APRIL 17, 2015 LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY, APRIL 17, 2015, 12:31 AM
BY DARIUS AMOS
STAFF WRITER |
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS
The Ridgewood Board of Education unanimously approved the appointment of Mary K. Ferreri as the new principal of Orchard Elementary School, effective July 15.
Ferreri has spent her entire career in the Westwood Regional School District. She is currently principal at the Jessie F. George Elementary School, a position that she has held since 2010.
From January 2009 to June 2010, she worked as acting assistant principal at George and Ketler schools while also serving as supervisor of elementary programs and the district’s head teacher for kindergarten to grade 6. Prior to that, she taught first and third grades in Westwood from 2002 to 2009.
Ferreri, who will be paid $150,000 in Ridgewood, has a master’s degree in educational administration from Montclair State.
Superintendent of Schools Daniel Fishbein announced Ferreri’s appointment in a letter distributed to Ridgewood parents.
APRIL 17, 2015 LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY, APRIL 17, 2015, 12:31 AM
BY DARIUS AMOS
STAFF WRITER |
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS
Anticipating minor changes that might impact Ridgewood families, the Board of Education (BOE) hopes to approve the school district’s 2016-17 calendar by the end of this month.
Just weeks after they finalized and adopted next year’s calendar, trustees engaged in a constructive dialogue during Monday’s BOE meeting as they reviewed the calendar committee’s recommended schedule for 2016-17.
“We told parents that we would try to get the calendar over a year in advance because we keep hearing ‘I want to be able to schedule what we’ll be doing, what the kids will be doing’,” BOE President Sheila Brogan said.
Board members generally agreed with the committee’s suggested calendar, which incorporated elements that most education officials deem desirable: First day of instruction begins after Labor Day; February features a full week of recess; and last day of classes is June 22.
The Ridgewood Board of Education will hold a Regular Public Meeting on Monday, April 13, 2015 at 7:30 p.m. This meeting will include a Joint Meeting with the Ridgewood Village Council to discuss the proposed 2015-2016 school budget.
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 for the April 13, 2015 Joint Meeting with the Village Council and Regular Public Meeting.
Click here to view the 2015-2016 preliminary proposed budget presented at the March 23, 2015 Regular Public Meeting
April 10, 2015 Last updated: Friday, April 10, 2015, 12:31 AM
The Ridgewood News
To the Editor:
In a March 27, 2015 column in this paper, our Superintendent of Schools Dan Fishbein argued in support of “good digital citizenship,” a reprint of which all district parents received via email subsequently. In it, Dr. Fishbein told an amusing, cautionary tale about divulging one’s identity to vendors and its far-reaching consequences, a vexing aspect of modern life. He then related this experience to students posting about PARCC testing via social media.
I object to Dr. Fishbein’s column and email because I am worried that they minimize legitimate concerns about what appears to be an effort by private agents and public officials to squelch dissent to the new PARCC standardized tests.
It came to light the other week that Pearson, the testing giant, and the NJ Department of Education contracted with a security agent, Caveon, in order to trawl social media sites for mention of PARCC by students. This is ostensibly to protect PARCC test questions from breach and promote fairness, as well as to protect intellectual property. The identity of any student committing a so-called security breach is then reported to the NJ DOE, which has happened to at least one student in Watchung (as reported by its alarmed superintendent).
What used to be one of the few ways to wring value from a standardized test, namely discussing test questions and answers with peers and mentors after a test, is now illicit in this era of Big Standardized Testing.
Further, it is not just “security breaches” that are being swept up by corporate security agents working in tandem with state government. In practice, as Caveon has explained, it is casting an even wider net that may include mere mention of PARCC.
Yes, posting on social media is public and there should be no expectation of privacy. However, so is talking at a playground or on the phone in a pizza parlor. Are we just as comfortable with Pearson agents hiding at the outskirts of school grounds with microphones and cameras, or conducting surveillance through children’s smartphones?
Perhaps children should not be allowed to have social media accounts because they lack maturity and judgment about what to post and not post, an issue that’s come up in many contexts. I agree that we have to guide children in making good judgments in their digital lives.
However, more important than good digital citizens in my view is the raising of courageous citizens who are aware of their right to discuss, dissent, even to disparage ideas, institutions, their leaders. That is what makes American democracy unique and valuable.
