>Geez! I was an HSA President at Travell when TERC was brought in. I didn’t like it then and I don’t like it now. As President and a member of Travell’s HSA, we didn’t have the luxury of “voting” for TERC. It was handed to us on a silver platter with many promises of how “life changing” it would be for our kids. It wasn’t an option that we could say yes or no to as I recall. I worked hard as President all the while registering my complaints that we shouldn’t have to pay for air conditioning and even voting “No” to the budget…which by the way I have never voted for. During my tenure it was true the Superintendent’s office gave me a letter to distribute to all parents after I signed it but it did not say to vote “FOR” the budget it just said “TO” vote. Anyone who came to my meetings should have been very clear about where I stood on the budget (which I spoke against at Federated meetings – much to the chagrin of Dr. Porter)and other expenses the parents were expected to pick up because the budget couldn’t support them. I feel really badly that some parents may have felt excluded by the “clique” of the HSA that was never MY intention as President. I was always grateful for the support (financial or otherwise) of all of our parents. I am very disappointed that so many parents feel this way, I’m sorry for that. Please don’t let any of that discourage you from supporting the Math Moms with their hardwork in getting TERC taken out of the district or getting involved in any way you feel comfortable. This system will only change if people are willing to speak up and change it.
>You are so right when you say the system will only change if people are willing to speak up and change it. Its past time for the HSA moms to bring up serious issues affecting our children. It seems that the administration and board only want to hear about all the money that is raised to cover expenses that they just don’t have money in the budget for.
>And since when does a ‘budget’ mean that you get everything you want? Once again, the powers that be seem to forget that ‘budget’ means working with the means you have…not getting money to cover what you want.
>Dear former HSA President, You sound as if you were a great president. Unfortunately, many truly enjoy hobnobbing with the powers that be and I believe that is where ” the clique mentality” originates. Checks and balances only work when all the parties are independant. That is the hardest thing about being invoved, trying to do the right thing and not creating enemies. I don’t know if it is possible. Everyone takes things too personally,including me.
>couldn’t agree more 8:02 that’s why I have never voted for the budget. Seems to me that the BOE should learn how to manage the money they have before sticking their hands out for more.
>This BOE will NEVER manage the money they have because they have willing HSAs at their beck and call to raise money from parents to pay for things that are rightly part of budget.
It’s called a “moral hazard,” and it allows entities, such as school boards, to use money on otherwise foolish and expensive fads (terc)because they can count on parents in Ridgewood picking up costs for things they say they can’t pay for.
Remember when the budget was voted down 2 yrs ago and our children were told that they wouldn’t have field trips because we couldn’t afford the buses because their parents didn’t support the budget.
Only scum of the earth would do that to little children!
>I choose to no longer go to HSA mtgs not because I feel “excluded” but because I see it as a colossal waste of time. It’a just about fundraising and parents are kept out of the loop when it comes to any areas that have to do with our children’s education.
The Orchard HSA, for instance, has about 50 committees. For goodness sakes, IBM doesn’t have 50 committees!
>Hey PJ- Would you mind posting this on the Blog- we have a big night comming up for http://www.stopvalley.com
Thank you for all of your support and for helping us to get the word out to all of our neighbors!
STOPVALLEY.com has secured our first formal presentation to the Village Planning Board! This meeting will be presented by two stopvalley members and will outline important information that is necessary in asking for consideration of the views of the Concerned Citizens of Ridgewood. Our date is September 17th at Ben Franklin’s Auditorium- please note the special location wich will provide enough space for everyon to attend. This meeting is not intended for public comment but it is vital that ALL concerned neighbors attend to both show support AND to gather information that they can respond to at the next meeting (date to be determined) which will be specifically for public comment! Please show you support and take the time to attend!
PJ- we will be posting this on Stopvalley.com this week- if you need to talk to us/confirm this just send an email to our helpdesk. Thanks again!
>Just curious … when TERC was brought in did the HSA inform its members to this “life changing” event?
And I wonder, when the HSA approved the money for TERC training – did it pause, reflect, and ask all of its members then?
HSA cant change things but they can help to inform the masses better.
>As an HSA, did you inform ALL of your members of this “life changing” event about to transpire on their kids? If so, how?
Also, when TRavell was asked for money for TERC teacher training, was ALL of the members of the HSA alerted to such use of funds (considering the unusual nature of such a request – kids fundraising to pay for professional development)
>Dear former HSA president,
Thank you for all your hard work on behalf of all the families. I’m glad to see that you don’t take stuff personally that is said here. There are numerous reasons for the high level of frustration that have nothing to do with you or even the HSA.
You were swimming against the tide while President. That must have been hard work. Rest assured, there are plenty of us (I’m one of them) that appreciate the hard work done by the HSA. I’ve always felt like an outsider, it has always felt like a clique to me, yet I have always also understood that they work hard. So from the outside looking in, I have always had gratitude. I may not like all their decisions, but that’s democracy.
Having had HSA experience, do you have any suggestions for the parents concerned about the math about how to proceed?
