Category: Ridgewood Schools

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Ridgewood Superintendent Talks $111 Million School Budget

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Talking about the budget:
Please vote on Tuesday, April 16

March 2019 column
by
Daniel Fishbein, Ed.D.
Link to 2019-2020 budget and voting information

The following column appeared in The Ridgewood News on March 29, 2019.

On Tuesday, April 16, 2019 the Ridgewood community will be asked to vote on the Ridgewood Public Schools 2019-2020 school budget as proposed by the Board of Education. The change back to public voting on the school budget occurred in July of 2018 when the Ridgewood Village Council opted to move the Ridgewood Board of Education School Election from November to April.

It is important to note that this year the election falls within the school district’s April break. For this reason, we are making a special effort to inform residents of the option of voting by mail. Information about voting by mail and applications can be found on the home page of our district website at www.ridgewood.k12.nj.us and on each of our school websites as well as at www.njelections.org /vote-by-mail.shtml.

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Ridgewood Board of Education Meets Monday, April 1, 2019 49 Cottage Place 7:30 p.m.

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the staff of the Ridgewood Blog

Ridgewood NJ, The Ridgewood Board of Education will hold its next Regular Public Meeting on Monday, April 1, 2019. The Board meets at the Education Center, 49 Cottage Place, Floor 3 at 7:30 p.m.

The public is welcome to attend the meeting, or to watch from home on Fios channel 33 or Optimum channel 77. Meetings are also streamed via the “BOE Webcast” tab on the district website at www.ridgewood.k12.nj.us.

Meeting webcasts are immediately available on the district website.

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Senate President Steve Sweeney calls for the merger of the high-cost School Employees Health Benefits Plan into the lower-cost State Health Benefits Plan

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the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Monroe Township NJ, Declaring that teachers and school districts are paying too much for their healthcare coverage, Senate President Steve Sweeney today called for the merger of the high-cost School Employees Health Benefits Plan into the lower-cost State Health Benefits Plan to take advantage of the cost savings negotiated by the Governor and the state’s largest public workers union.

Speaking at a meeting of the New Jersey Principals and Supervisors Association, Senator Sweeney said legislation merging the two healthcare plans would be a cornerstone of the Path to Progress legislative package that will be introduced to implement recommendations of the bipartisan Economic and Fiscal Policy Workgroup.

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NJ Department of Education Grades Ridgewood Schools

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the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ, New Jersey’s latest school grades are out, giving parents in every community a snapshot of what the state thinks of their local schools.The state Department of Education on Tuesday released the new scores, which are graded on a scale of 0-100 and consider standardized test results, graduation rates and other factors. The ratings were established to comply with the federal Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), which replaced the No Child Left Behind Act.

The system has been very controversial , with critics claiming the ranking system hardly reflects the quality of the education.  

Assemblywomen Holly Schepisi , “Trying to decipher the scoring system used in this new grading system by the State Department of Education. Some of the disturbing trends in the data include that school districts in which the state has made significant financial investments continue to see the lowest scores and in some local communities one grammar school may rank among the lowest while others in the same community are ranked incredibly high. We need to start looking at better and different ways to help our children succeed within our schools. Merely sending additional monies does not seem to be working.”

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Keeping Up With Ridgewood Schools

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the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ, The next Regular Public Meeting of the Ridgewood Board of Education will be held on Monday, March 25, 2019 at the Education Center, 49 Cottage Place, Floor 3 at 7:30 p.m. The meeting will be aired live on television, FiOS channel 33 and Optimum channel 77, and streamed via the “Link in Live” tab on the district website at www.ridgewood.k12.nj.us. Meeting webcasts are generally posted immediately to the district website.
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Review of the Village Council Special Public Budget Meeting

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AGENDA
VILLAGE COUNCIL
SPECIAL PUBLIC BUDGET MEETING
MARCH 8, 2019
5:00 P.M.

     1.   Call to Order

  1.  Statement of Compliance with the Open Public Meeting Act

MAYOR:    “Adequate notice of this meeting has been provided by a posting on the bulletin board in Village hall, by mail to the Ridgewood News, The Record, and by submission to all persons entitled to same as provided by law of a schedule including the date and time of this meeting.”

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Ridgewood BOE Coffee & Conversation is Wednesday, March 20

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the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ, Residents are invited to stop by the Education Center for coffee and casual conversation with Board of Education members and Superintendent Dr. Daniel Fishbein. Mark your calendars for March 20 from 7-8:30 p.m. at the Education Center, 49 Cottage Place. Come with your thoughts, ideas, questions, suggestions and concerns.