If a child tweets that “some PARCC questions were dumb” or “PARCC stinks” or “I wish I could find out before next year how I did on the PARCC so I could learn something,” there should be no risk that that child’s identity will be reported to the state government or that he will incur a permanent black mark on his record.
April 10, 2015 Last updated: Friday, April 10, 2015, 12:31 AM
By Aimee La Fountain
CORRESPONDENT |
The Ridgewood News
Four Ridgewood High School students were selected to perform in the Region 1 Senior Jazz Ensemble at New Jersey Association for Jazz Education’s honor ensemble concert. The performance will take place at 3 p.m. on April 19 at Nutley High School.
RHS freshman Griffin Fink and sophomores Brian and Max Caine will join the rhythm section.
“When you hear a rhythm section like Griffin, Max and Brian, you notice right away that these guys have an established groove,” said Jeffrey G. Haas, director of bands at Ridgewood High School.
RHS sophomore Teddy Trent will play trumpet.
Haas said he “is a wonderful player with a strong, clear tone and a natural jazz feel.”
Haas was chosen as conductor for this year’s concert.
“I knew that he would be a great conductor and fun to work under,” Fink said.
“When I found out that Mr. Haas was directing the jazz band, I just had to try out,” Trent said.
The Ridgewood blog was founded in March of 2006 by James J Foytlin aka PJ Blogger . Mr. Foytlin was born and raised in Ridgewood ,New Jersey and is a graduate of Ridgewood High School .
Ridgewood NJ, – Oct. 26, 2009 – RIDGEWOOD, N.J. — The Ridgewood blog ( https://theridgewoodblog.blogspot.com/ ) was founded in March of 2006 by James J Foytlin aka PJ Blogger .[1] Mr. Foytlin was born and raised in Ridgewood ,New Jersey and is a graduate of Ridgewood High School .[2] [3]
After many years living in New York City[4] Mr Foytlin returned to Ridgewood after a divorce and the tragic events of 9/11 . Once he settled in he noticed a lack of sufficient news coverage of local events . One day a friend from Brazil[5] showed him her home town on the internet and to Mr. Foytlin’s great surprise when he tried to reciprocate he was utterly dismayed at the absolute lake coverage of his home town. After all Ridgewood is only 18 miles from midtown Manhattan[6] the media capitol of world and there was not a single picture of Ridgewood to be found . How could this be? Ridgewood is a picturesque upper middle class village of around 25,000 located in Bergen county in northern New Jersey[7] . Founded by Dutch settlers before it became an English colony[8] . The town or village as its called is steeped in rich history and tradition .Known for a large amount of Victorian era housing , a quality school system and a family friendly atmosphere.
Though busy getting reacquainted with his home town the fact that the Village of Ridgewood was so under represented on the internet continued to disturb Mr. Foytlin. Mr. Foytlin had been writing news letters for his job in financial services since the mid 1990’s . The popular flip, off beat investment strategy news letters had become email blasts with the advent of readily accessible internet.[9] By 2004 the email blasts were converted into blog format for the One Small Voice blog (https://onesmallvoice.blogspot.com/ ). [10]
Around that time the Village of Ridgewood had finally completed it’s much anticipated and long delayed renovation of the Village hall which has been flooded out due to Hurricane Floyd.[11] The renovation was marred by huge cost over runs and lengthy delays. In 2005 it opened with great fan fare , was once again flooded with the very first rain . Mr. Foytlin was more shocked by the abject lack of responsibility taken by elected officials than the fact that the $9 million dollar renovation had to some extent been a failure . That was the breaking point and Mr. Foytlin had had enough so he decided to give , citizen journalism a go and created the Ridgewood blog in March of 2006. [12]
The birth of PJ Blogger .By this time Blogging its seems had become quite the rage and mainstream news anchors such as Dan Rather had questioned the validity of information from non professionals sitting around in their Pajama’s blogging.[13] Mr. Foytlin not a fan of Dan Rather or any of the mainstream media decided to blog under the name PJ Blogger as a play on words and to plant himself firmly in the camp of the new digital media.
Innovations by the Ridgewood blog to citizen journalism.
