American school kids became more stupid under the Obama administration, according to rankings released by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.
They recently released the results of a worldwide exam administered every three years to 15-year-olds in 72 countries. The exam monitors reading, math and science knowledge.
Based on their findings, the United States saw an 11-point drop in math scores and nearly flat levels for reading and science.
The Land of the Free, Home of the Brave, fell below the OECD average – and failed to crack the top ten in all three categories.
In other words, thanks to the Obama administration’s education policies, kids in the Slovac Republic are more proficient in multiplication.
Ridgewood NJ, the Ridgewood public schools will be closed today February 9th 2017 and all before and after school activities are suspended. Kindergarten Registration will be rescheduled to February 15th.
Get past all the noise, and the opposition to Betsy DeVos, President Trump’s pick for the Education Department, is all about the teachers unions — which consider it their right to have a friendly face running federal policy even in Republican administrations.
Yes, two Senate Republicans have come out against DeVos — the only two who routinely get A’s on the National Education Association’s “report card” because they vote the union line. Efforts to find another GOP vote against her will almost surely fail, because the other 50 Republicans aren’t in unions’ pocket, and Vice President Mike Pence can deliver a 51st vote if needed.
This was my response to his ridiculous letter. I have yet to receive a response.
Dear Dr. Fishbein,
As a lifetime resident of Ridgewood and product of our school system I have found myself at a loss this evening. Several educated, informed and “moral” people in my life have gathered, read and reread your passionate and unnecessary memorandum; not one of us could actually identify the clear thesis.
Teach my child to read and critically think and ensure that kindness and respect are modeled in the class and throughout the district but for Gods sake don’t you dare create the paradigm for respect or try to be my child’s or any child’s moral compass.
I may be misguided in this assumption but your words “..teach our children about tolerance and respect for the dignity of every being” lend to the belief that all life deserves respect and dignity. I am eager to hear how a pro-life platform is incorporated into our schools curriculum.
Sir it is quite clear that your experience and education expertise are not in foreign policy but rather school administration, in the future I suggest you stick with that.
Warm regards,
As a side note Dr. Fishbein, to your point about respecting all people; why don’t we teach children (and adults) to respect the leaders and laws of this land? Truthfully Sir if you are going to send out a letter every time you disagree with President Trump’s agenda this is going to be a very long 4-8 years.
Years ago, parents struggled over when their kids would be socially, emotionally, and cognitively ready for kindergarten. Now it’s a similar question, but about leaving for college.
by: Hank Pellissier | February 2, 2017
When Hillary Billings’ oldest son, Ted, was accepted at New York University (NYU), she was proud — but concerned. “We felt he needed another year to mature,” Billings says. Before her son was “thrown into the deep end in the Big Apple,” she wanted him to take a gap year to mature a little so he’d be ready for the urban living, social life, and academics at NYU.
What’s a gap year?
Billings is not alone. Across the country, a small but growing group of teens and their parents are jumping aboard the gap year trend. Although the term has been adapted colloquially to refer to any time off after high school, technically, a gap year is when students who’ve been admitted to college formally request to delay their start date for a year to travel, work, or volunteer.
Some gap years are driven by teens, of course, but many parents like the idea of giving their teen an extra year to mature before going off to college. It’s reminiscent of a choice many parents agonize over when their kids are young: whether or not to delay kindergarten by a year, known as redshirting kindergarten. The idea, popularized by Malcolm Gladwell’s 2008 best seller Outliers: the Story of Success, is to give 5-year-olds an extra year to catch up to (or get a leg up on) their peers socially, emotionally, and cognitively. Citing evidence from a 2000 study, Gladwell asserts that less mature students can get locked into “patterns of… underachievement… and discouragement, that stretch on and on for years.” Now, parents of some high school graduates are evaluating their 18- and 19-year-old kids’ relative maturity levels as a precursor to moving on to the next step. Why risk calamity by enrolling your teenager in college too early, if they’re not yet fully up for the challenge?
