Community Outreach Series Focuses on Well-being: Program on Girls is February 10
NEW DATE: Next up in the Well-being series is “Raising Resilient Girls” by Ms. Simone Marean, Girls Leadership Founder and Executive Director. This program will take place on Wednesday, February 10 (new date) from 7-9 p.m. at Benjamin Franklin Middle School Auditorium, 335. N. Van Dien Avenue.
The 2015-2016 parent/peers series consists of eight engaging presentations throughout the school year. Co-sponsored by The Valley Hospital, with support from The Foundation, adults are invited to attend these programs on creating balance in children’s lives.
Click here to download the flyer.
Click here for the series flyer.
Click here for details on the series.
Ridgewood NJ , The fledgling Ridgewood High School Robotics Team surpassed all expectations and won the Westfield Wrangle II competition on January 10. The rookie team used their robot to complete a series of tasks quicker than their opponents. Congratulations to team members, Caroline Elliott, Will Baginski, Alvin Chen, Christina d’Ecclesiis, John Gaidimas, Drew Johnson, Ishan Prabhu, Zach Rubenstein, Molly Sokota and Nick Mattson.
Let’s be very clear about this, this is all about the money and the greed of the REA and their full-time paid lawyers and lobbyists from the NJEA. They are trying to squeeze more blood out of Ridgewood taxpayers for what are already among the most expensive teacher salaries and health benefits in the entire nation That’s right, we pay $100M a year for our public schools in a Village of 25,000 people. If they don’t like paying for their health benefits then they are welcome to get a job in the private sector or another school district.
The BoE must not roll over here despite the threats, bullying and personal and vindictive attacks they are facing from the REA/NJEA. As Bob knows personally, these bullies are not negotiating in good faith, they are trying to squeeze as much as they can from taxpayers. The education of our children is the furthest thing from their minds.
FEBRUARY 5, 2016 LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 2016, 12:31 AM
BY MATTHEW SCHNEIDER
STAFF WRITER |
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS
RIDGEWOOD – Amidst driving rain, members of the Ridgewood Education Association (REA) held a rally outside the village’s education building Wednesday afternoon, hoping to encourage REA President Mike Yannone as he re-entered negotiations with the Ridgewood Board of Education (BOE) and a state-appointed fact-finder.
“This is unbelievable,” Yannone said as he watched the teachers marching around in the downpour. “I didn’t think anybody would be here.”
However, upon further reflection, Yannone noted that the “frustration level of the teachers of this town is really high,” and that a “little rain isn’t going to stop them from coming out.”
The members of the REA, marching around shouting “settle now,” say they feel they have not received a fair contract offer from the BOE, as the proposal does not address their concerns about healthcare contributions.
“We’re still dealing with the same proposal they gave us 11 months ago,” Yannone said, adding that in negotiations, “Two sides have to be willing to come in here and compromise.
“Both sides have to be willing to give to get,” he continued. “We’ve had that approach all the way through.”
FEBRUARY 5, 2016 LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 2016, 12:31 AM
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS
Looking at the larger picture
To the editor,
As a former nine year member of the Ridgewood Board of Education I would like to recognize and thank the current five members of the Board for their service. Only a few of us fully understand the position that they find themselves in during the time of teacher negotiations.
These five community members are up against the most powerful union in New Jersey. While their conversations are with representatives of the Ridgewood Education Association, the NJEA is right behind the curtain. At the same time each member when they were sworn into office, they took an oath. The oath was pretty much their commitment to play by the established rules. Public education is a regulated industry. Knowing the five members of our Board, I have no doubt that they are doing everything possible to reach a settlement with the REA within the established constraints and what is feasible for all parties. I can understand that the REA may not like those constraints.
I know the fact finder is scheduled to come to Ridgewood, shortly. Unfortunately, it is not one of those situations that after a few hours of meetings the fact finder will appear on the steps of the Education Center and make a declaration of the facts. However, those financial facts will probably rule the day in a report issued weeks later.
Looking at the larger economic picture, we know that the salary guide in the Ridgewood teachers’ contract is one of the highest in the county. We know that the offered state health benefit plan is one of the best, if not the best available in the program. For those of us employed outside of the teaching profession, we have seen stagnant salaries for a number of years and have experienced job insecurity. As to health benefits, we may be contributing the same percentage to our health care premiums, but the plan in which we are enrolled is probably a lot different today than it was a few years ago. The days of $10 copays have been replaced with high deductible plans.
I know teachers have and will continue to express their views at the microphone during public comment of BOE meetings. They have every right to do that. But, does not every issue have two sides? I firmly believe our Board is doing everything possible.
FEBRUARY 5, 2016 LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 2016, 12:31 AM
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS
Contract discussions continue
To The Editor,
Last week the Ridgewood Board of Education used this space to comment on the status of negotiations with the Ridgewood Education Association. In their statement they stated that they recently presented to us “a new and comprehensive proposal”. The village should know that this was not the case.