“The Fly” is a column on the Ridgewood blog the originates from the expression ,”I’d like to be a fly on the wall “ . The idea is that every citizen has both a unique perspective and experience and these two factors can be used to gather news and opinions about local issues. Originally only of handful of people in town participated but with time the Ridgewood blog can now count on 20–40 semi regular contributors. These post are both anonymous and signed and are largely opinion as well a breaking news.[14]
The Ridgewood blog brings a free market lassie fare point of view to local issues . Mr. Foytlin aka PJ Blogger has stated that for local issues there are only two kinds of people ;the ones who say spend what every you want because I will not be around to pay the bill and the second group which are more focused on the ,”be careful this is my money your spending” . The Ridgewood blog is dedicated to the interplay of there two groups.[15]
[1][12] the Ridgewood blog website https://theridgewoodblog.blogspot.com/
[2] Birth Certificate born in Valley Hospital , Ridgewood 04/09/1962
[3] Ridgewood High School Class 1980
[4] 444 East 86th street ,530 East 72nd
[5] Monica Rocha
[6] Mapquest
[7] United States 2000 Census, the village population was 24,936.
[8] https://www.americantowns.com/nj/ridgewood/organization/vi…
[9] Fahnestock & Co. now Oppenheimer & Co.
[10] https://onesmallvoice.blogspot.com/
[11] https://www.ridgewoodlibrary.org/localhistory/lh_vh_pease.htm
[13] https://www.opinionjournal.com/diary/?id=110005611
[14] [15] James J Foytlin
Ridgewood NJ, The weekly workshops are for girls in grades 6-8 who are interested in finding out more about the high school Colorguard.The workshops take place on Wednesdays through April 22, from 5-6 p.m. in the RHS Band Room. The concluding showcase performance is Thursday, April 23 at 7 p.m. Click here for more information
The Fashion Show is April 19. The Committee is now securing donations for the auction. Click here for more information and the donation form. Items may be dropped off at Gail Mandell’s office, Life Opportunities Unlimited, 75 North Maple Ave. Suite 104 Monday – Friday from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Fashion Show chairpersons are ShariHellman (201-310-6286 [email protected] and Gail Mandeli (201- 248-2575 or [email protected]).
PG-15 upcoming monthly meetings: April 9 and May 14 at 7:30 p.m. in the RHS Library.
Dues are due. Make $165 check payable to “RHS Class of 2015” and mail to Sharon Walker, 94 Sherwood Road, Ridgewood, NJ 07450.
Class of 2015 Project Graduation Representatives
Chairpersons Tara Callaghan 201-803-7778 and Rosie McCooe 201-602-8097
Chairpersons email: [email protected]
Treasurer Sharon Walker [email protected]
Communications Jeff Coster [email protected]
APRIL 3, 2015 LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY, APRIL 3, 2015, 12:31 AM
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS
Addressing PARCC and Common Core
To the editor:
Over the course of the last eight months, there have been some letters to the editor demonizing the Common Core State Standards and PARCC tests. One such letter appeared last week.
Unfortunately, it contained some misinformation, and also expressed some opinions which, in our view, are unfounded. So let’s be clear about the facts.
The implementation of Common Core State Standards and PARCC testing resulted in little if any incremental spending in the district. Curriculum upgrades and revisions take place routinely and systematically over a five-year cycle. Since New Jersey adopted the Common Core State Standards in 2010, alignment to the Common Core was taken, in stride, as part of that cycle.
No technology upgrades were necessary to implement the PARCC assessment. Technology improvements were already imbedded in the district’s technology plan, and were not undertaken to support PARCC.
Technology’s purpose in education is to take advantage of the best tools and software designed to augment instruction. The introduction of Chromebooks and Google-docs software has been enthusiastically welcomed by both teachers and students. They are recognized for their value in providing for collaborative study and student-teacher interaction and many other innovations.
The Board of Education, administrators, and teachers have a solemn duty to provide our students with the best opportunity to succeed in college and careers. College students constantly use their computers in their residences, the student union, and almost everywhere else. This applies to students of the liberal arts as well as the sciences.
Computer use is not incompatible to fostering a love of learning and development of critical thinking skills. It is a tool that enhances those qualities. We cannot be satisfied with preparing our students to live in some “technology-lite” society that no longer exists. If we want our students to compete globally, we need to prepare them for that reality.