America’s (small) new trend
Gap years have long been popular in Europe and Australia. The concept originated in the grand tours enjoyed by aristocratic youth in the late 17th, 18th, and early 19th centuries, writes Joseph O’Shea in Gap Year: How Delaying College Changes People in Ways the World Needs. Upper-class vagabonds traversed the continent and exotic corners of the British Empire, familiarizing themselves with foreign flavors, curious customs, and opposing perspectives. In the 1970s, soul-searching backpackers put their twist on the tradition, which continues today. Due to economic conditions in 2012, only 12.5 percent of UK students took a gap year — it was the lowest number in a decade. In Australia, nearly a quarter of all students take gap years. In the U.S., though, the numbers are much smaller: an estimated 1.2 to 2 percent of students take a gap year. Recent data suggests that despite the small numbers, it’s a giant uptick that’s likely to continue. According to a survey by the American Gap Association, the number of attendees at USA Gap Year Fairs rose 294 percent from 2010 to 2014. Gap year nonprofit Thinking Beyond Borders claims that in the past five years there’s been, “a doubling in the market… an explosion.”
Celebrity endorsers and media coverage help fuel the trend. Malia Obama’s gap year, before starting Harvard in fall 2017, is an internship at the U.S. Embassy in Spain. Benedict Cumberbatch spent his teaching English at a Tibetan Buddhist monastery, and Prince Harry helped build a clinic in Lesotho, Africa. New York Times columnist and best-selling author Nicholas Kristof has, for years, been urging youngsters to take gap time, proclaiming: “The bottom line is that you’ll almost certainly learn more from a gap year than you will in any single year in college.”
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Elite universities are also stoking the fire. For the past 30 years, Harvard University has encouraged students to take gap years “to travel, pursue a special project or activity, work, or spend time in another meaningful way.” Robert S. Clagett, former Senior Admission Officer at Harvard, helped establish Middlebury College’s February-start program while he was the Dean of Admission there. Matt McGann, Director of Admissions at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, tells applicants “My hope is that you will at least consider, just for a moment, taking a gap year.” According to Mike Devlin, Stanford University’s Acting Director of Admission, “Stanford believes a gap year can be a beneficial experience — particularly for students who have an objective or mission.”
Gap year companies also play a role, motivating curious parents, particularly those who can afford the astronomical prices. (A three-month excursion to broaden your teen’s perspective can cost upwards of $15,000 — and still leaves teens 3/4 of the year… for parents to pay for?)
Sounds good, but does taking a gap year work?
Questions of elitism aside, there’s data to show that gap years are, in fact, beneficial. Clagett points to studies on the February-start program at Middlebury College and University of North Carolina Chapel Hill’s program that reveal undergraduates who enjoyed a gap year earned a GPA 0.1 to 0.4 points higher than would have been expected. What’s more, gappers at Middlebury hold a “disproportionate number of leadership positions on campus.” And, according to the American Gap Association, students who took a year off tend to finish university more quickly than their peers.
Although parents may fear their teen will never return to their studies, statistics show the opposite. According to a 2010 survey of 280 students conducted by Karl Haigler and Rae Nelson, co-authors of The Gap-Year Advantage: Helping Your Child Benefit from Time Off Before or During College, 90 percent of youth who ditch scholastics for a year report back to their desks on time, with 60 percent claiming the gap year helped them determine their major and their careers.
With college tuition at an all-time high, Jennifer Miller of the American Gap Association observes, “many students are taking a step back to think carefully about that path before barreling forward.”
Maturity in America
College admissions officers, especially at elite schools, invariably highlight “maturation” as a primary reason for gap years. In today’s era of helicopter parenting, with hovering adults coddling their kids, is the gap year emerging as a “time to grow up” ritual that sheltered teenagers, who can’t do their own laundry, desperately need? Perhaps. But admissions officers tend to say the proof is in the pudding. “Our academic staff also finds that, many times, students who take a gap year arrive at Stanford with more maturity both socially and in the classroom,” comments admissions director Devlin. Clagett says he finds that students who take a gap year “will frequently be more mature, more focused, and more aware of what they want to do with their college education.”
Students, amusingly, also view their maturation as the prime reason they want a gap year; of course, they don’t call it that. A yearning “to find out more about themselves” is the top reason for a gap year, according to Haigler and Nelson’s 2010 survey. Another questionnaire, prepared by Nina How of Temple University, yielded “Gain Life Experiences / grow personally” as the main goal of a gap year — beating options like taking a break from academics, traveling, volunteering, or wanting work experience.
Some parents, like Ken Beckman of Minnesota, think their teen needs a dose of the real world. Beckman is mandating a gap year for his eldest son because he wants him to experience a blue-collar existence. “I want him to leave home and get his own place and get a job and have a boss — at WalMart, for example!” Beckman says. He wants his son to struggle with boredom, loneliness, and lack of family support in an environment where upwards of $50,000 in college tuition isn’t at stake.
