Category: Ridgewood Schools

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Reader Calls full day kindergarten gross overreach for the state to mandate

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Everything that the council is doing affects our schools

Schools are the largest part of our tax bill – that is a fact. That does not mean that the schools are not accountable.

It will be a gross overreach for the state to mandate full day kindergarten. I am starting to agree with Rick Perry that we need to abolish the Department of Education. Government is best which governs least.

Many parents actually enjoy spending the AM/PM with their children. We had activites and time with friends when the kids were in kindergarten. My kids did very well in elementary school, high school and college. Your kids will not go to Harvard because they had full day kindergarten.

NYC has preschool and middle school after care programs. The need for these programs in a city is not the same as for programs in Ridgewood. In the city the schools are the place where many students receive two meals a day and get health screening. Working parents do not have the time for homework and reading to the kids. Children need the time in school as a social safety net.

I paused my career to be home with my kids and never regretted it. If working parents need babysitting then they should hire someone. My taxes should not go to support someone’s child care needs. Maybe dad/mom can work from home or with flex time. You will never look back and say that you wished that you spent more time at work.

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Reader asks Where is the Master Plan for Ridgewood Public Schools?

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In the Ridgewood News today ther is a story about a large turnout at the BOE meeting, complaining about class size.

In the same meeting someone complained that we do not have full day kindergarten. ( They somehow ignore the fact that the district will need more space and have to hire more teachers. One complains about the needs of working parents. I do not want to permanently share in the child care expenses of working parents. They work so they should pay for kindergarten enrichment classes if they think that their children need this to get into college)

We pay very high taxes, mostly for the schools. People keep moving to Ridgewood for the schools. There is a disincentive for people without children in the schools to stay in town – and the cycle of postgraduation home selling continues. This issue has been discussed on this blog but I think that it deserves as much attention as the high density housing and parking.

The council and BOE should get together and do some master planning for the schools. We can’t keep up with the wants and needs of the parents, the town does not exist to please the parents of school children. Something has to give!

The council should consider a tax incentive for residents who have lived in Ridgewood X number of years and no longer have dependents in the schools. The spiral of selling homes after graduation needs to end. I will probably sell my 5 bedroom home in the next few years. A family with 4 children would love to have this house and pay my taxes for the schools. At a cost of $17,000 per student the town will start losing money immediately. I will not stay and spend my savings to help prop up this system.

Where is the Master Plan for Ridgewood Public Schools?

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Ridgewood residents might see a drone over the high school in the fall

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JUNE 25, 2015, 11:41 AM    LAST UPDATED: THURSDAY, JUNE 25, 2015, 11:42 AM
BY CHRIS HARRIS
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD

RIDGEWOOD — Village residents need not call authorities this fall if they happen to see a drone hovering above the high school.

During its meeting Monday evening, the Ridgewood Board of Education accepted a donated GoPro Phantom 2 Quadcopter.

School officials said the drone will be used to film various activities at the school. It will also be utilized by students for video productions.

https://www.northjersey.com/news/ridgewood-residents-might-see-a-drone-over-the-high-school-in-the-fall-1.1363209

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Ridgewood schools receive $85K grant for science classroom upgrades

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JUNE 24, 2015    LAST UPDATED: WEDNESDAY, JUNE 24, 2015, 9:54 AM
BY DARIUS AMOS
STAFF WRITER |
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS

Thanks in part to a large donation, learning at the Ridgewood middle school level is about to step into the future.

The Ridgewood Education Foundation (REF) has awarded an $85,000 leadership grant to the Board of Education to “kick off the renovation of science classrooms” at George Washington and Benjamin Franklin middle schools, according to REF Board of Trustees President Jennie Smith Wilson.

“This is much more about hands-on learning, understanding how things are made, learning by doing,” Wilson told The Ridgewood News last week. “Classrooms are outfitted for the old way of learning and teaching. Science classrooms match what learning was, not what it will be.”

According to Stacy Hughes, executive board member of the George Washington Home and School Association, the grant could not have come at a better time.

“It’s a generous gift for some well-deserving schools. It’s exciting to have the opportunity to create a hands-on, interactive learning environment for the kids,” Hughes said. “At GW, the classroom environment is a little antiquated, so this will be a huge and exciting change for the kids.”

