. Both girls are now PHS seniors.

Public Information Officer Gary Miller accepted the awards at the NJSPRA awards ceremony at the Forsgate Country Club in Monroe.

“We take great pride in our communication and outreach programs, which keep parents, staff, students, and other stakeholders informed, as well as build a sense of community pride in our schools,” Dr. Ranelli said. “Thank you to Gary Miller for leading these efforts throughout the year. He’s very deserving of this recognition.”

The 2024 contest was among the most competitive on record with 100 submissions from 45 different school districts. The submissions for the 2024 School Communication Awards were judged by an esteemed panel of 14 judges from 10 states including experienced and award-winning school communications professionals and professors from Rowan University.

Piscataway’s communication programs had also been honored nationally earlier this year, winning four awards in the Publications and Digital Media Excellence Awards from the National School Public Relations Association (NSPRA). Piscataway won awards in the Calendar, Social Media, and Print Newsletter, and Photo categories, after winning three awards in the 2023 contest.

Piscataway also won three awards in the 2023 New Jersey contest, taking home first place for Photography, second place for Special Interest Publication, and third place for Media Relations.