The major issue before us is health care contributions that is no secret every time both sides meet that is all we talk about. Almost 200 teachers came to last Monday’s BOE meeting because of this issue with 20 of them speaking personally and passionately on this topic. The board’s “new and comprehensive” proposal on this issue has not changed in 11 months, they have offered nothing new. Their continued solution is to provide teachers with a level of health care that would be the worst of any district in the state. The only savings found in this plan are on the Board’s end any savings for teachers quickly evaporate once the plan is used. They would do nothing to lower the crushing costs of contribution levels.
Again we heard about 2 percent caps on their budget. The district has money in its $101 million budget, they just prioritize its use elsewhere: additional administrators, paid speakers and consultants, fancy furniture, and yes ebooks for elementary aged children who don’t have Chromebooks just to name a few. At Monday’s meeting they announced that they were allocating $970,000 for technology in next year’s budget. But there is no money to settle this contract?
What I found most interesting in the Board’s statement was the use of quotation marks around the word fair as if this is a foreign concept that has no place in the discussion. Good faith negotiations require compromise. A “fair” settlement is when both sides give to get. The REA understands this and has been willing to give in other areas of the contract. We have repeatedly pitched creative concepts to reach a middle ground and have been rebuffed at every step with no counter proposal offered. Their statement reads as if they have actually engaged in back and forth negotiations, when in fact they have yet to offer anything new and substantial for our team to consider. Successful negotiations can not be one sided, and right now the REA feels like we are simply talking to ourselves.
It should come as no surprise that we find ourselves in this impasse as this Board has stated publicly that they are against the rights of teachers to collectively bargain. The Ridgewood Board of Education doesn’t want “fair”, they want it all.
FEBRUARY 4, 2016 LAST UPDATED: THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2016, 1:00 AM
BY HANNAN ADELY
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD
One day after the state released dismal scores on new state tests, high schools were dealing with the reality that it could be harder or at least more complicated for their students to get a diploma in New Jersey.
Most students failed the new state tests, called PARCC, which are among about a half-dozen options that students can use to graduate — part of an overhaul that state officials unveiled in the prior school year. Some who did not meet graduation benchmarks on state exams or on other eligible tests are now scrambling to find ways to prove their readiness for graduation so they can receive their diplomas in June with their peers.
“We are concerned about the impact on students,” said Janina Kusielewicz, curriculum director for Clifton schools. “We know our students can show proficiency. We just hope they can do so, given all the changes.”
The release of statewide test scores came just one day before the state released news that the high school graduation rate had grown for the fourth consecutive year to nearly 90 percent. But those rates were calculated for years when students had to pass the state’s High School Proficiency Assessment in math and reading to graduate and most North Jersey districts had fairly high passage rates for those tests.
Education officials say the new requirements are better measures of college readiness. The change was needed, they said, because students had been graduating without basic skills they needed to succeed in college, and some had to take remedial classes before they could start their first semester.
The overhaul to graduation requirements came as thousands of students refused to take PARCC exams last spring amid criticism about test quality and overtesting. Many more students did not take the test seriously, officials said, in some cases even rushing through it or putting in a half-hearted effort because they believed it would not matter for graduation.
FEBRUARY 2, 2016, 12:22 PM LAST UPDATED: TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 2, 2016, 12:47 PM
BY HANNAN ADELY
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD
New Jersey education officials released statewide scores today from new state exams given last spring to students in grades 3 to 11 in math and English.
The scores show whether students met expectations for their grade level on the tests, known as PARCC. Students were scored on a scale from 1 to 5 in math and English; those with a 4 or a 5 are considered to be meeting expectations.
PARCC stands for Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers, which is the group of states that developed the tests. Experts say the exams are more rigorous than previous tests and a better measure of whether students are prepared for college.
Ridgewood NJ, Here’s a good story about two of our alumni. Dave Madden, RHS 1999 and Laura Fleming, RHS 1977. Congratulations!
“The National History Bee and Bowl was established by 1999 alumnus David Madden. Ridgewood High School held the very first tournament in May, 2010, and the contests have grown by leaps and bounds under David’s direction. The New Jersey State Championship was held at RHS on Saturday, January 16, 2016. There are now dozens of tournaments held every year spanning more than twenty countries on four continents, with the national championships held in Arlington, Virginia in April. Last year’s RHS History Bowl team finished 9th in the country. Pictured here with David is Laura Medici Fleming (RHS 1977), RHS history teacher and adviser to the History Bowl teams.”
Law’s expiration may renew battle over benefits
February 2,2016
PLEASANTVILLE, N.J. (AP) — A state law requiring public employees to pay a percentage of their health benefit premiums expired last year, setting the stage for a battle over benefits between school boards and teachers unions.
At issue is whether school boards will be able to maintain those payments during contract negotiations or whether the unions will have the clout to roll them back, The Press of Atlantic City reported ().
