Category: Village of Ridgewood

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Fishbein: Planning for the future

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Fishbein: Planning for the future
Friday, January 31, 2014
By DANIEL FISHBEIN
COLUMNIST

Over the next year, you’ll be hearing more and more about a new district plan that promises to make a dynamic impact on our mission of excellence. Called 1:1 (One to One), it’s an initiative that aims to partner the tools of technology with the skills of our professional educators with the goal of raising student success to new levels.

The 1:1 program planned for Ridgewood is designed to enhance instruction and improve learning by supplying one computer device to every student, for use both in the classroom and at home. This is not a new idea – in fact, two Bergen County high schools have had 1:1 instruction in place for the past eight years. But it is a concept which time has come for the Ridgewood Public Schools.

How does 1:1 differ from the technology already in place in Ridgewood classrooms? A while ago the Board of Education adopted a formal goal to integrate computer technology into our learning environment and as a result, we have longstanding policies and programs in place at this point in time, with numerous computers in our buildings available for use by our students and teaching staff.

– See more at: https://www.northjersey.com/news/education/242882241_Fishbein__Planning_for_the_future.html#sthash.dCuPOKyp.dpuf

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Reader says that fact that N.J. students in low-income districts struggle on SATs is proof “Abbot ruling” a failure

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Reader says that fact that N.J. students in low-income districts struggle on SATs is proof “Abbot ruling” a failure

It does prove, that the “Burke vs Abbot’ ruling, by our left leaning Supreme Court, does NOT work.
For those of you unfamiliar, it created “Abbot’ districts which basically guarantee ‘per pupil funding’ in the dumps of Paterson, Newark,Camden, Jersey City etc of an equivalent financial amount as the ‘good’ districts, such as Ridgewood.
Despite pissing away hundreds of millions of dollars since this 1997 ruling, the results speak for themselves.
Ever wonder why roads don’t get fixed? Bridges and other infrastructure fall apart? Its because the “Abbot ruling’ basically drains the state treasury in order to comply.
Very sad because its a failed social experiment and we all pay for it.
Ask a Paterson teacher what is required to satisfactorily complete a year and progress to the next?
Grades? Nope. Just simply ‘attendance’. Your tax dollars at work in the great state of NJ. Or should I say ‘Peoples Republic of NJ, run by liberal Democrats’.

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N.J. students in low-income districts struggle on SATs

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N.J. students in low-income districts struggle on SATs

No seniors at Paterson’s Eastside High School campus last year did well enough on the SATs to meet the College Board’s threshold for being “college ready.”

In Bergen County, 13 percent of Garfield High School seniors who took the SAT hit that benchmark, along with 18 percent of their counterparts atLyndhurst High School, according to the new School Performance Reports released Tuesday.

At a time when helping students become “college ready” is a mantra for New Jersey education officials, a startling share in many poor and moderate-income districts failed to meet the score deemed by the College Board to predict probable success in college — 1,550 points out of a possible 2,400.

That benchmark has been in the spotlight since Camden Schools Superintendent Paymon Rouhanifard used it last month to say it hit him like a “kick in the stomach” to learn that only three students in his city tested as college-ready. Governor Christie jumped on the figure in his recent State of the State speech to argue for his education agenda, including merit pay for teachers and a longer academic day.

The College Board, which administers the SAT, says that students who hit the benchmark have a 65 percent or greater chance of earning at least a B-minus average in their freshman year of college, and are likely to get a degree. Studies show SAT scores are highly correlated with parents’ income and education level.

The SAT is much harder than the state’s graduation exam. Indeed, in 46 of the 71 public high schools in Bergen and Passaic counties, most of the seniors who took the SAT did not hit 1,550. The Bergen County Academies, a selective magnet, fared the best, with 98 percent of its students hitting that target or better.

Education Commissioner Chris Cerf said low SAT scores in many districts — among other indicators – showed the urgent need to raise the bar for learning. (Brody/The Record)

https://www.northjersey.com/news/NJ_students_in_low-income_districts_struggle_on_SATs.html#sthash.j5ZSgGi9.dpuf

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Is Your Child in the Right School?

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Is Your Child in the Right School?
Amy Payne
January 27, 2014 at 6:30 am

South Carolina mom Lisa Stevens wasn’t satisfied with her child’s school. Then she heard about charter schools and discovered she could get a group of people together and start one.

Nathan, a second-grader in Arizona with a learning disability, is thriving in a small class with teachers who are able to give him the attention he needs. His parents discovered they could choose the right program for Nathan because Arizona has Education Savings Accounts.