 

https://www.northjersey.com/news/education/upgrade-project-gets-boost-in-funding-1.1361827

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English pupils’ maths scores improve under east Asian approach

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Study shows ‘maths mastery’ experiment improved children’s scores in English schools after just one year

Schools in England experimenting with east Asian teaching methods have seen an improvement in children’s mathematics skills after just one year, according to a study.

The research, published on Thursday, which represents the first hard evidence that introducing a Singaporean “maths mastery” approach into English classrooms can influence results, found a “relatively small but welcome improvement” in children’s performance.

The report’s lead author warned however that the mastery programme should not be seen as “a silver bullet” and called for it to be tested over a longer period in a greater number of schools in order to build a fuller picture.

Policymakers have been studying teaching methods in east Asian countries such as Singapore, Japan and South Korea, which dominate the Pisa international league tables measuring children’s academic achievement. Children there are on average more than one year ahead of their western peers in maths.

The mastery programme differs radically from current maths teaching in England, with fewer topics covered in greater depth, and every child expected to master the topic before the class moves on. Teachers hold weekly hour-long workshops to discuss lesson planning.

The study, led by UCL Institute of Education and the University of Cambridge, evaluated the impact of a Singaporean-inspired teaching programme in 90 English primary schools and 50 secondaries where it was taught to more than 10,000 pupils in year 1 (aged 5-6) and year 7 (11-12).

After a year they saw a small increase in children’s maths test scores compared with pupils in other schools which was roughly equivalent to one additional month of progress over the academic year. The programme is designed to have a cumulative effect, with the full benefit evident after five years.

https://www.theguardian.com/education/2015/jun/18/english-pupils-maths-scores-improve-under-east-asian-approach

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Drone to be used at Ridgewood High School

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June 22,2015
the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ, An item on the Ridgewood BOE’s meeting agenda for June 22, 2015 reads as follows:

“Acceptance of a gift in kind from the RHS HSA of a Go Pro [DJI] Phantom 2 Quadcopter to be used to film activities at Ridgewood High School.”

Say what?Who is going to be flying this drone and will students be present while it is in use?

This is a very big lawsuit waiting to happen.  Even experienced pilots frequently crash these devices.

Remember what happened to Enrique Igleslias!

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-3104747/Enrique-Iglesias-recovering-fingers-sliced-concert.html

But what happens when a UAV filming a sporting event or wedding loses control and hits bystanders? Who is at fault, legally speaking? Fast Company reached out to experts in order to find out—and the consensus is, at the very least, the pilot will have a lot of explaining to do.  https://www.fastcompany.com/3028781/what-happens-when-a-drone-crashes
Gerald C. Sterns, a California-based aviation and personal injury lawyer, says that common law offered the best precedents. “My analogy and best estimate would be a common law and a judge would find if you bang someone in the head, [such as with] a non-domesticated animal who caused damage to another,” Sterns said. “The owner claimed he wasn’t negligent, the animal got out. The judge said it didn’t matter. If you keep a wild animal you do so at your peril. A judge might view drones causing damage as no different than the non-domesticated animal causing damage.” https://www.fastcompany.com/3028781/what-happens-when-a-drone-crashes

Negligence was also broached with Florida aviation attorney Timothy Ravich. He said the operator of a small UAV that loses control and accidentally injures an individual could be named as a defendant in a trial. Though the question of liability is up to a judge and jury, the vehicle’s loss of control could lead to charges of negligence—charges that, depending on the specifics of the situation, could also lead to the UAV’s manufacturer and event organizers being named as defendants as well. In addition, intentionally injuring bystanders with a UAV brings up separate issues of criminal law. https://www.fastcompany.com/3028781/what-happens-when-a-drone-crashes

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Ridgewood BOE Regular Public Meeting Tonight

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BOARD MEETS ON JUNE 22, 2015
The  Ridgewood Board of Education will hold a Regular Public Meeting on Monday, June 22, 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 will be aired live on FiOS channel 33 and Optimum channel 77.Or it may be viewed live via the district website at www.ridgewood.k12.nj.us using the “Link in Live” tab.

Click here to view the agenda and addendum for the June 22, 2015 Regular Public Meeting.

