By Adam Clark | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
on April 04, 2017 at 7:31 AM, updated April 04, 2017 at 11:14 AM
TRENTON — New Jersey’s new plan for grading its schools for the federal government places less weight on passing state exams and extra importance on other factors, such as the performance of students learning to speak English and academic progress among students who don’t pass standardized tests.
The state Monday filed its federal accountability plan under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), the new federal education law that replaced No Child Left Behind. All states are required to file a plan to the federal government.
The ESSA plan calls for decreasing the importance of standardized test scores in rating schools and giving states more flexibility to decide how to intervene in struggling school districts.
By Adam Clark | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
on March 30, 2017 at 5:26 PM
PRINCETON — Flooded with a record-high 30,056 applications, Princeton University accepted just 1,890 students in its Class of 2021, a record-low 6.1 percent admission rate, the university announced.
The decisions, available for students to track online beginning at 5 p.m., leave thousands of top students rejected. More than 12,000 applicants had a 4.0 GPA in high school, according to the university.
Princeton accepted 6.4 percent of applicants last year.
“The admitted students will bring extraordinary talents, achievements and motivation to the Princeton community,” Dean of Admission Janet Lavin Rapelye said. “Their diverse range of skills, ideas, backgrounds and beliefs were evident to the committee as we gave careful consideration to each application.”
Oral arguments before a Mercer County Superior Court judge are scheduled for May 3
March 31,2017
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Trenton NJ, Six Newark parents yesterday opposed motions to dismiss HG v. Harrington, the lawsuit they filed last November challenging the constitutionality of New Jersey’s quality-blind “last in, first out” (LIFO) teacher layoff law. The motions to dismiss the case were filed earlier this month by local and national teachers unions, who intervened as defendants in the case last December. Oral arguments on the motions to dismiss are scheduled for 2pm on May 3 before the Mercer County Superior Court. Defendants from Newark Public Schools and the New Jersey Department of Education did not move to dismiss the case.
“The teachers unions clearly are not looking out for students’ best interests,” said Kathleen Reilly, attorney with Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer, one of the law firms representing the Newark parents pro bono. “With education budget deficits in the tens of millions of dollars, the court urgently needs to hear these parents’ concerns about laws that require schools to keep ineffective teachers while letting effective ones go. If students’ educational rights are valued, these laws cannot stand.”
In their answer to the lawsuit, defendants from the Newark Public Schools overwhelmingly conceded that the LIFO law harms students, acknowledging that enforcement of LIFO in Newark will remove quality teachers, which leads to lower test scores, lower high school graduation rates, lower college attendance rates, and sharply reduced lifetime earnings. They also admit that the current practice of keeping ineffective teachers on the district payroll, including those in a pool of “educators without placement sites” (EWPS) is harmful and unsustainable, and that the EWPS pool would be wholly unnecessary were it not for LIFO.
To learn more about the parent-led lawsuit to end LIFO in New Jersey, please go to edjustice.org/nj. All legal filings related to HG v. Harrington are available online here.
By Anthony G. Attrino | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
on March 29, 2017 at 6:16 AM, updated March 29, 2017 at 1:33 PM
PATERSON – Two high school students have been arrested on terrorist threat charges after they allegedly talked about killing their former elementary school teachers.
The students, who both attend Eastside High School, made statements about “engaging in a Columbine-like attack,” according to NorthJersey.com.
The students are a 14-year-old girl and 15-year-old boy, according to Paterson Police Director Jerry Speziale.
Ridgewood NJ, Support Project Graduation 2017 at this fun event! Watch more than 200 RHS seniors walk the runway wearing clothing from many local retailers and bid on fantastic auction items- there’s something for everyone! Email [email protected] with questions or to RSVP.
Sunday at 1 PM – 4 PM
5 days from now · 39–61° Partly Cloudy
Teaneck Marriott At Glenpointe
100 Frank W Burr Blvd, Teaneck, New Jersey 07666
State already answers to higher legal standard, but federal ruling should re-emphasize that minimum progress is not enough for special-needs students
When the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 8-0 last week in favor of raising standards for special education nationwide, the decision was widely applauded by parent and children advocates.
But when it comes to how much the ruling will directly impact New Jersey, the answer is a bit more complicated.
In a decisive victory for special-needs children, the court ruled in a case that originated in Colorado that schools are compelled to teach students with disabilities at a level comparable to other students and above the standard of minimum progress.
by Andrew Seidman, Trenton Bureau @AndrewSeidman | [email protected]
TRENTON — Gov. Christie has antagonized New Jersey’s largest teachers’ union since he took office in 2010, once declaring on television that the national organization deserved a punch in the face.
