photo courtesy of Ridgewood Public Schools
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
One issue for many is having a poor vocabulary. It may be that a person had a poor education or struggled with learning. Let’s take a look at the issues this can create and the benefits of making a change in this area.
Continue reading 7 Reasons Why Having a Good Vocabulary Matters
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood Nj, at the Friday August 28th Special Public Meeting of the Ridgewood Board Education meeting the board focused on the reopening of Ridgewood public schools. Mr. Lembo shared that the Special Public Meeting was scheduled to get more information and to discuss questions pertaining to the reopening plan. Dr. Fishbein and Ms. Poelstra gave a reopening plan update presentation. Dr. Fishbein began by thanking the administrators and teachers for their hard work and creativity in making this reopening possible. A revised 2020-2021 school calendar will be approved at the August 31 Regular Public Meeting. To give teachers an extra day to prepare for the start of school, a Professional Development Day was added on August 31 and removed from October 12. Schools will be closed on October 12 for teachers and students. The district has worked very hard on logistics and operations, and the buildings are ready for the return of students. The Pandemic Response Teams have taken walkthroughs of the buildings, and the response from those teams was very positive. Our reopening plan was submitted to the state, and the three areas for revision (recess, cleaning manual, and technology services) were addressed. The cleaning manual is posted on the district website.
Continue reading Ridgewood Board of Education Discuses Return to School Plan
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, according to the NYTimes , “Economists, business leaders and labor experts have warned for years that a coming wave of automation and digital technology would upend the work force, destroying some jobs while altering how and where work is done for nearly everyone.
In the past four months, the coronavirus pandemic has transformed some of those predictions into reality. By May, half of Americans were working from home, tethered to their employers via laptops and Wi-Fi, up from 15 percent before the pandemic, according to a recent study.”
Continue reading Pandemic “Educational Pods” All the Rage for Ridgewood Parents
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, The Board of Education meets on Monday, August 31, 2020 at 6 PM for a Regular Public Meeting. Due to health concerns related to COVID-19, the public cannot attend this meeting.
“Even if we agree that teachers work as much as the average worker, they are only working 10 months out of the year and those are 6 hour days, not 8 hour days.
And lets not talk about “teacher prep time” done before and after their 6 hour day, that is canceled out by the “overtime” done by the average worker before and after their 8 hour day.”
Continue reading Reader Comments of Teacher Pay “…but they continue to whine”
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, As it continues addressing challenges unique to the coronavirus pandemic, the NJSIAA today released updated guidelines related to transfers and spectators attending games.
Regarding transfers, while NJSIAA will continue to prohibit students from transferring for athletic advantage, it has modified what it identifies as “athletic advantage.” For the 2020-21 school year, a transfer for athletic advantage will not include a transfer made because the student’s school cancels or postpones an athletic program due to the pandemic. However any student who transfers after September 1, regardless of the reason, will be required to sit for half of the fall season, or 30 days, whichever is shorter. Fuller details on this revision and others related to transfers are available online, HERE .
Continue reading NJSIAA Revises Guidelines on Spectators Attending Games
photo credit https://writix.co.uk/
“As a teacher this is so discouraging to read. If you feel your tax money is going all to the school and the teachers are “ineffective” move elsewhere. My districts teachers have zero say in the decisions happening. It is sad you place blame on teachers being lazy when several go above and beyond to help children succeed and please parents. Remote learning in the spring was far from a vacation for me, it was difficult but I would rather do that than potentially get sick or infect a family member. Don’t diminish teachers, they are the ones who are with your kids all day.”
“Fact is the Ridgewood’s school rankings have been on a downward slide for a while now, before COVID. Fact is when the schools closed last year, many kids slipped in their performance relative to benchmark because teachers weren’t able to get the kids to thrive in those circumstances (not the teachers fault per se, but some were notably disengaged). Fact is there are some awesome teachers and great educators who can pivot under any circumstance, but unfortunately the fact is there is no shortage of those that can’t. Fact is the rate of transmission in NJ, Bergen County, and specifically Ridgewood are all materially down since the peak, with only a miniscule number or new cases in the last month. Fact is parents aren’t paying taxes for full time teachers to teach part time. Fact is if all-remote implemented, there is a plethora of excess teachers/administrators that can be furloughed until school resumes normal operations, yet the fact is no such plan was ever contemplated.
Fact is the truth sometimes hurts when pointed…”
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Trenton NJ , Senate Republican Leader Tom Kean sponsors legislation, approved today by the Senate, to study why so many New Jersey high school graduates choose to attend college out of state.
“Too many of our bright and talented high school graduates are deciding to pursue college degrees in other states,” said Kean (R-21). “The ‘brain drain’ hurts our state. Most of them never return to their home state to help bolster our workforce, contribute to communities, and help support their families. This study will help us better understand what we can do to reverse the trend.”
Continue reading More College-Bound Students Leave New Jersey than Any Other State
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, the vote suppression group One Village One Vote has now headed to the courts to fight the Village of Ridgewood’s rejection of their voter disenfranchisement and voter suppression petition .
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ,a new report released yesterday from the United Kingdom is the most comprehensive look yet at students returning to class. The reported concluded :
“In conclusion, re-opening of schools was associated with very few outbreaks after easing of national lockdown in England. SARS-CoV-2 infection and outbreaks were more likely to
involve staff members, highlighting a need to improve education and infection control measures for this group. The strong correlation between COVID-19 outbreaks and regional
SARS-CoV-2 incidence highlights the importance of controlling the disease in the community to protect the staff and students in educational settings.”
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/911267/School_Outbreaks_Analysis.pdf?fbclid=IwAR2w-j5Hc9KYdfmPJQxkbAp_BVNntlmN-MgUXq3SN36pM6-OiuGPMmqX3Pc