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Delayed Opening for Ridgewood Schools

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the staff of the Ridewood blog

Ridgewood NJ, Storm Notice for Monday, March 4: Schools will have a DELAYED OPENING on Monday, March 4. The school day will begin 2 hours later, with school bus schedules also operating 2 hours later. K-5 kids who have not ordered lunch must bring a bag lunch. Allow extra time & use caution!

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Reader says The Academies “skim the cream from the Bergen County towns AND get the towns to pay after stealing the students”

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“The Academies were set up by an education politico who scammed a way to build a school out of a vo-tech, call it a place for different kinds of learners, skim the cream from the Bergen County towns AND get the towns to pay after stealing the students. Basically, it’s a private school built with public monies. All run by democrat freeloaders who are against charter schools – unless it’s THEIR charter school. Nice scam. “

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Ridgewood Schools will operate under the delayed opening schedule on Friday, March 1

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Storm Notice: Please pass the word!

All Ridgewood Schools will operate under the delayed opening schedule on Friday, March 1.

Under the delayed opening schedule, the school day will begin two hours later than usual.

School bus schedules will operate two hours later. For students who are walking to school or to bus stops, please allow extra time and use caution.

Elementary school children who have not ordered lunch must bring a bag lunch to school. There will not be sufficient time for children to go home for lunch when there is a delayed opening.

Thank you and please be careful.

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LAN Associates Presents Capital Improvement Plan for Ridgewood Schools

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the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ, Mr. Steve Secora (LAN) presented information on recommended capital improvement projects for a possible future bond referendum. The review included prioritized projects at each of the district schools, with a focus on mechanical systems and classroom/corridor/bathroom upgrades. The RHS projects include fire alarm upgrades and drainage improvements as well as HVAC equipment replacement. The BFMS projects include an upgraded auditorium and media center.

The presentation slides may be viewed here.

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Ridgewood Board of Education Meeting Tonight !

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the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ, The Ridgewood Board of Education will hold its next Regular Public Meeting on Monday, February 25, 2019. The Board meets at the Education Center, 49 Cottage Place, Floor 3 at 7:30 p.m.

The public is welcome to attend the meeting, or to watch from home on Fios channel 33 or Optimum channel 77. Meetings are also streamed via the “BOE Webcast” tab on the district website at www.ridgewood.k12.nj.us.

Meeting webcasts are immediately available on the district website.

Preliminary Budget

https://www.ridgewood.k12.nj.us/common/pages/DisplayFile.aspx?itemId=18490411&fbclid=IwAR3VRSXT988a40fuPKFvj6pwlNjbwsLaiEARsAS0xgnR399LwFNncZSn8OY

agenda :

https://www.ridgewood.k12.nj.us/UserFiles/Servers/Server_207516/File/Our%20District/Board%20of%20Education/Board%20Business/02-25-19.pdf

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Reader asks , ” Why hasn’t Ridgewood done enough to keep up and stay competitive?”

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“The Ivy’s received almost 70,000 more applicants in 2017 than in 2012, and overall acceptance rates dropped to 9.3% from 12.6%.”
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EXACTLY.
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Why hasn’t Ridgewood done enough to keep up and stay competitive?
Answer: Because the school values all of the BS (sleep in days, pet therapist for exams, student walkouts against perceieved – but not real – trangressions, etc. etc. etc.) rather than innovative programs and solutions to make the students successful and competitive in an ever more competitive and changing world.
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The attitude that life (in this case getting into college) is getting harder so it is OK that we do not do as well is EXACTLY why we are failing the students and falling behind.
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Making excuses for failure is so much easier than finding solutions for success.

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Reader says , “Most parents in Ridgewood have high expectations for their kids”

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“Most parents in Ridgewood have high expectations for their kids, it’s why they’re willing to pay the high property taxes with the expectation of one of the best schools in the tristate area. Our high school just ranked #26 in the Niche survey and we rank #23 in NJ for SAT scores according to NJ.com last fall. This is acceptable to you? Will it improve with the current administrators we have? If the answer is “no”, then we need to attract better administrators.”

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Reader says we need to ,”help prepare our students for the challenges of the world and workforce ahead”

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Does anyone believe that Fishbein and Gorman are the right leaders for our schools? Are they capable of driving the innovation and dynamic change needed to improve our schools, and help prepare our students for the challenges of the world and workforce ahead? If the answer is no, why are they still employed?