>The HSA President is Kelly Coakley. She outed herself in her original comment.
Thank you, Kelly. We need more HSA Presidents like you who dare to disagree with the administration.
I had kids in Travell when Kelly was president, and I know she worked very hard.
Maybe these discussions will help freshen up future HSA’s? Perhaps we need stronger personalities in the HSA. People more like Kelly.
There are those who just “go along” but that’s not what we need right now. And we definitely don’t need HSA Presidents saying things like “Let’s give TERC a chance.” Yikes.
Okay, all together now let’s sing, “All we are saying….is give TERC a chance.”
Laughing’s better than crying.
🙂
>When our children were in elementary school we would blindly vote yes for every budget. Then we started to see how the boe was wasting our taxpayer dollars and relying heavily on parental donations from every school. It was then that we started to VOTE NO on every budget. Until our boe can exercise fiscal responsibility we will continue to VOTE NO.
Former HSA & Federated parent
>My experience of the HSA has not been good, but that just may be something to doing with the school I was associated with. I’m sure that other schools have a more responsive and responsible HSA who are inclusive.
I am shocked however that the HSA of all Ridgewood schools will not do things because they are considered too controversial,
Examples would be: informing the parents with a letter and consequent meeting, about the safety concerns(air quality, noise, truck traffic, walking to school) Valley’s Expansion has for BF and Travell. This was discussed at Federated and considered not important to tell the parents about!
Also about doing something about the blatent smoking problem at the High School on the corner of Beverly.
Please HSA, be proactive about the safety of our kids and keep the parents better informed about what goes on at Federated. Not everyone can go to meetings.
>The superintendent and a representative board member are always in attendance at the Federated meetings. Sometimes I would sit at those meetings wishing the superintendent and board rep would just shut up. They definitely try to steer the moms in their direction.
>The new Orchard HSA President isn’t a wimp, so we shall see where the money will go.
I agree that you can’t say “If my budget isn’t approved, I won’t have a 3rd 5th grade teacher”.
Kill the spending for Open Circle for christmas sake…it’s like blackmail the excuses they use for the budget.
This year’s budget went for CMP2 in the middle schools…are you glad you voted for that?
>I agree. Public schools in rich districts like ours shouldn’t have to go to parents every year hat in hand. It’s not private school where parents actually have INFLUENCE over the education their children are receiving and are treated like real participants in the process.
I’ve actually overheard conversations where HSA moms compare how much Ridge raised compared to, say, Orchard, etc. It’s just sick that this awful atmosphere is fed like this. Folks, it’s PUBLIC SCHOOL.
>ohmigod, Please, yes. Stop Open Circle.
Why are we paying for such social engineering garbage?
>Unfortunately, New Jersey now requires a Character Education program. Open Circle qualifies, without having to put in something new.
>I agree with 11:24 a.m. Get rid of Open Circle! Get rid of TERC! Get rid of Botsford & Ives! Let’s get back to quality education in Ridgewood.
>A sad Travell rumor is that a highly regarded first grade teacher that bravely bucked the TERC system for years and is in extremely high demand by parents is being FORCED this year, despite all this outcry regarding TERC, to go with TERC 2 instead of the SAXON program she has been so successful with. This is a terrible shame. And such an insult to the hundreds of parents that LOVE this teacher and what this teacher accomplishes.
This teacher was so successful that parents in other classes complained that the kids in her class were ahead. Of course, perhaps we could respond by improving what was happening in the balance of the first grade classes. But no … what do we do at Travell, bring that teacher down. The lowest common denominator – of course, not many kids at Travell know what the lowest common denominator is anyway.
Maybe we’ll get lucky, maybe this is just a rumor.
>I would like to sincerely applaud Kelly for outing herself amid such a heated issue. Thank you.
Noticebly absent from this thread are the other Travell HSA mommies (with the Biggest Mouths) who also share the moniker of past president. Hey Gals….
come out – come out wherever you are!
>Why should everyone suddenly come here? This is just some stupid blog. We may enjoy posting here, but it’s sport.
The other HSA mommies might be using their time better than we are. Maybe they’re even trying to solve the math issue.
Things are often not what they seem. Refrain from judgment when you don’t know.
>It would be helpful if other HSA moms from Travell and Orchard would speak up. I hope they’re not trying to solve the math issue on their own. There is strength in numbers.
>”Unfortunately, New Jersey now requires a Character Education program. Open Circle qualifies, without having to put in something new.”
This is one of the current problems with public education, they are trying to solve the social problems rather than educate.
The thing that always annoyed me about this is that these programs “open circle” and “bullying” were created for the inner city…do we really have that many of these problems in Ridgewood…
We are not Newark but use the same curriculum and educational model.
>So many things I want to respond to on this thread that I don’t know where to begin. No we didn’t inform our HSA that TERC was being brought in to the school. We were not informed until everyone else was. There seems to be a misconception that our HSA Executive Committee was in the “know” regarding curriculum issues. We were not. If memory serves me, we were told at an HSA meeting during our Principal’s opening comments and heard it just like everyone else. As for the TERC professional development – again if my memory is correct – that was a hot button issue again brought up by our Principal at an HSA meeting during his opening comments. If I recall we tabled the vote until the meeting the following month so we could inform everyone that we were considering our Principal’s request.
