By VERONICA SHIROKOVA Credits: Washington School May 8, 2021 at 1:10 AM The Washington School in Millburn opened its doors to fifth-graders only four years ago in 2017, promising an innovative and exciting experience for its students. This year, students and teachers teamed up to showcase the most notable ways in which the school has continued making this reality despite the pandemic. Their finished product, a video, was presented to the Board of Education on May 3. Students started the video with a tribute to Elly Swartz, the writer of numerous children's books and the current author-in-residence at Washington. Thanks to a generous donation by the school’s PTO, she now works with fifth-graders one-on-one to encourage them to write. This is a unique opportunity for students to receive personalized feedback from a published author and improve their existing skills. She has become immensely popular among her students as she guided them through a transformative virtual experience.