Yesterday’s dismissal of the Newark ‘LIFO’ case and recent decisions continue to show how the court is a force in education in Garden State
Superior Court Judge Mary Jacobson.
For all the attention on the State House in driving education policy, New Jersey’s courts yesterday continued to show their long and storied influence on some of the hottest public school issues.
In the more prominent case, state Superior Court Judge Mary Jacobson abruptly dismissed a closely watched lawsuit contesting the state’s infamous teacher seniority rules.
In a clear win for the teachers unions and a blow to the school-reform movement and the Christie administration, Jacobson spoke from the bench, saying the plaintiffs — a half-dozen Newark families, with the help of a national advocacy group — had not proven the “last in, first out” policy had harmed their children.
“I am not disputing the importance of teacher effectiveness in the classroom, but the complaint is completely devoid of facts,” Jacobson said in a lengthy and sternly worded opinion.
Senate President Steve Sweeney drew a line in the sand over school funding on Tuesday, saying his house would only pass a budget that shifts state dollars to underfunded urban and suburban districts this year.
Gov. Chris Christie has drafted a $35.5 billion spending plan for fiscal 2018 — $13.8 billion of which would go to schools — and lawmakers are reviewing his plan before the July 1 deadline to enact the budget.
The average SAT score in New Jersey high schools varied greatly among the state’s 21 counties last school year.
Some counties had multiple high schools with average scores above 1,300, while other counties did not have a single school with an average score better than 1,200 out of 1,600.
The average SAT score among New Jersey’s public high schools overall was a 1,075 out of 1,600 last school year, but plenty of schools posted significantly more impressive scores.
The range of scores also varied. Some counties had one school that far outperformed its neighbors, and others saw close competition for the top spot.
Specialized schools with selective enrollment and run by county vocational districts once again dominate the list of highest average scores, taking home the top 12 spots.
Here are the top three average scores in each county:
May 1 2017 7:30 PM to 7:30 PM
Location Ed Center, 49 Cottage Place, Ridgewood, NJ
The public is invited to attend the meeting, or watch it live on Fios channel 33, Optimum channel 77, or on the “Link in Live” tab of the district website at www.ridgewood.k12.nj.us.
Ridgewood NJ, 2017-18 School Budget Info:
On Monday, May 1, the Ridgewood Board of Education will hold a public hearing prior to voting on the proposed 2017-2018 school budget. The hearing will be held at the Education Center, 49 Cottage Place, starting at 7:30 p.m.
Click here to view the following budget summary in PDF format:
Ridgewood NJ, Ridgewood district parents and guardians will have the opportunity to provide anonymous feedback to the Board of Education in May, through a satisfaction survey distributed by email.
The 2016-2017 satisfaction survey will solicit parent / guardian opinions in a variety of areas, ranging from the quality of their children’s education to their satisfaction with school facilities. The middle school and high school surveys will also include questions on the district’s 1:1 Chromebook Initiative, which distributes laptops to all students in grades 6-12 for use at school and home.
The survey period will run from Tuesday, May 8 through Friday, May 19. All district parents and guardians with email addresses on file with the district will be sent a link to the brief survey for each school that their children attend. Instructions will be included to complete the questionnaire based on their youngest child’s experience at each school.
The surveys are set up to be completely anonymous and cannot be tracked back to responders. Survey results will be collated and shared with the community and used by the Board of Education and administration as part of their evaluation of district policies and practices. A dedicated email address has been set up to take questions or concerns about the 2016-2017 satisfaction survey at [email protected]
The Newark Unity Slate—a compromise ticket designed by Newark Mayor Ras Baraka, the city’s influential North Ward, and charter-school advocates—swept the city’s school board elections Tuesday night.
Of the 15 candidates on the ballot, the top vote-getter was Josephine Garcia. She brought in 3,566 votes, according to preliminary results by the Essex County Clerk’s Office.
Garcia was the North Ward candidate, aligned with Councilman Anibal Ramos. Reginald Bledsoe—Baraka’s pick— won 3,382 votes. The candidate backed by pro-charter advocates, Floshina Johnson, won 2,717 votes.