Our media centers have not been converted to “test prep centers.” We have not diminished our excellent social studies, science or arts curriculum to focus on these assessments. Our students are not “watching lots of movies” because “their teachers are too busy to teach as much as they used to.” Movies are used for educational purposes and yes, at times, for rewards, but never because teachers are too busy to teach.
We have not devoted “endless hours” practicing for the PARCC tests. We did expose students to the assessment experience they were going to encounter just as some parents choose to expose their children to SAT, AP and ACT assessment.
Regarding “corporate greed,” we have textbooks and equipment with company logos throughout our schools. We use competitive pricing for all our purchases. Is a private sector company making a profit by serving the district somehow unethical? In our free enterprise system, which we teach to our students, opportunity to profit stimulates entrepreneurship, innovation, product development and efficiency. Success breeds job creation, prosperity and economic growth. This is a virtuous circle, not a “stench.”
These views are ours individually, not on behalf of the Board of Education.
MARCH 31, 2015 LAST UPDATED: TUESDAY, MARCH 31, 2015, 8:44 AM
BY MALCOLM HERBERT
FOR THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS |
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS
Building bridges – when it boils down to it, that’s a big part of what education is really all about.
The Kakehashi Project, operating with the slogan “The Bridge for Tomorrow,” extended that bridge to Ridgewood when 23 Japanese students visited the village as part of the cultural and educational exchange program.
The Kakehashi Project is the United States-focused portion of an effort by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan to “enhance bilateral youth exchange and mutual understanding” between the U.S. and Japan, according to the Ministry.
Ridgewood families hosted the Japanese students from Takamatsu High School from March 23 to 26. While in the village, the students “shadowed” fellow students at Ridgewood High School (RHS) by attending and participating in classes with them. The students will also visit San Francisco before returning to Japan.
The 23 Takmatsu students’ arrival in Ridgewood represents the second and final phase of the project. Last summer, 23 Ridgewood students took a 10-day trip to Japan, where they toured various parts of the country. They traveled through Tokyo and the mountainous Nagano Prefecture, exploring the cultures and educational foundations that have shaped that country.
Tokyo’s Fuchie High School served as the host school for the Ridgewood students. RHS was selected as one of just 47 American high schools to participate in the Kakehashi Project.
APRIL 1, 2015 LAST UPDATED: WEDNESDAY, APRIL 1, 2015, 10:19 AM
BY MALCOLM HERBERT
FOR THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS |
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS
The Ridgewood school district saved about $70,000 last year by installing solar panels at eight schools, and could be looking to increase those revenues by adding more solar energy units at the two middle schools.
Jim Wavle, president of Verterra Renewable Energy Group and a village resident, oversaw the installation of solar panels at all but two of Ridgewood’s public schools nearly three years ago. He was brought back by the Ridgewood Board of Education (BOE) to discuss possibly adding some more.
The potential new units would be set up at George Washington (GW) Middle School, which currently does not have any solar panels, and Benjamin Franklin (BF) Middle School, Wavle said at a BOE meeting last month.
Superintendent of Schools Daniel Fishbein reported that the district is exploring this possibility at this time because “the pricing point for us to expand our solar has come to a better point now.”
The district is considering a small solar project at GW and a larger, carport-based system at BF.
MARCH 27, 2015 LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY, MARCH 27, 2015, 8:24 AM
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS
Cambodia Club has new project
To the Editor:
Many would say that the Ridgewood Cambodia Club has been one of the most effective clubs in all of Ridgewood, and we would have to agree. The goal for Ridgewood’s Cambodia Club has been to build and enhance a school in a rural Cambodian village. Ridgewood students have been raising money and awareness to support this effort since 2007.
Our sister school, the Ridgewood Village School, was built through World Assistance for Cambodia, an independent nonprofit organization that is dedicated to improving opportunities for the youth and rural poor in Cambodia. The mission is to galvanize support for the people in Cambodia, where genocide occurred in the 1970’s. We are helping to rebuild the country through education.
