Oxford Township School District Wins Competitive NJDOE Grant to Empower Teachers with STSI's Systems Thinking Standards (STS)® and AI Showing How Systems Thinking Accreditation for Schools is Done

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

June 7, 2025 —Exciting news from Oxford, New Jersey: John Z. Nittolo, Superintendent of Oxford Township School District (OTSD), has secured one of only twelve statewide awards from the New Jersey Department of Education’s prestigious 2025 Teacher Climate and Culture Innovation Grant. The winning initiative? A forward-thinking program that combines STSI's Systems Thinking Standards (STS)® with artificial intelligence to tackle one of education’s most stubborn challenges: teacher administrative burden.

Introducing “Teacher Time STS”

The newly funded initiative, Teacher Time STS, directly addresses the 10–12 hours per week that OTSD’s 30 educators spend on non-instructional administrative tasks. By integrating STSI’s STS with AI-based efficiency tools like STSI's OTIS AI, the district aims to reclaim up to 7–9 hours per week per teacher—time that can be redirected toward student instruction and classroom engagement.

But this isn’t just about efficiency. Teacher Time STS focuses on transforming the thinking behind the work. Educators will be trained in the four universal cognitive patterns of DSRP—Distinctions, Systems, Relationships, and Perspectives—to reframe how they process and manage administrative tasks. Through structured cognitive STSI training (from White to Purple Belt) and cutting-edge tools like SchoolAI, Google NotebookLM, Claude, and STSI's ThinkQuery and OTIS AI tools, the district is not adding complexity—it’s removing cognitive friction.

As Superintendent Nittolo shared: “We’re not just adding tech. We’re restructuring the mental model underneath the task.”

Why It Matters: Systems Thinking + AI = Smarter Schools

Teacher Time STS is more than a time-saver—it’s a scalable strategy for cognitive and organizational change. Tools like STSI's ThinkQuery and OTIS AI reflect the initiative’s core principle: things change when thinking changes. With smarter thinking and better design, teachers will streamline documentation, simplify assessments, and automate low-value tasks without sacrificing autonomy or pedagogy. "They'll see the forest and the trees," says Dr. Laura Cabrera, Chair of STSI's Science Board.

The program will be implemented district-wide, from PreK through grade 8, with a dedicated data team applying STSI's Systems Thinking Standards (STS) and Systems Thinking Educational Standards (STES)® to measure impact and iterate improvements. STES provides grade level benchmark standards for grades K-16. Its universal design means other New Jersey districts—regardless of size or budget—can adapt and adopt the model.

STS in Action: From Mental Fitness to Educational Innovation

This grant is a powerful testament to how systems thinking and STS, informed by the ground breaking research on mental fitness and systems thinking of Cabrera Lab, is solving real institutional challenges. In a time of widespread teacher burnout, staffing shortages, and administrative overload, Oxford Township School District is demonstrating that systems thinking isn’t just academic—it’s actionable. Cabrera Lab's Dr. Derek Cabrera explains, "our research shows there is a significant increase in effect when metacognition, or awareness of the thinking patterns that underlie systems thinking, and repetitive practice are combined. The results are increases of over 550% in problems solving and navigating cognitive complexity." Cabrera explains that the two combined—metacognition + repetitive practice of validated mental moves—is a term they coined called, "mental fitness" and that Object Oriented Thinking (OOT)® tools developed in their lab like ThinkQuery, Mental Moves, OTIS AI, OOT Blocs, and OOT cards are essential elements in the systems thinker's toolkit.

With the global mental fitness movement accelerating—through STS-based training camps, belt progression protocols, and practical AI integration—initiatives like Teacher Time STS show that better thinking isn’t just transformative, it’s contagious.

Congratulations to Superintendent John Nittolo and the entire Oxford Township School District. You’re not just raising standards—you’re raising thinkers.