OCTOBER 23, 2015 LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY, OCTOBER 23, 2015, 12:31 AM
BY MATTHEW SCHNEIDER
STAFF WRITER |
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS
As has become a pattern over the past few weeks, Monday’s Board of Education (BOE) meeting featured a bevy of speakers, most of whom were demanding a resolution to the contract negotiations between the BOE and the Ridgewood Education Association (REA).
Although this week’s meeting featured debate from the public, there was some potentially favorable news given by trustee Sheila Brogan.
“Jim (Morgan) and I did sit down on Friday with (REA chief negotiators) Laura (Grasso) and Mike (Yannone) and had a really positive conversation,” Brogran said, adding that they were set to meet again Oct. 21.
“We are working at it,” Brogan told the public at the meeting. “I know it’s not at the pace that you are wishing for.”
Yannone, president of the REA, confirmed the meeting via e-mail, and said he “thought it was productive in that it was the first time the REA felt we were able to talk one-on-one with the board members on their negotiating team. We left that meeting believing we articulated our position regarding our health contributions and we listened to their concerns regarding their budget.”
The New Jersey Education Association has been the driving force behind the General Majority PAC’s roughly $2 million campaign effort on behalf of Assembly candidates in the first and second legislative districts, contributing $3 million to the independent group. JT Aregood, PolitickerNJ Read more
A new report from a Wall Street rating agency warns that Gov. Chris Christie’s seemingly dormant plan to overhaul government worker pension and health benefits to save the state billions of dollars could come at a risk to school districts if Christie’s proposed reforms don’t play out as envisioned. Samantha Marcus, NJ.com Read more
OCTOBER 20, 2015, 3:47 PM LAST UPDATED: TUESDAY, OCTOBER 20, 2015, 9:46 PM
BY HANNAN ADELY
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD
WEST TRENTON – Most New Jersey students failed to meet grade-level expectations in math and English language arts on new state tests, according to results released Tuesday, seven months after tests were given amid controversy and a test boycott.
But officials urged caution in looking at scores because the tests, they said, are based on new and tougher standards compared to those of previous years. While the scores cannot be used to measure growth, officials said, they could provide a wake-up call for schools to see where instruction is failing and where students need the most help.
“This is from spring of 2015,” said Education Commissioner David Hespe. “We need to consider that is not a lot of time. So our expectation is not that we’re going to have every child on track for career and college. That is not going to happen in a short amount of time. Our goal is to remain committed to a continuum of improvement over time.”
Community Outreach Series Focuses on Well-being: First up is Internet Safety Talk
Internet Safety for Parents. The program will take place on October 28, 7:00-9:00 PM, at the Benjamin Franklin Middle School in Ridgewood.
Staying Safe in Cyberspace – Internet Safety for Parents. Presented by the Bergen County Prosecutors Office.
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 for details on the series.
Click here for the series flyer.
Increasingly, many school referenda are based on the need to buy iPads or other tech devices for students. These devices, it is implied, will diminish achievement gaps and bring learning to new heights.
However, research has shown such “needs” to be misguided, particularly as “there is little solid evidence that greater computer use among students leads to better scores in mathematics and reading.” And as reading expert Nancie Atwell recently noted in The Washington Post, the tactic most likely to set students on the path to success is the good old-fashioned technology of a book.
“As reading researcher Richard Allington put it, ‘If I were working in a high-poverty school and had to choose between spending $15,000 each year on more books for classrooms and libraries, or on one more [teaching assistant], I would opt for the books … Children from lower-income homes especially need rich and extensive collections of books in their school …’
And they need actual books, not electronic devices that store books. Real books don’t require electricity or batteries. They survive rapid changes in technology and digital storage. While my students did experiment with e-readers and Kindles, all of them reverted to paper books. They said they missed the sense of geography they enjoy with a real book, where they’re aware of how many pages the author has left to resolve the plot, and when they can flip back with ease to clear up a confusion.”
The following letter appeared in The Ridgewood News on October 16, 2015.
To the Editor: At our October 5th Board of Education meeting and in last week’s letters to the editor, several of our teachers voiced opposition to the employee healthcare premium contributions phased in over the last four years under state law, known as Chapter 78. We would like to clarify the information on the healthcare contribution. The rates by which Ridgewood teachers contribute to their individual healthcare premiums is determined by a graduated structure, with employees at higher end of salary grades paying a greater percentage of their individual premiums than those at the lower end.
The highest paid teachers contribute 35 percent of their plans’ premiums while the lowest paid teachers pay 12 percent. The contribution level of 35 percent is applied to salaries of $95,000 and above when the employee has single coverage and $110,000 and above when the employee chooses family coverage. The majority of our teachers are enrolled in the School Employee Health Benefits Plan NJ Direct 10. At present, premiums are $10,610 for single coverage and $29,177 for family coverage.
