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Windsor Bergen Academy in Ridgewood gets New Playground

WINDSOR BERGEN ACADEMY

September 17,2016

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ, Windsor Bergen Academy in Ridgewood gets a new playground . According to their Facebook page “A day of pure bliss! Thank you to everyone who made play possible at WBA! We could not be more grateful to the volunteers, donors and especially KaBOOM! and PSE&G Foundation for making the tremendous playground possible”

Before the event Windsor Bergen Academy released a statement on Facebook , “With the help of over 125 volunteers we will build our playground on September 15, 2016! We can hardly wait! We are still in need of volunteers on Build Day and Prep Day ( September 13/14) , if you or anyone you know wishes to help build please contact us to register as a volunteer”

Windsor Bergen Academy (Grades Pre-K through 8) is a state-approved, nonprofit, private school located in Ridgewood NJ, for classified students who exhibit learning, behavioral and attention disorders and require a therapeutic environment to address their social, emotional, behavioral, and academic needs.

It is also the home of ; The R.I.S.E. (Recognizing and Inspiring Student Excellence)Program, located at Windsor Bergen Academy, is a specialized preschool for children ages 3 to 5 years old. It is a comprehensive early intervention program, which utilizes a strengths-based approach to promote social and emotional growth, school readiness and overall wellness.

Windsor Bergen Academy is located on 56 Passaic St, Ridgewood, NJ 07450 (201) 857-4785

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Governor Chris Christie Moves to Break the Cycle of Educational Failure in the Abbott Districts

School Choice by ArtChick
file photo by ArtChick
September 16,2016

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Trenton NJ, Governor Chris Christie announced the Christie administration went to court on behalf of New Jersey taxpayers, to the Supreme Court, to say three things:” First, that this funding formula has failed for 30 years and that it needs to be overturned. Second, that the real thing that’s preventing us from teaching kids in these districts are the ridiculous work rules that are imposed upon us by statute and by collective bargaining agreements with the teachers union that prevents us from doing common sense things like, if there are going to be layoffs in our schools, that we should layoff the least effective teachers, not do layoffs, as we are required to do by state law, based purely upon seniority. If you’re there the longest you get to keep your job. If you’re there the shortest you lose your job. How does that ensure that children are getting a thorough and efficient system of education? And, how is it that in Camden, one of the worst school districts in the state, the union contract requires only four hours and forty five minutes of instruction for every seven and a half hour day that a teacher puts in. Four hours and forty-five minutes of instruction for every seven and a half hour day a teacher puts in. It’s these kinds of work rules and collective bargaining agreements that we are stuck with in this state that prevents these kids from having, in urban districts, that what they really need. Let’s talk about what happens in a lot of these urban districts, what happens is that the family life isn’t there often, to support what you need to do to make sure that your kids do well in school. Now sometimes this is because of broken homes but sometimes it’s in intact homes and because those families are struggling to make ends meet, sometimes those folks have to work three or four jobs to keep a roof over their heads, And when you have to do that you’re not going to be home at 3 o’clock when the kids get home from school. So who’s checking when they’re going to do their homework? Who’s encouraging them to do their reading. Who’s sitting down with them to help them do their math?  It’s not happening. So what should we do? Should we just give up on those kids and give up on those families who out of no fault of their own, are just working 15, 16 hours a day to keep a roof over their head. In those districts, we should have a longer school day. In those districts we should have a longer school year. If those children are falling behind, let’s spend more time with them. That kind of result, we should be willing to pay for. “Gov. Christie On Urban Education: We’re Tired Of Paying For Failure, We Need This System To Change

Christie went on to say, “I’ve had enough of sitting back and waiting. I’ve tried negotiating with the legislature. I’ve tried negotiating with the teacher’s union. I’ve tried every other course, today my patience has run out. For the first time, it’s your governor going to the court and saying enough is enough, on behalf of the people of this state we’re tired of paying for failure we need this system to change, we filed that today and we’re going to fight for you in the Supreme Court rather than have the educational interest being the ones who are always fighting there with her handouts saying they need more of your money. And the fact is no one knows how it is going to go but I’m not going to sit back and be a bystander in this. I want urban education to get better in this state. I want those families to have an opportunity for their children to achieve their fullest potential. I also want your families to be able to continue to live here. “
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Your Zip Code Should Not Determine Your Success in New Jersey

kids- ArtChick

file photo by ArtChick

August 14,2016

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ, the Franklin Center, a non-profit, public-interest media and public policy organization invited the Ridgewood blog to attend  their “Amplify School Choice” conference in Denver.

The conference took place all day Thursday, August 11 through noon on Friday, August 12 at the SpringHill Suites in downtown Denver. Over 50 of America’s top bloggers and citizen journalists attended the event .

While we are advantaged with quality schools in Ridgewood , it is simply not true for so many parents and so many young people in New Jersey . We have all read about chronically under preforming schools  all over New Jersey . The reality is your zip determines your educational opportunities and success.

The fact is urban education, despite 30 years of New Jersey Supreme Court required intervention by the state, is still failing students and their parents at an alarming rate.  The theory from the Supreme Court was that money would solve the problem.

“But as we have all become aware is , “The Abbott school experiment is a colossal failure because it is based on the theory that throwing money at a problem fixes it. Problems facing urban schools are cultural and socio-economic. When people in power face up to that, we can make progress.
There’s not a lot of political profiles in courage because it is easier to toss tax money or make excuses than to say until underlying causes are dealt with, it won’t get any better, just more expensive with more kids’ lives wasted. A few politicians do get it.  (Ingle, Gannett)
https://www.app.com/article/20110821/NJCOLUMNIST06/308210033/-1/NJCOLUMNIST/BOB-INGLE-Nutter-delivers-a-message-to-youth

Not only have the policy been a abysmal failure but the cost to non “Abbott School” tax payers has been astronomical.

Governor Chris Christie pointed out recently the , ” New Jersey spends the 3rd most in the nation per pupil on K-12 education.  For the upcoming fiscal year we spend 13.3 billion dollars on aid to K-12 education.  How do we spend it?  $9.1 billion goes back to school districts in direct aid.  $3.25 billion is to pay for the pensions and health benefits for retired teachers.   $936 million goes to pay the debt on schools, mostly in urban districts, to build new schools.  $13.3 billion—and that does not count the money paid in local property taxes.

Who gets the $9.1 billion? Well, that begins to tell the story.  By order of the Supreme Court, and coerced acquiescence by the elected branches of government, this coming year $5.1 billion goes to the 31 urban or SDA districts.  $4 billion goes to the remaining 546 districts.  That’s right.  58% of the aid from the state’s taxpayers goes to 5% of the state’s school districts. 42% of the aid goes to the remaining 95% of our districts. This is absurd.  This is unfair.  This is not working.  And it hasn’t been working for 30 years.”

This is why Govenour Chris Christie has proposed giving all school districts same amount of aid, and provide some towns like Ridgewood property tax relief.

It is clearly time for some new ideas , and new student centered education policies . Here are a few we discussed at  the  “Amplify School Choice” conference in Denver.

School choice: a wide array of programs offering students and their families alternatives to publicly provided schools, to which students are generally assigned by the location of their family residence.

Open Enrollment : the process by which parents/guardians residing in a district may enroll their children into any school district in New Jersey.

Charter Schools:  a publicly funded independent school established by teachers, parents, or community groups under the terms of a charter with a local or national authority.

Home Schooling : A “must read” for new homeschoolers! In New Jersey, the Legislature under the compulsory education law (N.J.S.A. 18A:38-25) has permitted children to receive “equivalent instruction elsewhere than at school,” including the home.