AUGUST 27, 2015, 11:55 AM LAST UPDATED: THURSDAY, AUGUST 27, 2015, 2:23 PM
ASSOCIATED PRESS
NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. (AP) — An elementary school teacher has been allowed to keep his job even though he was late for work 111 times over a two-year period.
In a decision filed Aug. 19, an arbitrator rejected an attempt by the Roosevelt Elementary School to fire 15-year veteran Arnold Anderson from his $90,000-a-year job, saying he was entitled to progressive discipline.
Anderson was late 46 times in the most recent school year through March 20 and 65 times in the previous school year, the arbitrator said. But the arbitrator criticized Anderson’s claim that the quality of his teaching outweighed his tardiness.
He relied on “micro-quibbles of a few unpersuasive explanations, with a macro-default position that even when he is late he nevertheless delivers a superb educational experience to his grateful students,” the arbitrator wrote.
AUGUST 22, 2015, 11:29 PM LAST UPDATED: SUNDAY, AUGUST 23, 2015, 12:37 AM
BY PATRICIA ALEX
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD
For a few hundred dollars a semester, some of the pricier private colleges in the United States have long offered tuition insurance — policies that protect families and schools if a student withdraws for medical reasons.
Starting this year, however, tuition insurance is available to any family in New Jersey — no matter where a student goes to school. The company selling it also is offering more expensive plans that cover other “unforeseen reasons” for midsemester withdrawals, including “poor grades or a crisis at home.”
But is it worth the money?
The top executive at Allianz Global Assistance, which won New Jersey’s approval to sell the policies, said the state is ripe for the insurance, given that its tuition costs — even for public colleges — are among the highest in the nation, topping $25,000 a year if a student lives on campus. He said it makes sense to insure what is likely a family’s largest investment, after a home.
“We insure risk, and we saw a market for this,” said Joe Mason, the company’s chief marketing officer. “College isn’t a small investment. You insure your house, your boat, why not college?”
Submitted by Tyler Durden on 08/22/2015 11:43 -0400
Perhaps it’s all the talk about across-the-board debt forgiveness or maybe the total amount of outstanding student debt has simply grown so large ($1.3 trillion) that even those with no conception of how much money that actually is realize that it’s simply never going to paid back so there’s no point worrying about, but whatever the case, the general level of concern regarding America’s student debt bubble doesn’t seem to be at all commensurate with the size of the problem.
And it’s not just the sheer size of the debt pile that’s worrisome. There’s also the knock-on effects, such as delayed household formation and the attendant downward pressure on the homeownership rate, and of course hyperinflation in the rental market.
Of course one reason no one is panicking – yet – is that the severity of the problem is masked by artificially suppressed delinquency rates. As we’ve documented in excruciating detail, if one excludes loans in deferment and forbearance from the numerator in the delinquency calculation, but includes those loans in the denominator then the delinquency rate will be deceptively low. In any event, as WSJ reports, even if one looks at something very simple like, say, the number of borrowers who haven’t made a payment in a year, the picture is not pretty and it’s getting worse all the time. Here’s more:
Billionaire businessman Mark Cuban says Hillary Clinton’s plan to curb growing student-loan debt will actually make attending college more expensive.
“[Hillary’s plan] stands a better chance of increasing the amount of money students owe than decreasing it,” Cuban said on his Cyber Dust app on Friday.
“Just as easy money led to the real estate bubble a few years ago, the easier it is to borrow money for college the easier it is for colleges to raise tuition. Tuition keeps going up because no matter how high they raise it, students can still borrow more to pay for it,” Cuban continued.
Cuban, who stars on ABC’s “Shark Tank” and owns the Dallas Mavericks, has for years warned of a “student loan bubble.”
“At some point, it’s going to pop,” Cuban told Business Insider in March.
Today my dad, Tony Napier, went Home to be with the Lord. He was the Father of Ridgewood gymnastics, bringing his expertise of the sport to the schools in 1962. He was a gymnast for almost all of his 78 years,a PE teacher for 29 years, a coach for more than 30 years, and a judge for 59 years. He touched many many lives in the Ridgewood school system. Arrangements are Mon, Aug. 17 from 2-4 and 7-9 at Spearing Funeral Home in Park Ridge and Tues, Aug 18 at 10:30 at Our Lady of Good Counsel in Wash Twp for the church service. Bernadette Napier Orso
Today is a very very sad day for me and for many others. I lost my High School Gymnastics coach Tony Napier yesterday. I dont know what prompted me to call him yesterday but I did. I didn’t get that last chance to talk with him as he had passed.I remember all the great times with my coach and mentor.He has a beautiful family that I also love. He taught me persistence,dedication, and instilled in me my hard work ethic. He was a marvelous motivator and loved our great sport of gymnastics.I will miss him every day . God Bless you coach and your wonderful family . Heaven will be even a better place now that your there! Geoff Stoner
The Ridgewood Board of Education will hold a Regular Public Meeting on Monday, August 24 2015 at 5 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 July 20, 2015 Regular Public Meeting
Re-registration is Open for Parents and Guardians
Skyward Family Access is the district’s primary mode of communication with parents, so the district must have up-to-date email and phone numbers in the system at all times, especially for emergency situations. Beginning August 10 through midnight September 7, parents and guardians must logon to Family Access to complete the Mandatory Online Re-registration process.
