Category: Village of Ridgewood

MAP® Formative Assessment

Formative Assessment Presentation is October 17 Since the fall of 2008, the Ridgewood Public Schools has administered online formative assessment to all students in Grades 3 through 8. Formative assessments help teachers gain an understanding of students’ strengths and weaknesses. For the 2012-2013 school year, the Board of Education has approved the use of MAP (Measures of Academic Progress) as its online formative assessment program.

As part of the district’s continuing curriculum outreach efforts, a presentation will be held on MAP on Wednesday, October 17 at 7:30 p.m. Parents, guardians and the general public are invited to come to the Education Center, 49 Cottage Place, floor 3, to hear Jim Tilghman, Professional Representative of Northwest Evaluation Association and producer of MAP

Since the Fall of 2008, the Ridgewood Public Schools has been administering an online formative assessment to all students in Grades 3 through 8. Formative assessments help teachers to know and understand their students’ strengths and opportunities for improvement, providing valuable information about what students already know and what may require additional reinforcement.

The Ridgewood Public Schools had formerly used an online formative assessment that was funded through the New Jersey Department of Education. In 2010-2011, the assessment company’s contract with the New Jersey Department of Education ended. In 2011-2012 the
district examined various options, and, in May of 2012, the Ridgewood Board of Education approved the use of NWEA (Northwest Evaluation Association) MAP® (Measures of Academic Progress®) as its online formative assessment.

Students in Grades 3 through 8 will take two online assessments each year in Reading and Mathematics. We expect that the computer-delivered nature of these assessments will promote a more student-friendly experience than that of high-stakes tests; this is appropriate
since there are no “stakes” attached to these tests – only information to guide instruction. Although the assessment is not timed, most students take one class period to complete each subject area. The assessment adapts to each student, giving harder or easier questions based
on correct and incorrect responses. It identifies an instructional level by moving toward questions that each student is likely to get right 50% of the time and to get wrong 50% of the time. That instructional level becomes information that teachers use to modify and adjust
their instruction in the classroom.

Since MAP® is not a standardized test, scheduling is flexible, and results do not become part of a student’s record. MAP® is used by teachers as a planning tool for the sole purpose of informing instruction; therefore, test preparation is neither required nor desirable, and neither
test notification nor test reports are sent home.

There will be two administrations of MAP® during the 2012 – 2013 school year. We anticipate testing windows of September 18 through October 5, 2012, and January 22 through February 8, 2013.

As always, and in accordance with District policy, parents/guardians are welcome at any time to contact their principal to review their child’s progress

No more pencils, no more books: Are school librarians becoming obsolete?

Once the staple of nearly every school, the school librarian and media specialist is feeling a bit under-appreciated — if not under siege — these days.

Over the past five years, the number of certified library/media specialists in New Jersey’s public schools has dropped by almost 15 percent, according to the statewide association, and its own membership has been cut almost in half.

There were 1,580 certified specialists statewide last year, down from 1,850 in 2007-2008, serving roughly 2,500 schools.

The biggest contributor to the drop was the state’s budget crisis two years ago. Library positions were some of the first to be cut by districts looking to trim staff, association officers and local officials said. (Mooney, NJ Spotlight)

https://www.njspotlight.com/stories/12/09/25/are-school-librarians-becoming-obsolete/

princeton university

Student debt hits a record 1 in 5 households
September 26,2012
the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ, According to analysis by the Pew Research Center student debt has stretched to a record number nearly 1 in 5 of U.S. households,

The analysis by the Pew Research Center found that 22.4 million households, or 19 percent of US households had college debt in 2010. That is double the share in 1989, and up from 15 percent in 2007, just prior to the recession . This represents the biggest three-year increase in student debt in more than two decades.

Pew found that the increase in debt was driven by higher tuition costs as well as rising college enrollment during the economic downturn. The biggest jumps occurred in households at the two extremes of the income range.

More well-off families are digging deeper into their pockets to pay for costly private colleges, while lower-income people in search of higher-wage jobs are borrowing money and enrolling in community colleges, public universities and other schools as a way to boost their resumes.

Because of the very weak economy, fewer college students than before are able to settle into full-time careers immediately upon graduation, contributing to a jump in debt among lower-income households as the young adults take on part-time jobs or attend graduate school, according to Pew.

FOOD POLICE: Students strike against new federal school lunch rules

Mukwonago – By 7 a.m. Monday, senior Nick Blohm already had burned about 250 calories in the Mukwonago High School weight room.

He grabbed a bagel and a Gatorade afterward; if he eats before lifting, he gets sick.

That was followed by eight periods in the classroom, and then three hours of football practice. By the time he headed home, he had burned upward of 3,000 calories – his coach thinks the number is even higher.