The teacher who earns $95,000 and has single coverage would contribute $3,713 and a teacher earning $110,000 enrolled in the family plan would contribute $10,212. This year the total health insurance premium cost for the REA members is $10,228,960. Of that amount, they contribute $2,628,843. The net health insurance cost to the district is $7,600,117. With insurance premiums increasing annually, sometimes dramatically, controlling the growth of health care costs is challenging for all employers, in both the public and private sectors.
With the legislated 2 percent cap on property tax increases, keeping the school district’s overall costs within the cap is particularly challenging when cost drivers such as healthcare grow at a rate in excess of 2 percent. This year, the district offered employees 20 different plans through the School Employee Health Benefit Plan. Some of these plans have lower premiums. With lower premiums, the amount spent on insurance and the contribution cost would decrease.
The Board respects our teachers and appreciates the work they do. We share their concerns about rising healthcare costs as well as the increasing demands brought about by state mandates and our collective efforts to improve and update our curricula and programs. We know that through their great work our students thrive and our school district is well respected. Our appreciation is demonstrated in their compensation. Our teachers’ average salary of $82,500 is near the top of all Bergen County districts, while our starting salary of $55,693 for a first-year teacher with a Bachelors of Arts degree is at the very top (based upon collective bargaining agreements on file at the New Jersey School Board Association). Currently, 107 of our 520 teachers earn $100,000 or more. As stated at the Board meeting, our negotiating team is willing to meet with the REA team to settle the contract.
Ridgewood Board of Education
Sheila Brogan, President Vincent Loncto, Vice President Christina Krauss Jim Morgan Jennie Smith Wilson
BOSSY FROG MUSICAL SHOW – Thursday, November 5th, 11 a.m. at the Anne Zusy Youth Center, Village Hall, 131 North Maple Avenue, Ridgewood. PreK/Early elementary. Young ones are sure to enjoy this fun and interactive musical show. Tickets are $5 for all attending (under 2 free).
“HIBERNATE, MIGRATE OR ACCLIMATE”, presented by NJ Audubon – Friday, November 6th, 11 a.m., at the Anne Zusy Youth Center, Village Hall, 131 N. Maple Avenue, Ridgewood. Grades 1 – 5. Learn how plants, birds, insects and animals of New Jersey survive the winter months. Tickets are $5 for all attending.
KNEX ROBOTICS WITH EXPLORE SCIENCE – Thursday, November 5th, 9:30 to 11:30 a.m., at The Stable, 259 N. Maple Avenue, Ridgewood. Grades K – 5. Participants will build and bring home the ROBOT SMASH motorized robot that hops along like a primate. This interactive enrichment program encourages skill building in critical thinking; including communication, collaboration, persistence and problem solving. $40 participant fee ($50 non-residents if space allows). All materials will be included.
INCREDIFLIX ANIMATION WORKSHOP – Thursday and Friday, November 5 and 6, 1:30 to 4 p.m. each day, at The Stable, 259 N. Maple Avenue, Ridgewood. Grades 2 – 6. IncrediFlix Animation Flix Workshop focus on expanding imagination and creativity with hands-on activities. Participants will learn different styles of stop-motion animation, direct, film and do voice-overs in this ultimate arts and craft camp. A new style of animation each day! Their flix production will be edited and available for download soon after camp. Participant fee is $95 which includes all materials ($105 non-residents if space allows).
Purchase of tickets for the shows or registration for the program offerings may be made either online at Community Pass, www.ridgewoodnj.net/communitypass or in person at The Stable, 259 N. Maple Avenue, Ridgewood, NJ 07450, weekdays 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
For additional information, or if special accommodations are needed, kindly contact the Recreation office at 201-670-5560.
The Ridgewood Board of Education will hold a Regular Public Meeting on Monday, October 19, 2015, 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.
Click here to view the agenda for the October 19, 2015 Regular Public Meeting.
Click here to view the minutes of the September 21, 2015 Regular Public Meeting.
Community and Strategic Plan Approved by the Board
At its October 5 meeting, the Board of Education approved the Community & Strategic Plans for the 2015-2016 school year. Click here to view this document.
Access Ridgewood 2015 is October 16-18
Events are taking place Friday, October 16 through Sunday, October 18 in the schools and Village. Event information can be found at [email protected].
Click here for more details.
LSHSA Holds Two Social Events
Welcome Brunch: October 26 from 9-11 a.m.
Evening Social November 18 at 7:30 p.m.
No RSVP required
Click here for details.
RHS DECA Sells Maroons Apparel through October 23
Proceeds support RHS DECA and Operation Shoebox. Orders are due by October 23. Click here for details and the order form.
Ridge School Holds Tag Sale on October 17
The multi-family sale will run from 9 a.m.-2 p.m. at Ridge School. Questions should be directed to [email protected]. Click here for the flyer.
RHS New Players Hold Trunk or Treat on October 30
Children are invited to come to the RHS Little Theatre in costume to hear Halloween tales, followed by trunk or treating in the parking lot. $10; children under 3 Free. Rsvp. Click here for details.