One of the main reasons I’m no longer active within any of the HSAs of the schools my kids attend is frustration. I became very frustrated by the fact that no one was listening to me or anyone else. Maybe now that the BOE and administration are being exposed as ineffectual, things will change. Maybe we’ll even get candidates to run for the school board who can make a difference.
I had a great experience as President of Travell’s HSA but in the end was able to do nothing to make change happen. Sad, but true.
>Kelly for BOE…where do I sent the check?
>”Maybe now that the BOE and administration are being exposed as ineffectual, things will change. Maybe we’ll even get candidates to run for the school board who can make a difference.”
Kelly, thank you for everything you tried to do at Travell. And thank you for clearing up the misunderstanding.
I think this message board, even though it has some weirdos on it from time to time, is useful for good communication.
>”This is just some stupid blog.”
Did you just discover you have a computer?
Know you not the power of the Internet?
Trust me. Al Queda does.
>Hey 1:14, judgment is what a thinking brain does. I totally understand from your post why you feel the need to refrain from it.
Thank you.
>The other HSA presidents (past and present) need to come forward and support the Orchard and Travell HSA presidents (past and present). The non-TERC schools (Hawes, Sommerville, Ridge and Willard) are very very lucky not to have TERC. Orchard and Travell need your help. Thank you.
>Silly Somerville, Ridge and Willard … they forgot their kids will get reform math (ahem, dumb dumb math) in their middle school – its called CMP2 and don’t be fooled that its a 2nd version. TERC has a 2nd version.
>2:11…are you kidding…yes we do have those problems in ridgewood…bullying is a problem everywhere…I have seen it time and time again in elementary school….wake up….
>8:03 there is bullying everywhere but Open Circle is not the answer. In fact, it makes things worse. Kids learn to bully and not get caught by using some of the open circle methods they’ve been taught. Talk about a program backfiring.
The solution is for the principal to get the parents and child to accept responsibility for actions and to follow the schools rules.
You can count the bullies on one hand so it’s not too much to ask that the principal handle such problems with the individuals who are causing them.
Involving an entire class in repeated episodes of social destruction is way too much dysfunction for any typical child to have to manage.
The biggest failure of open circle is that it elevates small, manageable problems into large, unresolved ones.
Another stupid program from Wellesly College social engineers. Yes, they got a grant to develop it and eager, easy to sell teachers to go along with it. And our kids are its victims.
>11:26am
You are right. If there is bullying in the schools, the schools seem ineffective at stopping it. They almost seem to contribute to it with the “tattling” that they encourage. Children learn to throw others under the bus not for “at risk dangerous behavior” but for ridiculous infractions like exaggerating or telling a scary story.
Kids aren’t learning loyality to each other, they are learning to rat their friend out to get in the good graces with the teacher.
Did anyone see the slide in the High School survey that ask if kids feared bullying..something like 98% of them said “yes”.
Then the questionaired asked if they had ever been bullied…something like 97% of them said “no”.
Does the survey result say that the school created the “illusion” and “fear” of a bullying enviroment that doesn’t exist or did the school stop it from happening?
I don’t know the answer but it will be interesting to hear what other people think.
>1:51–
That’s an interesting survey. I’m in marketing and know for a fact that people will always “perceive” what they are taught to expect. If they are told bullying is a problem, they will repeat that when asked. If they are told it’s miniscule, they will repeat that when asked.
It is the adults in the schools who must be more responsible with language, their scare tactics and its impact on young, impressionable children.
Sadly, it is often our teachers who are buried under these administrative excesses. But what else are they hired to do? They get creative.
I think Botsford & Ives thought they were being creative when they sought to mold our children’s schooling around the TERC model.
He, he he. They woke a sleeping giant instead.
>Wow. I grew up in Ridgewood, then went and taught in the inner city. It’s interesting that Ridgewood is using TERC, which my old district used because it was supposed to be so great for urban students. If anyone is interested in the opinion of someone who has actually taught TERC and doesn’t have a vested interest in keeping a teaching job here or in blasting HSAs (sounds like they haven’t changed since I was a kid), please get in touch.
>jerseygirl89–tell us more!
>Dear jerseygirl89 … Please go on the math mom’s website Vormath.info and talk to them.
Oh, and continue to go on PJ’s blog, too.
>I agree with the previous posts concerning Open Circle. This should be eliminated. It’s used at Orchard and there is still a LOT of bullying going on. Also, the kids feel that it’s tattling.
Just think, if we got rid of open circle and TERC, the schools would have much more time to teach traditional math. What a concept!
>Thankfully many Orchard teachers have realized that Open Circle is a terribly ill-conceived program and only pretend to do it.
We remain grateful for such teachers who always rely on their common sense to help them navigate the rough shoals of administrative hubris, thus sparing our children the malpractice of educational dysfunction.