Click here for details on Mandatory Re-registration.
Board of Education Announces Vacancy, Seeks Applicants
The Ridgewood Board of Education is seeking qualified applicants to fill a vacancy created by the resignation of Michele Lenhard on August 1. The application deadline is Tuesday, September 15 at 4 p.m. Click here for details..
Back-to-School Night Schedule is Out
Click here to view the 2015-2016 Back-To-School Night schedule.
Substitutes Teachers are Needed
The district has put out a call for additional substitute teachers, nurses and secretaries for the 2015-2016 school year. Substitutes enjoy the freedom of selecting their dates of work according to their personal schedules through a self-scheduling online system. Pay rates for the 2015-2016 school year are as follows: teachers $92 to $125 per diem; nurses $130 per diem; secretaries $12.50 to $17 per hour.
Click here for full information on the requirements and process. For further information, please contact Eileen Rix at 201-670-2700, ext. 10542 or [email protected].
School Calendars are Approved Click here to view the 2015-2016 school calendar. Click here to view the 2016-2017 school calendar.
AUGUST 14, 2015 LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY, AUGUST 14, 2015, 12:31 AM
BY MATTHEW SCHNEIDER
STAFF WRITER |
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS
Ridgewood education leaders this week expressed disappointment with the recently released AchieveNJ Teacher Evaluation chart, saying the scoring system doesn’t tell the entire story.
Village teachers scored collectively low in the evaluation, a tool used by the state to gauge which educators and schools are the most effective. Specifically, the chart showed which teachers fall into the “effective” and “highly effective” categories, and gave a percentage of the total number of teachers in the school who were highly effective.
The highest-ranking Ridgewood school was Benjamin Franklin Middle School, with a 46.15 percent highly-effective rating (24 highly effective teachers out of 52). George Washington Middle School scored 25 percent highly-effective, or 14 highly-effective teachers out of 56.
Ridgewood NJ, RHS Class of 2001, Michael Aaron Flicker will receive recognition at the 2015 New Jersey Inventors Hall of Fame Awards Banquet this October.James Wallace and Michael Aaron Flicker are to receive the ADVANCEMENT OF INVENTION & PROCESS AWARDThey are being acknowledged for creating and sustaining the “Super Science Saturday” extravaganza, and for exposing children to the marvels of science.
The Ridgewood Board of Education will hold a Regular Public Meeting on Monday, August 24 2015 at 5 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 July 20, 2015 Regular Public Meeting.
AUGUST 8, 2015 LAST UPDATED: SATURDAY, AUGUST 8, 2015, 1:21 AM
BY HANNAN ADELY
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD
New Jersey middle and high schools start their day on average at 8 a.m. — on par with other schools in the nation but too early for students to get a good night’s sleep, according to medical experts.
And that, in turn, can contribute to a host of health problems for adolescents, those experts say.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released a state-by-state analysis this week showing that school start times for 2012, the most recently available data, averaged 8:03 a.m.
The report came less than a year after the American Academy of Pediatrics recommended that middle and high schools begin their days no earlier than 8:30 a.m. Only 17.7 percent of schools — and 14.9 percent in New Jersey — started at 8:30 a.m. or later.
“Getting enough sleep is important for students’ health, safety, and academic performance,” said Anne Wheaton, lead author and epidemiologist in the CDC’s Division of Population Health. “Early school start times, however, are preventing many adolescents from getting the sleep they need.”
Students should get 8.5 to 9.5 hours of sleep, according to the CDC. Insufficient sleep is common among high school students and is associated with such health risks as being overweight, drinking alcohol, smoking tobacco, and using drugs — as well as poor grades, the agency said in its report.
In New Jersey, school start times have been debated for years, but the debate intensified after the pediatrics academy released its 2014 policy paper.
AUGUST 7, 2015, 7:51 PM LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY, AUGUST 7, 2015, 11:48 PM
BY HANNAN ADELY
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD
The freewheeling summer celebrated in countless songs and poems isn’t so carefree for many students who come home from school in June with hefty homework assignments that span grades and subjects.
Summer homework isn’t a new thing, but it is a big topic year after year, especially when it spills into family vacation and weekend activities. In one high school, students are even petitioning for homework equity, saying it should be given to all students or none at all.
Parents are conflicted, with some pushing back or grudgingly accepting it, while others say the work keeps kids sharp and competitive and makes the school year easier. Yet all parents seem to long for the summers of their youth when they read what they wanted — if they wanted — and didn’t have the stress of schoolwork hanging over their heads.
“What gets lost is the opportunity for a kid to pick up a book and say, ‘I’ve been dying to read this,’” said Randi Asher, a Glen Rock parent and a homework critic. “To have that entire summer to throw yourself into nature and to experience learning in a way that is different from an assignment. It’s not that they don’t have that opportunity. There is the whole summer, but this detracts from that.”