School choice doesn’t look the same for everyone—because learning doesn’t look the same for everyone. This week, kids and parents who have found the right combinations are celebrating National School Choice Week—and it’s the perfect time for you to learn more about your family’s options.

The old way of doing K-12 education—every child put into the same public system—hasn’t worked out. But school choice has returned control of education to the local units where it belongs: the family and the individual school. School choice has proven to produce better academic outcomes, significantly increased graduation rates, improved student safety, and higher parental satisfaction with their children’s education.

This week, we’ll be highlighting school choice success stories on The Foundry. Here are some of the ways students and parents are achieving success:

Charter schools. Watch our video to hear Lisa’s story of starting a charter school.

Education Savings Accounts (ESAs). Check out this slideshow of families who are customizing their children’s learning thanks to Arizona’s ESAs.

Vouchers. This year marks the 10th anniversary of the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program, which gives students from low-income families vouchers to attend private schools in the nation’s capital. These students are seeing success like never before thanks to this program.

Online learning. Students can access educational opportunities that aren’t available in their geographic areas, thanks to all the online innovation taking place.

Homeschooling. Parents and students have freedom and flexibility to pursue the type of education they want for their families. School choice is working—but it’s up to all of us to make sure government doesn’t stand in the way of these exciting developments. Visit The Foundry each day this week to learn more.

https://blog.heritage.org/2014/01/27/child-right-school/

There may be a School Choice Week event going on in your area. Check out the website.

 

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Readers Not buying Village’s Ignorance on Mobil Cell Tower

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file photo by Boyd Loving

Readers Not buying Village’s Ignorance on Mobil Cell Tower

I’m floored that the Village hasn’t demanded the structure be removed immediately. If a resident had one of these in their driveway, all hell would break loose.

Rutishauser can spot an illegal 2′ x 4′ contractor’s sign on a front lawn from 6 blocks away and issue an immediate summons, but misses a 100 foot cell tower? I smell a deal being brokered between the Village and AT&T.

No one from the town noticed the tower which has been up over 4 weeks??.The town searches DAILY for the smallest violation like a sign on YOUR OWN LAWN. They missed a cell tower?? Something is going on here. By the way, make sure you get your garage sale permit too!!

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Concern with overdevelopment a cause in common

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Concern with overdevelopment a cause in common

Friday, January 24, 2014
The Ridgewood News

Residents have common concerns
Marla Sherman

To the editor:

On Jan. 7, hundreds of Ridgewood residents came to the Planning Board meeting to make personal statements against the proposed change to the Master Plan that would allow for high density housing developments in our downtown Central Business District.

Not a single person spoke up in favor of the change, including at least three residents who earn their living as real estate developers.

There were two common fears brought up by almost every person that spoke — the potential effect on the quality of our schools and the fear that Ridgewood would lose its small town charm and become more urban. Not a single person was anti-development or anti-improvement. They simply want improvements made to these properties within the density and height allowances of our current master plan, in order to maintain the desirability of our village.

– See more at: https://www.northjersey.com/news/opinions/241770731_Letter__Concern_with_overdevelopment_a_cause_in_common.html#sthash.4oNPgkSM.dpuf

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EMERGENCY MINIMUM DAY/EARLY DISMISSAL ON TUESDAY, JANUARY 21

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Ridgewood Public Schools

EMERGENCY MINIMUM DAY/EARLY DISMISSAL ON TUESDAY, JANUARY 21

1.20.14 at 11 p.m.:

Dear Parents/Guardians/Staff,
Tomorrow, Tuesday, January 21, weather conditions are expected to deteriorate after school begins. All students will be dismissed at the Emergency Minimum Day schedule as follows:

RED Program9:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.
Kindergarten AM Classes8:45 a.m. – 11:20 a.m.
Kindergarten PM ClassesCancelled
Grades 1-58:45 a.m. – 12:45 p.m.
Grades 6-88:00 a.m. – 12:15 p.m.
Grades 9-127:47 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.

Cafeterias will not operate and lunches will not be provided. If there is any change to this schedule you will be notified as soon as possible.

Thank you .
Daniel Fishbein, Ed.D.
Superintendent of Schools
Ridgewood Public Schools

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Mental health risk to children trapped in ‘toxic climate’ of dieting, pornography and school stress

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Mental health risk to children trapped in ‘toxic climate’ of dieting, pornography and school stress
IAN JOHNSTON
Monday 20 January 2014

Children are living in an “unprecedented toxic climate” in which they skip meals to stay thin, are bombarded by pornographic images and fear they will be failures amid a “continuous onslaught of stress at school”, according to research published today.