With support from the Ridgewood community, the Ridgewood Village School was built in Cambodia and the dedication took place in February 2009. Since then, we have enhanced our sister school by providing the students with an English and computer teacher, an Internet connection, and a vegetable garden and outdoor kitchen. The garden and kitchen help to ensure that the students enjoy healthy lunches at school.
Our annual goal is to raise $5,500 to fund these enhancements. We have been successful in previous years and now the Ridgewood High School Cambodia Club is introducing our 55 Families Initiative to broaden the opportunity for more Ridgewood residents to get involved in our village-to-village effort. On top of the Ridgewood High School Cambodia Club, there are also active Cambodia Clubs at the George Washington and Benjamin Franklin Middle Schools. The Cambodia Club is not limited to just those schools though. All schools in Ridgewood are welcome to join us in our mission to help support the Ridgewood Village School in Cambodia.
Fifty-five Families is a way for caring members of the Ridgewood Community to be a part of the Ridgewood Cambodia Club. The 55 Families Initiative invites families to pledge $100 each to our club. Through this initiative, simply by engaging 55 families in a pledge, we can reach our annual fundraising goal. Any tax-deductible donation would be greatly appreciated and the students of the Ridgewood Village School in Cambodia would be on their way to a brighter future.
Checks can be made out to World Assistance for Cambodia with School #422 written on the memo line. Please send checks to: Liz Louizides, c/o Ridgewood Cambodia Club, 554 Linwood Avenue, Ridgewood, NJ, 07450.
We thank you all for your kind consideration and generous contributions.
Phase II Solar Proposal is Presented at the March 23 BOE Meeting
Click here to view the Verterra Phase II Solar Presentation presented at the March 23, 2015 Regular Public Meeting.
• Eight Ridgewood schools have been receiving a portion of their electricity from solar power since late 2012/early 2013 • Ridgewood High • BF Middle • Glen • Hawes • Orchard • Ridge • Somerville • Travell • Total installed solar capacity of 841 kW • 2014 solar energy production of ~875,000 kWh • 2014 savings from using solar energy ~$70,000
Additional Solar Potential :
GW Middle School • 34.77 kW Rooftop Mounted System • $0.117/kWh year 1 PPA Price with a 3% Escalator • Year 1 Savings ~$3,500 • 15-Year Savings Potential >$50,000 BF Middle School • 329.4 kW Carport Mounted System • $0.125/kWh year 1 PPA Price with a 3% Escalator • Year 1 Savings ~$18,000 • 15-Year Savings Potential >$275,000
Click here to view pictures of BFMS with the proposed solar panels
Readers challenge idea of a private corporation abridging students first amendment rights
“The Ridgewood Public Schools guards our data and only shares with state and federal officials the information that is required by law. We make every effort to teach our students about good digital citizenship and with the beginning next school year, we will teach it more formally through a Digital Citizenship Curriculum, from kindergarten through Grade 12.”DANIEL FISHBEIN
Students in New Jersey were told repeatedly that they had no choice about taking a test(PARCC) which then resulted in their private information being given to Pearson and also restricted their first amendment rights.
I love how all the NJ DOE apologists are glossing right over the fact that our schools were being asked by a private corporation to discipline a student. What’s next? If a kid tweets that the school lunch is disgusting, will the school punish him on behalf of Aramark??
Study by Niche Places Ridgewood High School as one of the 100 Best Public High Schools in New Jersey
March 26 ,2015
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, In a new ranking , Ridgewood High School came in at number 34 for its A grade in academics, A- in health and safety and A+ in teachers. The high school also received an A+ for extracurriculars and activities, an A for sports and fitness, a B+ for resources and facilities and a B- for student culture and diversity. https://k12.niche.com/rankings/public-high-schools/best-overall/s/new-jersey/
Niche Best Public High Schools ranks 14,431 high schools based on dozens of key statistics and 4.6 million opinions from 280,000 students and parents. A high ranking indicates that the school is an exceptional academic institution with a diverse set of high-achieving students who rate their experience very highly.
An additional 834 schools received a grade but were not eligible for ranking. The list includes magnet, charter, and online schools. https://k12.niche.com/rankings/public-high-schools/best-overall/methodology/
Tenafly High schools came in 8th , Nothern Highlands came in 21 , Pascack Hills came in 23 , Cresskill came in 24 , Nothern Valley 48 and Glen Rock 53 .