The union has struggled under Christie’s eight-year governorship, but as the Republican prepares to leave office next year, the New Jersey Education Association is punching back at someone it sees as Christie’s chief collaborator: Senate President Stephen Sweeney.
“We’re looking for a new governor and a new Senate president,” Wendell Steinhauer, the group’s president, said in an interview.
Ridgewood NJ, Ridgewood students continue to excel in March with awards going to Ridgewood High School Latin students,RHS cheerleading squad ,DECA students and Ridgewood swimmers.
(3.27.17 )This month the Ridgewood High School Latin students, under the direction of Stefanie Gigante and Jay Lucci, competed in “Certamen,” a quiz bowl-style game of classical knowledge. The upper level team, comprising AP students, took home first place in the northern division, and the Latin II team also took home first place honors. The winners will be moving on to the state level of competition at the convention in April.
(3.20.17)The RHS cheerleading squad won First Place in their division at the national championship in Virginia Beach. In addition, Alex Alberta won the High School Scholarship Award over hundreds of other contestants.
(3.9.17)Ninety-five DECA students attended the DECA State Conference in Atlantic City over February break. RHS students did well in the preliminary rounds and came in third place behind two larger schools. In each role play event, the top six students/teams, and the top five students/teams in papers will now go to ICDC in Anaheim, CA, with over 30 students qualifying to move to the national competition. In addition, Rusluan Diaz was also elected as an NJ State DECA officer for the 2017-2018 school year.
(3.9.17) Ridgewood swimmers this year broke nine previously held Ridgewood High School records. Senior Jessica Chau achieved records in four events, the 200 IM, 100 Backstroke, 100 Breast and the 100 Butterfly. Six others also set records in individuals and relays. Six RHS swimmers qualified to race at the NJSIAA Individual State Meet in Gloucester. Both the boys and girls dominated the Big North Freedom division, capturing first place finishes at the championship meet.
Ridgewood NJ, On Wednesday, March 29, the Ridgewood High School Bands will perform their annual Spring Concert. The concert, which will be held at West Side Presbyterian Church, begins at 7:30 PM and admission is free. This concert will feature the school’s three curricular bands – the Symphonic Band, Concert Band, and Wind Ensemble – and will feature a varied, exciting program.
The Symphonic Band, under the direction of John Luckenbill and Jeffrey Haas, will begin the concert with William Owens’ celebratory fanfare Festival Proclamation. The beautiful Highbridge Excursions by Mark Williams, follows in the program with a nod to the Scottish folksong style, and Karl L. King’s famous American march Gallant Marines closes their portion of the program. The RHS Concert Band, also led by Luckenbill and Haas, will continue the program by opening with the up tempo overture River Valley Celebration, by David Gorham. Goddess of Fire, Steven Reineke’s epic programmatic work depicting the legend of Pele is next in the program, followed by John Philip Sousa’s popular march, The Fairest of the Fair.
Finally, under the baton of Jeffrey Haas, the RHS Wind Ensemble will perform the exciting Exultation, a fast-paced opener with rhythms borrowed from Latin dance genres, Life Dances, an overture celebrating the various stages of a person’s life, and Alfred Reed’s masterpiece Russian Christmas Music, a piece written for and originally performed at a concert held in 1944 as a means of easing Russian-American tensions during World War II.
The Ridgewood High School Band Program is Bergen County’s largest, comprised of more than 230 students who participate in no fewer than 15 varied musical ensembles. The curricular bands, marching band, jazz ensembles, chamber ensembles, winter color guard and twirlers have been acclaimed locally, regionally, and nationally for superior performance. Individually, members of the Ridgewood High School Bands are chosen annually to perform in honor ensembles at the county, regional, state, and national levels.
Ridgewood NJ, The Board of Education and Superintendent Dr. Daniel Fishbein will host residents for coffee and casual conversation on Tuesday, March 28. The casual meeting will take place from 7-8:30 p.m. at the Education Center, 49 Cottage Place, Ridgewood. All residents are invited to drop in to share their thoughts, questions, suggestions and concerns.
The final 2016-2017 Coffee and Conversation is planned for Wednesday, May 17.
Superintendent’s Monthly Column: What’s Your Story?
Click here to read Dr. Fishbein’s monthly column for The Ridgewood News, March 10 edition.