Presidential Executive Order on Enforcing Statutory Prohibitions on Federal Control of Education
EXECUTIVE ORDER
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ENFORCING STATUTORY PROHIBITIONS ON FEDERAL CONTROL OF EDUCATION
By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, and in order to restore the proper division of power under the Constitution between the Federal Government and the States and to further the goals of, and to ensure strict compliance with, statutes that prohibit Federal interference with State and local control over education, including section 103 of the Department of Education Organization Act (DEOA) (20 U.S.C. 3403), sections 438 and 447 of the General Education Provisions Act (GEPA), as amended (20 U.S.C. 1232a and 1232j), and sections 8526A, 8527, and 8529 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA), as amended by the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) (20 U.S.C. 7906a, 7907, and 7909), it is hereby ordered as follows:
Section 1. Policy. It shall be the policy of the executive branch to protect and preserve State and local control over the curriculum, program of instruction, administration, and personnel of educational institutions, schools, and school systems, consistent with applicable law, including ESEA, as amended by ESSA, and ESEA’s restrictions related to the Common Core State Standards developed under the Common Core State Standards Initiative.
Sec. 2. Review of Regulations and Guidance Documents. (a) The Secretary of Education (Secretary) shall review all Department of Education (Department) regulations and guidance documents relating to DEOA, GEPA, and ESEA, as amended by ESSA.
(b) The Secretary shall examine whether these regulations and guidance documents comply with Federal laws that prohibit the Department from exercising any direction, supervision, or control over areas subject to State and local control, including:
(i) the curriculum or program of instruction of any elementary and secondary school and school system;
(ii) school administration and personnel; and
(iii) selection and content of library resources, textbooks, and instructional materials.
(c) The Secretary shall, as appropriate and consistent with applicable law, rescind or revise any regulations that are identified pursuant to subsection (b) of this section as inconsistent with statutory prohibitions. The Secretary shall also rescind or revise any guidance documents that are identified pursuant to subsection (b) of this section as inconsistent with statutory prohibitions. The Secretary shall, to the extent consistent with law, publish any proposed regulations and withdraw or modify any guidance documents pursuant to this subsection no later than 300 days after the date of this order.
Sec. 3. Definition. The term “guidance document” means any written statement issued by the Department to the public that sets forth a policy on a statutory, regulatory, or technical issue or an interpretation of a statutory or regulatory issue, including Dear Colleague letters, interpretive memoranda, policy statements, manuals, circulars, memoranda, pamphlets, bulletins, advisories, technical assistance, and grants of applications for waivers.
Sec. 4. General Provisions. (a) Nothing in this order shall be construed to impair or otherwise affect:
(i) the authority granted by law to an executive department or agency, or the head thereof; or
(ii) the functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals.
(b) This order shall be implemented consistent with applicable law and subject to the availability of appropriations.
(c) This order is not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any party against the United States, its departments, agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any other person.
Ridgewood NJ, Today, April 27, the Ridgewood High School Department of Fine and Applied Arts will present the final Maroon & White Music Recital for the 2016-17 school year. The last of five such events for this year, the concert will be held in the newly renovated RHS Learning Commons beginning at 3:45PM, followed immediately by a reception in the Carroll Art Gallery. Admission is free and open to the public.
The recital will feature three outstanding musicians, presenting a varied program and will begin with a performance by Stefanie Haas, a freshman trombonist making her Maroon and White debut. Miss Haas, who has performed as a member of the All-Bergen County Band, as well as the Region I Intermediate Band and Junior Jazz Ensemble, will perform the second and third movements of Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov’s renowned Concerto for Trombone. Kari Wong, a junior harpist who has also been recognized for her outstanding performance on the oboe in the All-Bergen County, Region I, All State and All Eastern Bands, will perform Susann McDonald’s Ballade, Claude Debussy’s First Arabesque, and the Chanson dans la nuit by Carlos Salzedo. Grace Gu, a sophomore pianist and First Prize winner in the 2015 Cremona (Italy) International Music Academy and Competition, will round out the recital by performing the first movement of Mozart’s Sonata No. 2 in F Major, Frederico Mompou’s Paisajes II – El Lago, and the Concert Paraphrase on Verdi’s Rigoletto by Franz Liszt.
Following the concert, audience members are invited to a reception in the Carroll Art Gallery, which is currently showing the Maroon and White Senior Art Exhibit.
The Maroon and White Recital Series began in 1964 as a means of highlighting outstanding Ridgewood High School musicians in a featured solo capacity. Over the past five decades, the series has expanded to include art exhibits as well as a recital featuring only dancers. Musicians and dancers are selected through competitive audition, while artists are chosen after an extensive portfolio revue. Past Maroon & White recitalists include Jonathan Spitz, principal cellist with the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra, Elizabeth Ostling, associate principal flutist with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the piano duo of Sarah and Susan Wang, renowned Broadway singer/dancer Ali Stroker, Stephanie Buesser, dancer with Ballet West, New York City choreographer Yael Nachajon, Broadway director Marc Bruni, jazz organist Jared Gold and many others. The list of past artists includes Lauren Roth of Lauren Roth Art, renowned illustrator Kyle McCullough, Giovanni Forlino, whose work can be seen on display at the Getty and Guggenheim museums, plus a host of professional freelance artists who work in a wide variety of visual art related fields.