Ridgewood NJ, Michele Lenhard has resigned from the Ridgewood Board of Education (BOE) effective Aug. 1, stepping down from the elected position she has held since 2007. School officials told The Ridgewood News this week that Lenhard is relocating out of the district. ( https://www.northjersey.com/news/education/ridgewood-school-board-member-resigns-1.1387946 )
The Ridgewood Board of Education is seeking a qualified candidate to fill a mid-term vacancy on the Ridgewood Board of Education. The vacancy became effective on August 1, 2015.
The Board is delegated by law to serve the children of Ridgewood as the policy-making legislative branch of the School District. Responsibilities of the Board are to:
Monitor student achievement. Set district policies and goals. Provide financial oversight. Approve Human Resources recommendations and hire and evaluate the superintendent. Serve as the communications link between the community and the school district.
To fill vacancies on the Board of Education. Board members are required to attend meetings approximately twice a month and serve on committees that require an additional time commitment.
This position will be effective through our Reorganization Meeting in January 2017. This position will be placed on the ballot at the annual election, scheduled in November 2016. The winner will fill a regular three-year term from January 2017 through January 2020.
Legal Requirements: To become a member of a local Board of Education in New Jersey, you must be: A citizen of the United States of America At least 18 years of age Able to read and write A resident of Ridgewood for at least one (1) year preceding the date of the appointment Have no interest in any contract with, or claim, against the Board Registered to vote in the district Not disqualified as a voter pursuant to NJSA 19:4-1
To Apply: Any qualified Ridgewood resident interested in filling the vacancy on the Ridgewood Board of Education should pick up an application at the Education Center or download one from our website at www.ridgewood.k12.nj.us and then submit a letter of interest, application and resume by 4 p.m. on September 15, 2015 to: Dr. Alfredo Aguilar ([email protected]) Board Secretary 49 Cottage Place Ridgewood, NJ 07451 The Board of Education will review all applications submitted and interview legally qualified candidates at the public meeting on September 21, 2015. Candidates will be advised of the interview schedule. Any questions should be directed to Dr. Aguilar at [email protected] or 201-670-2700 ext. 10503.
AUGUST 5, 2015, 11:45 PM LAST UPDATED: WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 5, 2015, 11:49 PM
BY HANNAN ADELY
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD
New Jersey won’t increase the weight of state tests on teacher evaluations in the coming school year — to the relief of educators whose reviews are based in part on students’ scores.
Student performance on state tests will count for 10 percent of a teacher’s job review in the coming school year, the same as in the past year, state officials announced Wednesday.
The state could have made test scores account for as much as 20 percent of a teacher’s evaluation under a revised policy adopted last year. But state officials backed down amid an outcry from teachers against use of standardized state tests in their reviews.
“We don’t think this is a proper use |of test score data, but it is a step in |the right direction that they’re freezing it rather than raising it,” said Steve Baker, a spokesman for the New Jersey Education Association, the state’s largest teachers union.
David Hespe, the state education commissioner, said the decision was made because data from the new tests haven’t been received and reviewed yet and because the state was still transitioning from its old tests.
“This is the right move to keep teacher evaluations strong and successful into the future,” Hespe said at a state Board of Education meeting.
Ridgewood NJ, Ridgewood Board of Education negotiations with the REA have moved at a methodical pace according to the BOE press release on July 23, 2015 :
The Ridgewood Board of Education and the Ridgewood Education Association (“REA”) are parties to a Collective Bargaining Agreement that began on July 1, 2012 and ended June 30, 2015. Negotiations with the REA towards a new Agreement began in February 2015.
At this initial meeting, impasse was declared over the differences in the REA’s and the Board’s proposals pertaining to health insurance premium contributions. The REA proposed a reduction in Chapter 78 contributions. The Board told the REA that it would not agree to change or reduce the formula percentages set forth by Chapter 78. In 2011, Governor Christie signed into law P.L. 2011, c. 78, better known as “Chapter 78.” Chapter 78 mandated that all public sector employees contribute to their health benefit premiums. These contributions were to be phased-in over four (4) years under a statutory formula; after which they would be subject to collective negotiations.
On June 30, 2015, teachers and secretaries of the Ridgewood Public Schools completed the mandatory four (4) year phase-in. Since our first meeting in February, the Board and the Association have met four more times in March and April and with the state appointed mediator in May and June.
Our last meeting was on June 2, 2015, when the Board and the Association met with the Mediator for several hours, without success. The Mediator advised us that she would be deferring the negotiations to the fact-finding stage. Factfinders are assigned through the NJ Public Employment Relations Commission and they, like mediators, specialize in public sector negotiations. A Fact-finder’s initial role may be very similar to the role of a Mediator, and likely attempt to mediate a settlement. The Board and the REA will continue to negotiate with each other in good faith in a respectful manner. While the parties work with the Fact-finder, all of the terms and conditions of the current Agreement continue. During this time, the teachers and secretaries will continue to receive their full salaries and benefits.