A poll commissioned to coincide with the launch of a national campaign found 40 per cent of 11 to 14-year-olds said they missed meals for weight-loss reasons, while a similar proportion said their relationships with other children had been affected by watching pornography online.

Half of children and young people had been bullied and more than half believed they would end up being a failure if they did not get good exam grades. The charity YoungMinds said the UK was sitting on a “mental health time bomb” and that action is needed by the Government, schools and parents to help young people cope with the pressures of modern life.

https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/health-news/mental-health-riskto-children-trapped-in-toxic-climate-of-dieting-pornography-and-school-stress-9070710.html

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Questioning outside vendor ban

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Questioning outside vendor ban
FRIDAY, JANUARY 17, 2014
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS

Questioning outside vendor ban
David M. McCarthy

To the editor:

Until recently, Ridgewood has allowed outside vendors to drop off lunches at its schools for Ridgewood students. Most of the deliveries have come from three vendors in and around town. They are serving not only working parents with limited time in the morning, but also students who don’t like the food served by the incumbent food service provider, Village Fresh, as well as others who have dietary restrictions that the in-house vendor cannot meet.

As of Jan. 13, the Ridgewood Board of Education has banned outside vendors from dropping off lunches at the various schools in town. Many reasons have been given for the recent change in policy. From the superintendent’s email announcement on the matter and from what was said at Monday night’s board meeting, here are the reasons I have heard: student safety/limiting access to the building; illegal parking by food delivery people; governmental guidelines concerning the nutritional content of lunch; too much disruption for school staff; outside deliveries may violate an exclusive provision in the Village Fresh’s contract; and due to a minimum profit provision in the Village Fresh contract, the popularity of the outside vendors may end up forcing Ridgewood to pay Village Fresh a make-whole fee if not enough kids buy their lunch at school.

– See more at: https://www.northjersey.com/news/opinions/240688631_Letter__Questioning_outside_vendor_ban.html#sthash.JJeAE9f8.dpuf

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YWCA Vacation Day Program – January 20, 2014

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YWCA Vacation Day Program – January 20, 2014

January 20 – Martin Luther King Holiday
YWCA Bergen County January Vacation Day Program Includes Trip to FunPlex in East Hanover, NJ Ridgewood, NJ—December 11, 2013 – YWCA Bergen County is offering its Vacation Day program for children in grades K-6 on January 20, 2014. Trip includes transportation, unlimited foam frenzy & bumper cars, 20 game tokens, pizza and soda. The YWCA Vacation Day program provides full day care from 7:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. on designated school holidays. Based at the YWCA’s 112 Oak Street, Ridgewood facility, the program is supervised by the YWCA’s trained child care staff. The fee is $55 per child per day for families that are currently participating in YWCA Before or After School programs, and $75 for non-participating families. Advance registration is required. To register call 201-444-5600, ext. 352 or visit www.ywcabergencounty.org for details and registration forms. YWCA Before and After School Programs are offered at schools in seven Bergen County districts: Allendale, Cresskill, Dumont, Old Tappan, Oradell, Ridgewood, and Westwood. An after kindergarten program is available in Oradell. All programs are licensed by the State of New Jersey, Department of Children & Families.
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Reader questions misplaced concern over cigarette smoke vs no opinion over 10years of Valley Hospital Construction next to a school

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Reader questions misplaced concern over cigarette smoke vs no opinion over 10years of Valley Hospital Construction next to a school

How can you have no opinion on a 10 year construction site next door to a school with 300 students and faculty and a field used by hundreds more Ridgewood students and adults, but be concerned about the occasional cigarette smoker on the sidewalk adjacent to the school, Dr. Fishbein? I’m not saying that it’s okay to smoke outside our schools, but it’s also NOT ok to subject our schoolchildren to that amount of construction dust and fumes for so many years. Just looking for consistency Dr. Fishbein.

wine.com

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Reader says How am I suppose to enroll my kids in Kindergarten when I have a job

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Reader says How am I suppose to enroll my kids in Kindergarten when I have a job 

How are we supposed to register our kid if we both work? What is this 1955 with Stepford Wives and pa with a 9-5 job?