At stake are millions of dollars that ultimately would be passed on to local taxpayers. Statewide, school districts budgeted almost $4 billion for all employee benefits for the 2015-16 school year.
That represents almost 18 percent of all state aid and local taxes spent on education.
Steve Baker, director of communications for the New Jersey Education Association, wrote in an email that they expect many local unions will make the payment an important part of their negotiations.
“Different locals will pursue different strategies, but I think you should expect to see that issue raised in nearly all negotiations once the sunset is reached,” Baker said.
The New Jersey School Boards Association is advising members to expect that request. In a November memo, NJSBA manager of labor relations Patrick Duncan noted that in the last year prior to the law, only 13 percent of contracts analyzed by the NJSBA required any employee contribution.
JANUARY 29, 2016 LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY, JANUARY 29, 2016, 12:31 AM
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS
Adding to parking woes at RHS
to the editor:
Adding further to the letter from Adriana Blauvelt regarding the limited parking at RHS (“Trouble finding parking at RHS,” Jan. 22, page A6) ,we also “attended” the 8th grade parent orientation. We had the same problem that Adriana had finding a space, and we succumbed to parking illegally near the football field after circling for at least 20 minutes and missing part of the presentation. (Brookfield was also totally full of cars.)
To our surprise, though, the orientation was not particularly well attended. The source of the parking issue was the overlapping events of a basketball game, a New Player’s production and adult education in addition to the parent orientation.
On the one hand, we can feel gratified that our high school is being so well utilized as a resource for both the students and the community. On the other hand, there must be a way to better schedule the events so as not to create the “perfect storm.”
The school principal said there are so many activities ongoing that it is impossible to find a night that is available. If that is truly the case, we as a community need to be addressing not only the parking issues for the downtown shopping area, but also the needs of our schools.
America’s students as a whole lag behind many other industrialized nations on international tests. Government expenditures on K-12 education have more than doubled over the last 40 years (adjusted for inflation), and yet U.S. students’ academic performance at the end of high school is flat.
NYACK, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) — Students suspected of being drunk may soon have to take a breath test in one Rockland County community.
The Nyack Board of Education has been discussing the proposal for months, and it’s on the agenda for Tuesday night’s board meeting.
Under the policy, any student who appears intoxicated would be administered two breath tests within 10 minutes, WCBS 880’s Sean Adams reported. It would apply to students in school and at school-sponsored events, including dances, CBS2 reported.
BOE-REA Negotiations Click here to read a Letter to the Editor of The Ridgewood News, which appeared in the paper on January 29, 2016.
BOE Meets on February 8 at 7:30 p.m.
The Ridgewood Board of Education will hold a Regular Public Meeting on Monday, February 8, 2016 at 7:30 p.m.
The public is invited to attend the meeting at the Ed Center, 49 Cottage Place, Floor 3. The meeting may also be viewed on FiOS channel 33, Optimum channel 77 or from computers via the “Live BOE Meeting” tab on the district website.FiOS channel 33, Optimum channel 77 or from computers via the “Live BOE Meeting” tab on the district website.
Click here to view the agenda for the January 25, 2016 Regular Public Meeting.
Click here to view the minutes of the December 21, 2015 Regular Public Meeting.
Click here to view the minutes of the January 4, 2016 Reorganization/Regular Public Meeting.
A New York teacher who investigators say had sex with a student was able to exploit loopholes and delays in the disciplinary system to land a teaching job in New Jersey, The Post has learned.
Jinwoo Seong, 36, repeatedly grabbed a male student’s crotch, exposed himself, had the youth stroke him and engaged in oral sex while a special-education math teacher at Martin Van Buren HS in Queens, according to an explosive eight-page report by special schools investigator Richard Condon. The student cried throughout an interview with investigators.
Seong also touched a girl’s breast and crotch over her clothes, slapped other boys’ butts, hurled obscene comments and made “gay jokes,” the probe found.
One girl told investigators that Seong asked her to measure a classmate’s penis during an after-school tutoring session. Another boy claimed Seong kicked him in the testicles when he cursed the teacher.
But Seong, who was fired, managed to get a new job in Jersey simply by not revealing his troubled past. The case shows how a teacher accused of shocking misconduct can slip through bureaucratic cracks and back into the classroom.
Condon’s nine-month investigation ended last Sept. 28 with a letter to Chancellor Carmen Fariña, saying Seong “has no place in New York City schools.”
But Seong, who was assigned to a “rubber room” pending the probe, remained on the city payroll until the Department of Education terminated him on Nov. 30. The untenured Seong denied the charges but was not entitled to an administrative trial.
Seong used his time in the rubber room to scramble for new employment. In October, New Jersey granted his application to recognize his New York certifications to teach special-ed and math in grades 7 to 12.
Seong then found an opening at Don Bosco Technical Academy, a public middle school in Paterson, NJ, telling officials he wanted to “relocate.” As soon as his NYC firing was official, he accepted the $62,000-a-year position. He started on Dec. 7.