Hillary Billings and her husband were motivated by Kristof’s articles, particularly his view that a gap year can — and should — provide volunteer services and open the gapper’s eyes to human needs. That’s what Billings wanted for her son; she didn’t want Ted to move from “one academic bubble to another.” But when she asked him to take a gap year, “Ted was not happy,” she recalls. “He wanted to be part of his peer group heading off for college.” After attending a gap year fair at Drake High School in Fairfax, CA, Billings signed up her son with an organization called VolunQuest. Ted was sent to Isla Mujeres, a tiny island off the coast of Yucatan, Mexico, to live with locals and teach English.
Ted’s gap year “was pretty rough,” admits his mom. “He couldn’t take showers at his house because there were so many cockroaches in the bathroom…. He was also very lonely. There were no other volunteers there at the same time.” But when Ted returned, NYU was still there, waiting for him — and Ted was ready for it.
“Ted matured a great deal,” Billings says. “Before his gap year he was timid and nervous to extend himself for fear of being judged or failing. During his gap year, he gained much more confidence in himself and his ability to manage any situation, no matter how difficult.” Ted’s been on the Dean’s list at NYU every semester, he explores New York’s boroughs with a desire to meet new people, and he takes risks — and knows the right ones to take. “We don’t worry about him,” she says.
Billings has three more sons, and she’s insisting they all take a gap year.
WEST DEPTFORD — A South Jersey elementary school principal got a lesson on checking her work after assigning students as young as 6 a project that honored a convicted cop killer.
The school-wide assignment at Red Bank Elementary School was actually supposed to honor famous black Americans for Black History Month.
But the list of notable black figures included Mumia Abu-Jamal and Angela Davis alongside Louis Armstrong, Mohammad Ali, Crispus Attucks and George Washington Carver.
Abu-Jamal, a black nationalist, was convicted of killing Philadelphia police officer Daniel Faulkner in 1981. He has maintained his innocence even though he was found wounded from a gunshot at the scene alongside his fired gun.
Davis, meanwhile, is a social justice activist and communist who was a one-time fugitive after being charged as an accessory in a violent and deadly 1970 takeover of a California courtroom. Prosecutors tried to tie her to the incident because the guns had belonged to her, but an all-white federal jury acquitted her.
What the principal failed to notice, many parents did — including Bryan Klugh, who alerted his friends on the police force.
Yes, I too would ask our esteemed superintendent to keep his eye on the job he is paid to do.
I did not appreciate this letter, I am well aware of his political leanings and do not wish for them to be taught to my child.
Did he write letters like this in the past when the candidate he voted for was in office?
I am hoping that the BOE will shut down Fishbein’s political commentary – both in his letters and his tweets and retweets.
He can dance around a topic such as this as much as he wants BUT he is being political.
Sure, he never mentioned Trump but we all know what he is talking about.
How about teaching our kids to toughen up, not fall apart when their candidate loses, respect leaders and process even when you don’t like it and work for respect rather than expect it —– that would be a better education than they are currently getting!
This letter is disgraceful. The only “rhetoric concerning immigrants and foreign-born visitors” has been the liberal media’s false spin of the campaign issue of ILLEGAL immigration. Of course he doesn’t provide a single example of the true issue. The dishonesty and liberal bias of entertainment and the media is now abundantly clear in our own local education system. Certainly not a surprise, but extremely unfortunate. If politics is going to be permitted to creep into the education of our children, then present all sides of an issue, and teach our children how to make their own decisions without passing judgment on those who think differently. Shame on all those who consider themselves educators but purposely fail in this manner for their own personal or political agenda.
Over the past year, we have all become aware of an increase in vocalized negative rhetoric concerning immigrants and foreign-born visitors to the United States. This problematic discourse has led to a corresponding buildup of concern and uncertainty for many, including for some of our own Village students and their families.