But the calorie cap for his school lunch? 850 calories.

“A lot of us are starting to get hungry even before the practice begins,” Blohm said. “Our metabolisms are all sped up.”

Following new federal guidelines, school districts nationwide have retooled their menus to meet new requirements to serve more whole grains, only low-fat or nonfat milk, daily helpings of both fruits and vegetables, and fewer sugary and salty items. And for the first time, federal funds for school lunches mandate age-aligned calorie maximums. The adjustments are part of the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 touted by Michelle Obama and use the updated Dietary Guidelines for Americans from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

The changes are hard to swallow for students like Blohm. On Monday, 70% of the 830 Mukwonago High students who normally buy lunch boycotted cafeteria food to protest what they see as an unfair “one size fits all thing.” Middle schoolers in the district also boycotted their school lunches, with counts down nearly half Monday. They’re not alone in their frustration; schools across the country are reporting students who are unhappy with the lunch offerings.

https://www.jsonline.com/news/education/students-strike-against-new-federal-school-lunch-rules-t96t7sp-170124676.html

Dr. Fishbein claims drop in NJ Monthly School rankings due to the fact that RHS students are required to take the AP tests, while other schools do not have that requirement.
September 12,2012
the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ, Superintendent Daniel Fishbein commented on the NJ Monthly School rankings where Ridgewood High School (RHS) has dropped eight spots in the past two years in a biennial ranking of New Jersey’s top 100 public high schools.

Ridgewood Superintendent Daniel Fishbein gave a brief overview of comparative data from the recent NJ Monthly high school rankings. According to Dr.Fishbein Ridgewood High School (RHS) performed as well as, or better than, surrounding schools in Bergen County that were ranked higher by the magazine.

The AP test score category is the one area that RHS did not score as high; this discrepancy may be due to the fact that RHS students are required to take the AP tests, while other schools do not have that requirement.

RHS 2012 Varsity Football Schedule – All Home Games Are Night Games?
September 14,2012
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
8:13 PM

Ridgewood NJ, Weren’t the residents who live near RHS advised that there would be a limited number of night football games in response to concerns they expressed about the installation of stadium lights?

Well, it would appear that every single home football game in the 2012 season will be played at night.

https://www.maxpreps.com/high-schools/ridgewood-maroons-(ridgewood,nj)/football/schedule.htm

PT Barnum proven correct again. There is indeed a sucker born every minute!

Willard  is Named  a National Blue Ribbon School
September 11, 2012

Ridgewood NJ  – Willard Elementary School has been named a 2012 National Blue Ribbon School by the United States Department of Education. The announcement was made last week by the U. S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan.

Willard is one of only 269 schools in the nation to receive the award. Willard earned the Blue Ribbon designation for its overall academic excellence, in the category of “Exemplary High Performing.”

“It is a great honor for the entire Ridgewood Public Schools district that Willard School has been named a 2012 National Blue Ribbon winner,” said Dr. Daniel Fishbein, Superintendent of Schools. “The Willard School community serves as a prime example of the Ridgewood Public Schools tradition of excellence. Principal Marianne Williams, the Willard School teachers and the support staff are to be congratulated for the hard work that they do every day with the children. They are also to be complimented on the hard work that went into the Blue Ribbon application process, which required much commitment and effort from many members of the Willard community over a lengthy period of time.”

Principal Marianne Williams will travel to Washington, D.C. on November 12 to attend a recognition ceremony given by the U. S. Department of Education honoring the approximately 219 public and 50 private schools that won National Blue Ribbon awards. The award comes at a particularly big moment in the history of Willard Elementary School, which just completed a year of celebrating its 100th anniversary.

Much of that anniversary year was spent tackling the Blue Ribbon application, a rigorous process undertaken by several Willard School administrators and staff members, following notification of the school’s nomination by New Jersey Department of Education officials. The application was then vetted for acceptance before the final certification as a National Blue Ribbon Award winner.

YWCA Before and After School Programs

YWCA Before and After School Programs operate each day during the school year at Hawes, Orchard, Somerville, Ridge, Somerville, and Willard

Schools. Children enjoy healthy snacks, participate in games, art projects and outdoor play, and are given time do homework. The YWCA staffs each school with a Site Supervisor and Recreation Counselors who are ready and waiting before the dismissal bell rings. Children may enroll at any time during the school year. Financial assistance is available to income-eligible families.

YWCA Before and After School Programs are licensed by the State of New Jersey, Department of Children & Families. Before School Program hours: 7:15 a.m. – first bell of school After School Program hours: dismissal time until 7 p.m. Onsite programs offered at: For information call 201-444-5600, ext. 352, or for a registration form visit www.ywcabergencounty.org.