Preliminary 2017-2018 School Budget
At the March 6 Board of Education meeting, Business Administrator Dr. Alfredo Aguilar presented the preliminary 2017-2018 budget, which is based on a .97% local tax levy increase. The total preliminary budget is $105,565,593, which would mean a $184.39 annual tax increase on the average assessed Ridgewood home of $696,093.
Click here to view the preliminary budget presentation as a PDF.
Following discussion, the Board approved the following resolution for Adoption of the 2017-2018 Preliminary Proposed Budget for Submission to the Executive County Superintendent of Schools:
BE IT RESOLVED, by the Ridgewood Board of Education, to approve the 2017-2018 school district preliminary proposed budget, as follows, for submission to the Executive County Superintendent of Schools:
There should be raised for the General Fund Tax Levy $91,519,173 for the ensuing School Year: (2017-2018).
Ridgewood NJ, we have been informed that the information previously posted on Ridgewood High School Summer School was outdated.
If you are thinking of hiring a tutor this summer or putting your child in a summer academic or enrichment program, Ridgewood High School’s Summer School may have the programs you are looking for. RHS Summer School is not just remedial classes anymore, we are now offering High School & Middle School Enrichment Classes as well as Test Preparation classes including; College Essay Writing, Intro to Geometry, Algebra II and Pre-calculus, Honors Geometry and Algebra II, Financial Literacy and Entrepreneurship, and SAT and ACT Prep Classes.
You might love watching reruns of Law & Order, but just because you get a kick out of watching people duke it out in a courtroom on TV doesn’t mean you should go to law school. Yet 25% of high-school students choose their future career based on something they saw on TV or in a movie, according to research from CareerBuilder.
Choosing a college major or career because it seems cool can backfire. A third of full-time workers come to regret their college major, CareerBuilder found. But by the time they realize they’ve made a mistake, doing a career reset is costly and complicated. Better to pick right the first time than have to start all over again in your 20s or 30s once you realize you’re not really cut out to be (or can’t make it as) a software engineer, salesperson, or screenwriter. But how to choose?
“There is a world of opportunity open to younger workers in business, technical and creative fields,” Rosemary Haefner, chief human resources officer at CareerBuilder, said in a statement. To narrow down the choices, you need to consider both your own passions and the potential salary and available job opportunities, Haefner added. “The more informed you are about your options and what it takes to get to where you want to be, the better the outcome,” she said.
The high school senior qualified to audition for all-state choir, but he’d also been invited to interview for the prestigious Jefferson Scholarship, which promised a full ride to the University of Virginia worth $125,000. He couldn’t be in both places at the same time.
“Unfortunately,” warned the Jefferson Scholars Foundation, “the flexibility will have to come from the choral organization, or you will have to choose between the two.”
The Virginia Choral Directors Association was just as uncompromising. It cautioned that only an illness “severe enough that continued participation would be harmful to the student’s health” would excuse the 17-year-old choir president from a full day’s attendance.
The annual mating dance between high school seniors and the nation’s colleges and universities is under way, and it’s not pretty. Class of 2020 decision letters will go out at month’s end, even as tuition and fees rise faster than inflation, producing about $107 billion in education debt last year, according to the College Board.
“I’m a liberal-arts major, and it feels like there’s no clear line of work for me to pursue. How can I use my degree to get a job when I graduate?”
The older I get, the more fiercely I defend unduly maligned liberal arts majors. I’m the proud recipient of an English degree. Some people thought that studying literature was an endearing quirk, not a career path, but it led me to a fulfilling career in journalism.
Now that I’m out in the real world, I’ve seen how desperate companies are for good writers, communicators and researchers. According to a National Association of Colleges and Employers spring 2016 survey, employers rated critical thinking, professionalism and teamwork as the most important career-readiness traits of college graduates — all achievable through liberal arts studies.
“In many cases in job interviews, it’s those other applied experiences that students have had that help them stand out,”Paul Timmins, director of career services for the College of Liberal Arts at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis
It’s true that PayScale’s list of bachelor degrees with high income potential is dominated by science and engineering. But a humanities background can give you the foundation to solve problems, lead and collaborate with others, which can help you rise through the ranks in any industry. You never know where your liberal arts background may take you. Late-night talk show host Conan O’Brien majored in history and literature. Howard Schultz, chairman and chief executive of Starbucks, majored in communications.
Follow these steps to gain confidence in your formidable knowledge, relay it to employers and land a job you love.