Time to enter the current century Ridgewood. There will be free preschool in Manhattan while we still have 1/2 day Kindergarten and middle of the week school registration.

Most households now are 2 income families and our schools have to start to respect that fact.

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Bedroom-Invading Smartphones Jumble Body’s Sleep Rhythms

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Bedroom-Invading Smartphones Jumble Body’s Sleep Rhythms

By Jason Gale  Jan 7, 2014 2:28 PM ET

Sleep specialist Russell Rosenberg, who was an adviser on the International Bedroom… Read More

Having trouble sleeping? Check for a glow, inches from the pillow.

Using a smartphone, tablet or laptop at bedtime may be staving off sleep, according to Harvard Medical Schoolscientists, who have found specific wavelengths of light can suppress the slumber-inducing hormone melatonin in the brain.

“We have biologically shifted ourselves so we can’t fall asleep earlier,” said Charles A. Czeisler, a professor of sleep medicine at Harvard Medical School. “The amazing thing is that we are still trying to get up with the chickens.”

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-01-07/bedroom-invading-smartphones-jumble-body-s-sleep-rhythms.html

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Bergen Record once again looks to savage Steve Lonegan with a public misinformation smear campaign.

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Bergen Record once again looks to savage Steve Lonegan with a public misinformation smear campaign.
January 8, 2014
PJ Blogger and the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ, The front page above the fold article written by Herb Jackson in todays Bergen Record gave more fire to those who claim the media bias is one of the prime contributors to the decline of living standards and quality of life in NewJersey . ( https://www.northjersey.com/bogota/Jackson_Steve_Lonegan_carries_baggage_to_Shore_to_congressional_run.html)

Jackson claims “Lonegan’s in-your-face campaigning style helped him cut down what was expected to be a more lopsided losing margin in last year’s U.S. Senate race against Democrat Cory Booker. But that could be a tough sell in the district, which includes many military families and several large townships dominated by retirement communities. ”

Really is that why Lonegan garnered more votes than then Mitt Romney state wide in a off year election mind you and particularly in District 3 with overwhelming support of  military personnel and the 65 and over crowd who still remember what a great country this once was .

Jackson points out his carpet bagger status , but that didn’t hurt Hillary in New York State and given the political land scape in New Jersey its a bit late for that criticism . Lonegans District 3 predecessor a former Philadelphia Eagle was tarred with that very claim . At lest Lonegan is from the same state .

Jackson then goes on to degrade the Tea Party which were the very people who gave both his predecessor Rep. Jon Runyan and himself big victories in the district .My favorite digg is his supposed lack of support by local “republicans” . Funny is that why Chris Christie himself is hosting a $1000 a plate fund raiser for Lonegan and using his very own mailing list .

We all know the Bergen Record went to great lengths keeping from the public the terrible record of our Senator in hiding then mayor of Newark Cory Booker  ,and of coarse we see no questioning of Booker by the media on charges of corruption in Newark , the sky rocketing murder rate , horrible over priced schools and of coarse his head long support for Obamacare which has lead to over 800,000 people losing their healthcare in the state of New Jersey ?

While we do not expect papers like the Record to come clean we do at lest expect the Record to pretend its somewhat unbiased and give in to the pretense that it is attempting to report news instead of being a propaganda tool for the Democratic party and its allies .

wine.com

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EDUCATION ISSUES WILL HELP SHAPE CHRISTIE’S SECOND TERM — AND POLITICAL FUTURE

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EDUCATION ISSUES WILL HELP SHAPE CHRISTIE’S SECOND TERM — AND POLITICAL FUTURE

Running in GOP primaries might push governor further to the right on school reforms

After four years of political drama involving school reform and education policy in New Jersey, could Gov. Chris Christie’s second term be even more eventful?

Three major speeches by the governor over the next two months are sure to highlight education.

In the meantime, many observers are already speculating about Christie’s unfinished education-related business as he begins his next term – and possibly embarks on a run for certain higher office.

“Education is always an important political issue, because it involves two things everyone cares about: kids and money,” said Ben Dworkin, director of the Rebovich Institute of New Jersey Politics at Rider University.

“Even in a second term after a first term that saw some significant accomplishments, Chris Christie will still prioritize it,” Dworkin predicted. ”There are still schools that don’t do well, still issues in fully funding the state’s school funding law, and challenges around charter schools and vouchers. (Mooney/NJSpotlight)

https://www.njspotlight.com/stories/14/01/05/education-issues-will-help-shape-christie-s-second-term-and-possible-run-for-president/