As a father of five children, I admit to you that I have not always been able to monitor what my children watch on television. Even using the antiquated term television doesn’t aptly cover the shows and videos that our children “stream watch,” making it nearly impossible to monitor what they view.
For this and other reasons, we have included digital citizenship as part of our program of studies district wide, so that our children learn the importance of self-responsibility and good decision-making on issues of technology, the Internet and what they view in the media.
Over the past several days, I have received notifications from the New Jersey Youth Suicide Prevention Advisory Council and the National Association of School Psychologists concerning the March 31st Netflix release of the television drama series, “13 Reasons Why,” about a student who commits suicide. This series has become very popular with our teen youth.
Below is an excerpt from the notification from the New Jersey Youth Suicide Prevention Advisory Council: Perhaps you have heard that on March 31st Netflix released a new series called “13 Reasons Why.” If you are not aware of this, you should know that the youth you may come into contact with have most probably heard of it and may have already watched it. This series has become an instant attraction to young people. Across the country, youth are binge watching this series and are reacting to it with friends and on social media.
“13 Reasons Why” is a series about a young high school girl, Hannah, who takes her own life and sends out 13 cassette tapes to those whom she blames for her death. The series was adapted from a book of the same name. While the show is fictional, the series is extremely graphic and raises significant concerns about the emotional safety of those watching it – especially for those youth who may have had some experience with mental health issues, suicidal thoughts or behaviors.
We, at New Jersey’s Youth Suicide Prevention Advisory Council, want you to be aware of this series and how to provide some safety for youth around the show’s content and any feelings the show may be bringing up for them. In order to address these issues with teenagers we need to remember to ask about what they are feeling and seeing and we need to listen. While there are some very disturbing and graphic scenes and ideas, there are some strengths in the series that provide excellent opportunities to have a conversation about suicide prevention and how to protect yourself and your friends. We encourage parents to watch the series with their children and have these conversations openly rather than simply criticizing a series that most teens are already watching.
We have provided a handout from the National Association of School Psychologists which provides some excellent guidelines for discussion and response whether you are an educator, mental health professional, parent or youth. We encourage you to share these talking points, as well as the resources listed below, with anyone who has contact with youth including teachers, counselors, parents, etc. We understand that this material can be difficult and if you do not feel comfortable or if you are interested in further education on how to become a partner in youth suicide prevention, how to get additional suicide prevention education or training, or if you are in need of mental health support for yourself or others, we encourage you to reach out to the following resources.
The document from the National Association of School Psychologists referred to above has been shared with district administrators and counselors and is also attached here as important reading for parents and guardians. Also included below are some resources for further information on the responsible use of technology, mental health, and training and education.
It is also important to note that the Ridgewood Board of Education and Village of Ridgewood are active members of the Ridgewood Stigma Free initiative, comprised of community stakeholders who are dedicated to raising awareness of the disease of mental illness and creating a culture where residents who suffer from mental illness feel supported by our community to seek treatment without fear of stigma.
As May is “Mental Health Awareness” month, my colleagues all over Bergen County and across the state and country will be sharing information about mental health. Please look for my posts on my Twitter account @RWDSupt or on Facebook @RidgewoodPublicSchools.
Thank you for taking the time to read this letter on a very serious and important issue.
Sincerely yours, Daniel Fishbein, Ed.D. Superintendent of Schools
If you have not visited this website, I suggest you do so. It is dedicated to help all parents navigate the world of technology and keep us current on how our children use technology. Mental Health Resources: National Association of Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1-800-273-TALK NJ Hopeline: 1-855-NJ-HOPELINE (654-6735) 2nd Floor Youth Helpline: 888-222-2228 (call or text) West Bergen Mental Health: 201-485-7172 Training and Education Resources: Traumatic Loss Coalitions for Youth: 732-235-2810 (https://ubhc.rutgers.edu/tlc/)
Ridgewood NJ, U.S. News and World Report released its annual ranking of America’s best high schools on Tuesday, and 25 New Jersey high schools made the top 500, including three schools in the top 100.
Schools with selective enrollment, including specialized high schools run by county vocational districts, typically rank ahead of many of the state’s traditional high schools. Ridgewood High School came in an impressive 26th in the state and 583rd in the country.
U.S. News and World Report used state supplied numbers ;Total Students 1,714 , College Readiness (district average)53.6%,Proficient in English (district average)71%,Proficient in Mathematics (district average)56%.