I feel that it may be helpful to remind everyone that our Ridgewood schools welcome and embrace children from all over the world, who by federal, state and local law are guaranteed equal access to an education. Our student database shows that we are truly a “melting pot,” with children from the following countries:
Albania Egypt Lebanon South Africa Australia El Salvador Malaysia Spain Bahrain Ethiopia Mexico Sri Lanka Bangladesh France Monaco Sweden Belarus Germany Netherlands Switzerland Belgium Guatemala Northern Mariana Islands Syrian Arab Republic Bermuda Honduras Pakistan Taiwan Bolivia Hong Kong Panama Turkey Brazil India Peru Ukraine Bulgaria Iran Philippines United Arab Emirates Canada Ireland Poland United Kingdom China Israel Puerto Rico United States Costa Rica Italy Romania Uruguay Czech Republic Japan Russian Federation Uzbekistan Denmark Kazakhastan Saudi Arabia Venezuela Dominican Republic Korea Singapore Vietnam
Far beyond our legal and moral responsibilities for educating all children, the Ridgewood Public Schools have a long and proud history of incorporating and celebrating the diverse cultures of our student body into our regular curricular programming. From the annual Asian Festival held at Ridgewood High School each spring, to the International clubs at the middle school level, and down to International Day at our elementary schools, we affirm our respect and admiration for other nationalities in large ways. We are fortunate to have numerous families and community members from other countries who are willing and eager to share their traditions and we are enriched by the numerous opportunities they give us to learn firsthand about other cultures and beliefs.
Through these opportunities, we are also able to teach our children about tolerance and respect for the dignity of every being. Of course, as we are all prone to making mistakes on occasion, we also have a longstanding official policy of zero-tolerance for prejudice and disrespect that is strictly enforced if the need arises.
In sum, long before the recent uptick in negative rhetoric on immigration issues, inclusivity has been a top priority in the administration of our schools. We have worked hard to be inclusive and we will always continue to work even harder to make all students and their families feel welcome and valued in the Ridgewood Public Schools.
I conclude with the meaningful words found at the base of the Statue of Liberty, that wonderful symbol of welcome to visitors and immigrants from afar:
The New Colossus Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame, With conquering limbs astride from land to land; Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame. “Keep ancient lands, your storied pomp!” cries she With silent lips. “Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door! Emma Lazarus (November 2, 1883)
If you have any questions or concerns, I encourage you to reach out to your child’s principal or me.
By Jessica Mazzola and Marisa Iati | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
on February 02, 2017 at 11:33 AM, updated February 02, 2017 at 5:08 PM
KENILWORTH — A Catholic school that expelled a seventh-grade student whose family sued in an attempt to get her a spot on the boys basketball team was acting in accordance with school policy, officials with the Archdiocese of Newark said Thursday.
“I am just in total shock right now,” said Scott Phillips, who received a letter Wednesday saying that his two daughters, Sydney and Kaitlyn, were no longer welcome at St. Theresa’s School in Kenilworth.
The possibility of the girls getting thrown out,” never even crossed my mind. It’s over joining a basketball team,” he said. “I am so disappointed.”
Jim Goodness, a spokesman for the Archdiocese of Newark, said Sydney’s parents signed an acknowledgement in August of the school’s policy, which clearly states that legal action against the school will result in students’ expulsion.
Ridgewood NJ, Tickets to the JAMBOREE “WORLD TOUR” show FEBRUARY 8, 9, 10 and 11th are now on sale !!! Come join in the fun as we transport you from the comfort of your seats here in town to far of places such as France, India, Argentina and Japan before bring you back home for a road trip across America. CA, Vagas, New Orleans and Chicargo to name a few. Enjoy the splender, the sights and the sounds knowing that the money raised will go towards need-based scholarship funds for college bound Ridgewood High School seniors.
Be part of this 71 year old Ridgewood tradition.
Ridgewood NJ, Registration for incoming Kindergarten and First Grade students will be held in individual Ridgewood elementary schools on Tuesday, February 7 and Thursday, February 9 from 3:30-4:30 p.m. All information and printable forms may be found on the website under Registration. Click here to go directly to that page.
Click here for a letter from Superintendent of Schools Dr. Daniel Fishbein regarding Kindergarten registration for the 2017-2018 school year.
HESAA Loan Program revises its rules to benefit grieving families.
February 1,2017
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
UPPER MONTCLAIR NJ , A student loan program that had placed parents of deceased students in an unthinkable situation has now been changed. The Higher Education Student Assistance Authority (HESAA) program previously required parents of a deceased child to continue to pay their NJ CLASS / HESAA loans as a co-signer. However, New Jersey legislators have recently amended the program’s terms and conditions.
John Crosby, CFP®, ChFC, CAS, CLTC, CRPC®, and Advocacy Chairperson for FPANJ, was thrilled at the change in the loan program.
