Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Language Curriculum, Pancake Breakfast This Week

Holiday: Madison schools are closed Monday for Martin Luther King Jr. Day. District employees have a staff development day. Stay tuned for a story about a Drew University radio station host's plan to broadcast a speech the civil rights leader gave on campus 50 years ago in February.

Board of Ed: Madison's school board is scheduled to meet 7:30 p.m. Tuesday in the high school library. A report by the district's World Language Task Force is among the items on the agenda.

The task force has sought feedback from parents, students, teachers and community members, researched programs in 20 comparable districts and considered recommendations from the New Jersey Department of Education. 

Since January 2012, Madison students in grades 3-5 have used the Rosetta Stone online language program for approximately 30 minutes a week for Spanish instruction.

Before using Rosetta Stone, Madison employed two full-time, certified Spanish teachers who delivered 40 minutes of instruction once a week to all students in grades 1-5. That program was cut in 2010 because of budget constraints, the district has said.

Pancake Breakfast: The Madison Area YMCA is holding its annual Pancake Breakfast from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sunday at the Family Center, 111 Kings Road, Madison. Breakfast is free for members. Non-members are welcome for a suggested $5 donation per family. For more information call the Welcome Center at the Madison Area YMCA at 973-822-YMCA (9622) or visit www.madisonareaymca.org.