The U.S. News and World Report summarized , “Ridgewood High School is ranked 26th within New Jersey. Students have the opportunity to take Advanced Placement® course work and exams. The AP® participation rate at Ridgewood High School is 60 percent. The student body makeup is 49 percent male and 51 percent female, and the total minority enrollment is 30 percent”
U.S. News’ ranking attempts to identify the best high schools in the country, using a school’s graduation rate, performance on state math and English tests and scores and level of participation on Advanced Placement exams are the primary factors in the U.S. News ranking. Schools with the highest ranking demonstrated strong performance among all students, including minority and low-income students.
The list is based it’s analysis on more than 28,000 public schools, according to U.S. News. The 25 New Jersey schools ranked in the top 500 each earned a gold medal from U.S. News, meaning their students have the highest level of college readiness.
What are the rules when it comes to transgender students and New Jersey’s schools? Find out what some experts have to say.
By Eric Kiefer (Patch Staff) – April 24, 2017 11:16 am ET
ESSEX COUNTY, NJ — If you’re a New Jersey student who was born a female but who identifies as a male, are you allowed to use the boys’ bathroom? Or if you were born a male but identify as a female, can you play girls’ softball? These are some of the questions that a North Jersey school community hopes to address at an upcoming public forum.
Bloomfield public school administrators plan to host a “Transgender Symposium” at the high school on Wednesday, May 3. According to administrators, the free, public forum will help the community understand the changes that will come with the rollout of the district’s official transgender policy, which the Board of Education adopted last year.
State Senate President Stephen Sweeney and Sen. Teresa Ruiz, chair of the chamber’s Education Committee, penned a letter to state education officials this week, indicating that the use of PARCC as a high school exit exam violates legislative intent.
The letter, addressed to state Board of Education President Mark Biedron and acting Education Commissioner Kimberley Harrington, asks the board to revise its rules governing graduation testing requirements. The letter comes a month after the state Assembly adopted a resolution (ACR215) which also stated that using PARCC to fulfill graduation testing requirements is inconsistent with legislative intent.
You have a valid point. The question is what authority does a RW crossing guard have.
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School crossing guards may or may not have the authority to direct traffic. It depends on state and local statues regarding whether a school crossing guard has the authority to perform the duties of a traffic control officer or not. If allowed, it likely requires the guard to complete specific training and may require the guard to be placed under the auspices of the police department rather than the board of Ed or the township. Also there may be issues of additional liability insurance, minimum fitness tests, etc.
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I’m not sure of the laws in NJ and RW regarding this but it is an area that you should investigate to see if it makes sense.
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A cop giving out tickets to frustrated drivers (who drive recklessly) may also act as a deterrent.
The corner is dangerous for one simple reason. When the guard halts traffic flow to let kids cross the east side of Glen, cars headed east on Glen as well as cars trying to turn east from Van Dien onto Glen (many after dropping their kids off) stop.
When the kids are done, cars already on Glen gets priority as they have no stop sign. Meanwhile traffic keeps piling up on Van Dien. This leads to visibly frustrated people who try to desperately look for an opening (between traffic on Glen) to dart in.
The solution to this problem is either to 1) Have stop signs for traffic on Glen as well, at least during school hours, or 2) Have a more mobile and active crossing guard who can direct traffic as well as kids, stopping cars on Glen to allow traffic from Van Dien to blend in periodically.
Once again, it seems like people are confused between ‘nice and caring’ and ‘effective.’ EVERYONE likes someone who is nice and caring. However, a crossing guard needs to be effective before being the former.
The point of having a crossing guard is to help school children cross the road safely, in the midst of traffic flow. But it involves more than just holding up a stop sign and lowering it once kids are through. If traffic keeps building up on Van Dien and people keep getting frustrated, it will not lead to safer outcomes for anyone.
Once again, I do not know who this person is and from all comments, it appears that she is a lovely person. I am sure that is true.
But my comments are simply based on what I have seen driving past that spot a few times. The last time I was there, I was at the head of the line of cars waiting on Glen as kids crossed. There was a lady trying to creep in from Van Dien trying to turn onto Glen east. Once the kids were through, the crossing guard lowered the sign. She could have easily asked me to stop, pointed at a few cars from Van Dien to make their turn, and then asked me to continue on. But she just stood there looking semi-bewildered by the situation.
Ridgewood NJ, The State of New Jersey requires all drinking water in our school facilities to be tested for lead during the 2016-2017 school year. The Ridgewood Public Schools are currently conducting those tests; the results of the schools we have received are listed below. The District promises to post results within 24 hours of notification for the remaining schools.
Please note that this summer of 2017 we are replacing old water fountains with filtered water fountains throughout the district.