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Ridgewood Superintendent’s Column: Remarks to the Ridgewood High School Class of 2015

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JUNE 19, 2015    LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY, JUNE 19, 2015, 12:30 AM
BY DANIEL FISHBEIN
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS

It’s official. The end of the school year is here. We’ve packed up the classrooms, put away the backpacks and officially said goodbye and good luck to the 426 members of the RHS Class of 2015.

In my remarks to the Class of 2015 at graduation, I mentioned the importance of the entire Ridgewood community in helping our students meet with success. I would like to thank all of you for your support and generosity of time, talent and resources. Our mission of excellence could not be accomplished without you.

For this last column of the 2014-2015 school year, I would like to share with you my remarks to the Class of 2015 at graduation on June 18.

“Congratulations to the members of the Class of 2015, and to your parents, families, friends and mentors, as well as the entire Ridgewood Public Schools community. All of these people and many village organizations have been important in your development and success.

“We are here tonight to celebrate the present, but for a moment I would like to turn your thoughts to your future. Whether you are continuing on to attend college or university, entering the work force or enlisting in the military, there is no doubt your journey will be met with a new set of challenges which will be both exciting and daunting. However, I assure you that whatever your plans may be, you are well prepared and ready to embrace the future with enthusiasm and courage.

 

https://www.northjersey.com/opinion/opinion-guest-writers/remarks-to-the-rhs-class-of-2015-1.1358795

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Dwight D. Eisenhower Award Winner is Announced

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Photo: RHS Principal Thomas Gorman congratulates Dwight D. Eisenhower Award recipient Claire Andrews.
June 17,2015

Ridgewood NJ, RHS junior Claire Andrews is the recipient of the West Point Dwight D. Eisenhower Leadership Award. The program was created to recognize high school juniors who exhibit exceptional performance and potential in academics, athletics, community service, and leadership.

“The Dwight D. Eisenhower Leadership Program recognizes high school juniors who exhibit exceptional performance and potential in the areas of academics, athletics, community service, good citizenship, and leadership.  Students selected to receive the award are awarded a copy of Building Leaders the West Point Way by Major General Joseph P. Franklin, U.S. Army (Retired) and a letter of recognition from the West Point Society of the Lehigh Valley, as well as an invitation to participate in a Leadership Awards Recognition Day at West Point.”

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RHS Junior Makes 2015 All-National Honors Concert Band

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RHS Junior Makes 2015 All-National Honors Concert Band
June 17,2015

Ridgewood NJ,  a first for RHS,  junior flutist Stephanie Pizza has been selected for the 2015 All-National Honors Concert Band. The All-National Honors Concert Band is comprised of some of the best music students in the country. The band will perform together in October in Nashville.
Among other honors Stephanie has received, she was the gold winner in the International Virtuoso Competition, and she won the New York Flute Club Young Musician’s Contest twice. She has also represented RHS as a member of the All County High School Band for three years, serving as principal flute and piccolo.

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The Economic Policy Institute a left-leaning think tank says parenting style creates achievement gap

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the report focuses on the different parenting styles found in black and white households and argues that these cultural differences help create an achievement gap not fixable by schools

REPORT: NEGLIGENT PARENTING HURTS BLACK STUDENTS’ PERFORMANCE

by JOHN SEXTON15 Jun 2015209

A newly-published report says that some parenting choices and attitudes can hurt the success of black students in school.

The Economic Policy Institute is a left-leaning think tank funded in part by unions. After noting that their report does not describe “all lower-social-class families” the authors look at social factors which depress student performance.

In its first key finding, the report focuses on the different parenting styles found in black and white households and argues that these cultural differences help create an achievement gap not fixable by schools. Using data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ American Time Use Survey EPI produces the following chart:

https://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2015/06/15/report-negligent-parenting-hurts-black-students-performance/

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Scholars Protest New AP U.S. History Standards

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Daniel Lattier | June 12, 2015

This week, an impressive list of scholars across the nation published a letter opposing the new framework for the College Board’s Advanced Placement (AP) exam in U.S. History. You can read the full letter here.

As you may know, millions of U.S. high school students take an AP U.S. History course and exam each year in the hopes of earning college credit. The new framework of the exam is designed to shape the course curriculum.