Junior NP Weekend is November 13-15
Click here for Junior New Players registration information. RHS Gymnastics Clinics Continue for Grades K-8
The RHS Varsity Gymnastics team continues its annual October gymnastics clinics on Saturdays, October 17 and 24 from 8-9 a.m. Individuals in Kindergarten through Grade 8 are welcome to participate in the clinics, which will be held in RHS Gym 3. Children should be dressed in proper attire (t-shirt and shorts/leggings or a leotard and spandex if they have them). Guardians are required to sign a permission slip the first they attend clinic. Clinics are provided free of charge, but donations are welcome. If you have questions please email Coach Karen Mendez at [email protected]. No need to RSVP. Click here for the flyer.
The super PAC that has spent nearly $1 million to support Democrats in New Jersey’s Assembly elections next month has received nearly 90 percent of its money from a group affiliated with the state’s largest teachers’ union, records filed with state regulators show. Andrew Seidman, Philadelphia Inquirer Read more
Ridgewood NJ, Congratulations to all the students fgor all their hard work. One hundred thirty-four students at Ridgewood High School have been named AP Scholars by the College Board in recognition of their exceptional achievement on the college level Advanced Placement Examinations.
Nine students qualified for the National AP Scholar Award by earning an average grade of 4.0 or higher on all AP Exams taken, and grades of 4 or higher on eight or more of these exams.
These students are Benjamin Bechtold, Akash Chaurasia, Yunseok Choi, Caroline Gonzalez, Maximilian Jerdee, Warren Li, Nikhil Mendiratta, Jaesung Son and Donald Zheng.
Fifty-two students qualified for the AP Scholar with Distinction Award by earning an average grade of at least 3.5 on all AP Exams taken, and grades of 3 or higher on five or more of these exams.
Thirty-five students qualified for the AP Scholar with Honor Award by earning an average grade of at least 3.25 on all AP Exams taken, and grades of 3 or higher on four or more of these exams.
Forty-seven students qualified for the AP Scholar Award by completing three or more AP Exams with grades of 3 or higher.
About 18 percent of the more than 1.9 million high school students worldwide who took AP Examinations in May 2015 performed at a sufficiently high level to merit such recognition.
Schools teach kids to throw bottles, staplers at gunmen
by Deirdre Reilly
Ask your high schooler how his or her day was, and if you’re lucky, you’ll get a brief snapshot — classes, friends, maybe sports or club activities after school.
But have you heard, “Oh, today we had an ALICE drill”?
An ALICE drill is training for students on how to respond if there is an active shooter on school grounds or in the building itself. The training is designed for students of all grades, but it is tailored to age. And it’s quite the controversy among those in the school safety community.
ALICE stands for Alert-Lockdown-Inform-Counter-Evacuate and has similarities to conventional school safety programs that contain alerts, lockdowns, and evacuation plans in the event of a shooter.
Ridgewood NJ , School board must talk healthcare costs with union no truer statement has ever been said and since the teachers unions were overwhelming supporters of Obamacare for the rest of us ,its high time they participate in the “healthcare” they pushed on the rest of America .
OCTOBER 9, 2015 LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2015, 12:30 AM
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS
BOE must talk healthcare costs with REA
To the Editor:
I am proud to say that I have been educating 6 and 7 year olds in this community for 32 years. Many of these children have gone on to become doctors, lawyers, actors, and most dear to my heart, teachers, as well as numerous other professions. The one thing they have in common is Ridgewood and the superior education they received here.
As I enter into my 33rd year of teaching, I look into the eyes of my current students, knowing the path in front of them will lead them to a successful future because of the dedicated teachers and administrators who work here.
Each year, teachers are asked to do more and more for less and less. We all understand the economic realities that face us today. Teachers are taxpayers, too, and we all have our own budgets to balance.
As a member of the REA, this is my 11th contract negotiation, and it is sad to observe that every negotiation has become more and more acrimonious; however, never in my 33 years has a Ridgewood Board of Education refused to discuss all of the topics that need to be negotiated, specifically healthcare.
Every day I come to work knowing both parents and administrators expect me to be keeping the best interests of my students in mind. I would like to think that the board is doing the same for my colleagues and me. My personal contribution in 2012 to our health benefit package was over $2,200. In 2015, I am now contributing almost $10,000, which is a 350 percent increase. However, my salary certainly did not increase that much. It actually increased by 4.9 percent over the same time period. Anyone retiring from Ridgewood within the next five years will not be able to make the same amount of money that he/she did in 2012. That is just wrong!
All that I am requesting of our Board of Education is to have respect for us as educators, professionals, and community members and to sit down with the REA to talk about the cost of our healthcare benefits.
The Class of 1980 organizers would like to open up their 35th Reunion to anyone that would like to come to an awesome party…
When: Saturday, October 24th
Where: Mahwah Sheraton from 7p-11p
Cost: $99 + processing fee (link below) – No tickets at the door and ticket window closes Saturday, Oct 17th
I know this is a last minute invite, but unfortunately we don’t have enough people from our own class at this time attending, so if you didn’t go to your last reunion, or just want an excuse to take your honey out for a good time, then come and join us.