“This change came a result of all the advocates fighting for the same Terms and Conditions available for Federal Student loans in the event of death or disability of the borrower or co-borrower. We are grateful for everyone who testified on behalf of families who were devastated by the impacts of the HESAA rules.”
An article in the New York Times that detailed one family’s nightmare in dealing with their son’s death and his student loans through HESAA finally spurred discussion among New Jersey State Senators. In August 2016, Crosby had spoken to several of the legislators and those that officially testified to explain the process of borrowing, the liabilities of the co-signer vs. co-borrower and their un-forgivable legal obligations. Some had called the program “predatory” and “loansharking,” and testimony led to a unanimous vote by the Higher Education Committee to approve S-743, requiring HESAA to forgive the student loan of someone who dies before completely repaying it.
Crosby has counseled clients in similarly tough situations with HESAA. The program also had been characterized with extraordinarily stringent rules that can easily led to financial hardship. Loan repayments could not be adjusted based on income, and few breaks are given for unemployment or other hardship.
“This is truly the power of advocacy for the greater good,” Crosby said. “FPANJ continues to act as a resource in educating legislators on topics like these. Now we are just happy that parents in this situation can start to move forward in healing.”
Newark NJ, in a statement from the Partnership for Educational Justice comments on the New Jersey Supreme Court’s denial of State motion to re-open Abbott v. Burke.
The New Jersey Supreme Court today denied the State’s September 2016 motion to re-open the decades-old school funding lawsuit, Abbott v. Burke. As part of their broad motion, the State had asked the court to grant the State Commissioner of Education – a political appointee – the authority to waive enforcement of the State’s “last in, first out” (LIFO) teacher layoff law, among other education laws and negotiated policies.
In response to the State’s motion, six Newark parents also filed a motion with the Supreme Court against the State’s legal tactics to address LIFO. These same parents instead are fighting the LIFO statute on its own in the trial court. Their case, HG v. Harrington, asserts that New Jersey’s quality-blind LIFO law violates students’ constitutional right to a “thorough and efficient” education by allowing ineffective teachers to remain in classrooms while effective teachers are let go. The plaintiff families have asked the court to declare LIFO unconstitutional and render it unenforceable in Newark and similar districts.
The Supreme Court’s denial of the State’s motion today means that the lawsuit filed in November by six Newark parents is the only case pending to address New Jersey’s outdated LIFO statute.
The following is a statement by Ralia Polechronis, Executive Director of Partnership for Educational Justice:
“This ruling is a big win for New Jersey parents and schoolchildren. The Supreme Court has echoed the position of a group of Newark parents, who argued to this court that the state’s unjust quality-blind teacher layoff law must be evaluated on its own, and not in connection with a decades-old school funding lawsuit. Concerned about looming school budget cuts, these same parents – the plaintiffs in HG v. Harrington – will continue their fight in the state’s trial court to invalidate the “last in, first out” law that prevents the retention of Newark’s best teachers during funding crises. These brave parents are leading the charge for students’ rights in New Jersey, and they will not back down until the harmful impact of this law is revealed and deemed unconstitutional.”
To learn more about HG v. Harrington, the parent-led lawsuit challenging New Jersey’s “last in, first out” teacher layoff law, please go to edjustice.org/nj. To read all legal filings related to HG v. Harrington, click here.
Superintendent no longer willing to wait for Legislature to fix the problem, says ‘We are going to become the aggressor on this issue’
Kingsway superintendent James Lavender and other school officials announce their legal challenge to New Jersey’s school-aid formula.
School officials in communities all over New Jersey have complained for years about state education-funding inequities, and now lawmakers are holding a series of hearings on the issue — giving clear indications that they plan to address the school-aid problems in the next state budget.
But that new spending plan won’t go into effect until July, and officials representing the Kingsway Regional School District in South Jersey say they can no longer wait on the State House to fix a system that is shorting their students more than $11 million in state aid this year.
Instead, Kingsway regional superintendent James Lavender said district attorneys will be filing a legal brief this week with the state Supreme Court as they attempt to join a new phase of school-aid litigation that Gov. Chris Christie has been seeking to initiate since last year. But unlike Christie, who wants a complete overhaul of the state school-aid law that was enacted in 2008, the Kingsway district is instead pushing only for the invalidation of a “hold harmless” provision that for years has allowed some districts to avoid losing school aid even as others, including Kingsway, have been shortchanged.
