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Election 2024: Poll workers wanted
Literacy tests to be required in grades K-3 BY BILL SANSERVINO
BY LIZ CIOCHER
As Mercer County gears up for this year’s upcoming elections on Tuesday, Nov. 5, a pressing need has emerged for poll workers. Mercer County residents can help play a crucial role in the election process by volunteering to work at the polls on Election Day. “The biggest issue is that we want people to come out and vote, but if we don’t have the workers, how are they going to vote?” said Jill Moyer, Mercer County Board of Elections chairwoman. The number of poll workers is not only low in Mercer County— it’s a nation-wide problem. According to estimates from the U.S. Election Assistance Commission, about one million poll workers are needed to staff approximately 100,000 polling places across the country this November. The process to become a poll worker includes several See POLLS, Page 10
Field hockey player Rimla Riza, a junior at WW-P High School South. (Photo by Bryan Basdeo.)
Rimla Riza looks to lead the attack for Pirates field hockey BY JUSTIN FEIL
Rimla Raza originally considered playing soccer in middle school, but that wasn’t an option in sixth grade. So she took up field hockey instead. “In sixth grade I actually wasn’t that good,” Raza said. “I
was just trying it out. I wanted to see if this is maybe the sport for me.” Five years later, it’s clear she picked the right sport. Field hockey has become a passion for Raza, now a junior at High School South. Despite a slow start, Raza
credits Grover Middle School co-coaches Jessica Murphy and Todd Robinson for sparking a steady rise over her career that now includes ambitions of playing in college. “Coach Murphy and Coach Robinson, were the best and See RIZA, Page 33
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All school districts in New Jersey will be required to implement a set of new initiatives aimed at strengthening the literacy levels of young students. The new mandates stem from a pair of bills approved in August by Gov. Phil Murphy and the state legislature that call for targeted intervention, tested learning strategies, teacher training and continuous monitoring. A main component of the package is a new requirement that students in grades K-3 be screened for their reading ability. According to statistics provided by the state, 57.6% of all third graders in New Jersey are not meeting reading proficiency levels. Those numbers increase to 73.6% for Black, and 72.5% for Latino third graders not reading at grade level. Barbara Gould, West Windsor-Plainsboro School District’s chief academic officer, said that the new laws directly support the state’s new student learning assessment standards. See LITERACY, Page 12
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