The scholars’ problems with the new framework include the following:

It takes away teachers’ previous freedom with the curriculum and “centralizes control, deemphasizes content, and promotes a particular interpretation of American history.”
The historical view it promotes “downplays American citizenship and American world leadership in favor of a more global and transnational perspective.”
The framework is organized around the theme of “identity-group conflict… while downplaying essential subjects, such as the sources, meaning, and development of America’s ideals and political institutions, notably the Constitution.”
It shifts away from the previous framework’s emphasis on American exceptionalism and national character in favor of an emphasis on “the formation of gender, class, racial and ethnic identities.”

Those with similar concerns are often met with the straw man argument that they wish to turn a blind eye to the past sins committed by Americans. Fortunately, the scholars anticipated this argument in their letter:

“We do not seek to reduce the education of our young to the inculcation of fairy tales, or of a simple, whitewashed, heroic, even hagiographical nationalist narrative. Instead, we support a course that fosters informed and reflective civic awareness, while providing a vivid sense of the grandeur and drama of its subject.”

The concerns raised in the scholars’ letter are not new to me. I brought up similar ones in an article last year on Minnesota’s U.S. history standards, which you can read here. I have provided these standards below:

https://www.better-ed.org/blog/scholars-protest-new-ap-us-history-standards

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Students learn to be leaders at Ridgewood High School summit

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JUNE 10, 2015    LAST UPDATED: WEDNESDAY, JUNE 10, 2015, 10:21 AM
BY MARK KRULISH
STAFF WRITER |
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS

Students were asked to put themselves in unfamiliar shoes as they attempted to help fictional Ridgewood High School (RHS) peers in coping with their issues at the school’s 2015 leadership summit.

After tackling the issue of social media last year, the group of ninth, 10th and 11th grade students were assigned this year with the task of helping their peers with problems they face in everyday life.

Students were split into nine groups, each one receiving a faculty advisor, and given a fictional character with certain demographics, strengths and weaknesses. Each character had a problem to solve and the students had to find a way to help that person deal with his or her troubles.

Teachers and administrators in attendance included Sean McCullough, the district’s director of Fine and Applied Arts, social studies teacher Medha Kirtane, RHS Principal Thomas Gorman and Superintendent Daniel Fishbein.

The obstacles assigned to the characters included divorce, gender issues, social anxiety, insecurity, financial struggles and both learning and physical disabilities.

The exercise taught students to solve a problem through someone else’s eyes, a person who may be very different from them, since a true leader must be able to lead people of all backgrounds and abilities.

“Even if a problem doesn’t necessarily apply to you, you still have to be understanding and be able to cope with it, because that’s what really makes a good leader,” said RHS junior Tyler Porfido.

https://www.northjersey.com/news/education/ridgewood-students-learn-to-be-leaders-1.1352679

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RIDGEWOOD SCHOOLS : BOE MEETS ON JUNE 22, 2015

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The  Ridgewood Board of Education will hold a Regular Public Meeting on Monday, June 22, 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 will be aired live on FiOS channel 33 and Optimum channel 77. Or it may be viewed live via the district website at www.ridgewood.k12.nj.us using the “Link in Live” tab.

Click here to view the agenda and addendum for the June 1, 2015 Regular Public Meeting.

Spanish Student Achieve
Forty-eight RHS Spanish students received medals and 100 students received an honorable mention on the National Spanish Exam sponsored by the American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese.

Three Students Place in Poetry Contest
On May 14, 10 Ridgewood High School students accompanied their teachers to William Paterson University for the Annual Orlando Saa Foreign Language Poetry Recitation Contest. Three RHS students placed in the competitions. Thria Bernabe came in third place in Advanced French, Ken Marshall came in third place in Advanced German and Jeff Zachem placed first in Advanced Latin.

Help Fill the Social Services Food Pantry June 8-12
Ridgewood’s elementary and middle schools will be collection sites for non-perishable breakfast food items from Monday, June 8 through Friday, June 12. Click here for details.

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N.J. education chief to unveil plans for review of academic standards

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TRENTON – The state’s top education official said Wednesday that he will unveil plans next month for a sweeping review of academic standards to answer Governor Christie’s call for an overhaul. (Adely/The Record)

https://www.northjersey.com/news/n-j-education-chief-to-unveil-plans-for-review-of-academic-standards-1.1348111