The Ridgewood Blog Brings a Free Market Laissez-faire Point of View to Local, New Jersey State and National Issues.
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, in a bold move to reshape American education, President Donald Trump has declared that most of the programs within the Department of Education provide no value to students and will be eliminated, redirecting funds directly to the states.
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, President Donald Trump took a significant step toward eliminating the U.S. Department of Education, signing an executive order on Thursday aimed at downsizing the federal agency and shifting education responsibilities back to the states.
Continue reading President Trump Signs Executive Order to Dismantle the Department of Education
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
New York NY, the Trump administration has revoked $400 million in federal funding for Columbia University, citing “relentless violence, intimidation, and anti-Semitic harassment” on campus. The decision, announced by the Department of Education, comes as part of a broader crackdown on universities that fail to comply with anti-discrimination laws.
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Washington DC, President Donald Trump has escalated his efforts to overhaul federal agencies, signing a new order this week that calls for sweeping reductions in force (RIFs) across multiple departments. This latest move is part of a broader initiative led by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which aims to downsize the federal workforce and cut spending.
Continue reading President Trump’s Government Overhaul Intensifies: Mass Firings and Agency Cuts
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, how do U.S. students compare with their peers around the world? Despite being one of the world’s leading economies, the United States continues to face challenges in education, particularly in math and science, according to international assessments. As new education policies loom under the incoming Trump administration, these results provide a backdrop for what changes may lie ahead.
the staff of the Ridewood blog
Ridgeood NJ, if you have federal student loans, you probably got an email last month from Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona. (The email address it showed was noreply@studentaid.gov.) It has important information about your options for loan forgiveness. While that email is legit, scammers spread fake information about your student loans to try to get money or information from you.
Continue reading Don’t Get Scammed with Federal Student Loans
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, the School Ethics Commission is a nine-member body with the power to issue advisory opinions, receive complaints, receive and retain disclosure statements, conduct investigations, hold hearings, and compel the attendance of witnesses and the production of documents as it may deem necessary to enforce the School Ethics Act. School Ethics Commission Members are appointed by and serve at the pleasure of the Governor. The Commission is established in the New Jersey Department of Education. The Commission holds its Meetings every month on the fourth Tuesday, except for the December meeting. Commission meetings are held in the Department of Education Building, 100 Riverview Plaza, First Floor Conference Room, Trenton, New Jersey. Click here for directions to the Trenton location.
Continue reading School Ethics Commission New Jersey Department of Education
Dear Members of the Class of 2020, Parents, and Guardians:
The Wayne Board of Education met in executive session on June 8th to discuss our legal challenges regarding graduation. We know you have been through much and we hope this letter will provide clarity with regard to the intent of the Wayne Township Public Schools and plans for a graduation ceremony to be held in your honor on July 30th. The Wayne Board of Education wants nothing more than to give all our seniors the graduation they deserve on the field at their home schools with all our staff and principals in attendance.
May 11, 2020
Dear Ridgewood School Community,
This weekend, all school districts in New Jersey were notified by the Department of Education, with a follow-up letter from the State Director of Emergency Management, that as per Executive Order No. 107, all high school graduations and other ceremonies, promotions, and events must be conducted virtually until the restrictions outlined in the order have been lifted. According to the directives we received on the evening of Friday, May 8, in-person activities are not permitted. The State Director of Emergency Management, Colonel Patrick J. Callahan, stated, “In light of the components of Executive Order No. 107, and in the best interest of the health and safety of the public, in-person ceremonies, including graduations, all parades, including “wave parades,” that invite people to gather at a certain location, proms, and other similar celebrations violate the enumerated conditions of the order, and should, therefore, be canceled or postponed until such time as these restrictions are lifted. Until such time, virtual celebrations and other remote forms of recognition should take the place of any in-person or public ceremonies.” Consequently, our plan for the Ridgewood High School graduation video, which involved individual students walking in front of RHS to be filmed for our virtual graduation video, is canceled. This is extremely disappointing, and I know how difficult this news will be for our seniors and their families. Our school administrators will do whatever they can within these rules to make our graduation and promotion ceremonies as special as possible under these unfortunate circumstances.
Continue reading Ridgewood Superintendent of Schools Dr. Fishbein Gets the Word , No “Wave Parades”
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, NICHE put together a list of the 2020 Best School Districts ranking is based on rigorous analysis of academic and student life data from the U.S. Department of Education along with test scores, college data, and ratings collected from millions of Niche users.
Continue reading Ridgewood Schools Ranked in the Top 25 Statewide
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, Niche ranked the best teachers serving in Bergen County . Ranking based on student and parent ratings of teachers, teacher salaries, teacher absenteeism, teacher tenure, student-teacher ratio, and the Niche Academics Grade for the school.
The 2019 High Schools with the Best Teachers ranking is based on rigorous analysis of academic and teacher data from the U.S. Department of Education along with millions of reviews from students and parents. Ridgewood High School came in #7 in the county , just ahead of Pascack Hills #8, Glen Rock #9 and Mahwah #10, but behind Bergen County Academies #1, Northern Highlands #2, Bergen County Technical #3 , Fairlawn #4 ,Northern Valley Demarest #5 , and Northern Valley Old Tappan #6 .
https://www.niche.com/k12/search/best-teachers-public-high-schools/c/bergen-county-nj/
By William J. Bennett
Published May 11, 2017
Fox News
Students of history know that governments rarely give up power without a fight. To paraphrase Edmund Burke, those who have been intoxicated with power never willingly abandon it. Yet, last year, the federal government passed a new education law which returns a significant amount of power and decision-making authority to states, districts and schools.
The bi-partisan passage of the Every Student Succeeds Act creates a unique and exciting opportunity for improving American education. The law explicitly bars the Department of Education from dictating or influencing standards or curricula at the federal level, and states and districts have a wide range of new liberties when it comes to developing accountability systems, testing and content.
But with this newfound freedom from Washington comes a newfound responsibility for excellence at the state and district level. We cannot confuse local control with laissez faire. State and local leaders must embrace this opportunity and lift expectations, not relax them.
BY ALAN M. COLLINGE – 05/13/16 07:00 AM EDT
When he announced his candidacy in 2007, Barack Obama looked like he could be the one to finally stand up to the student lending system. He was one of only two members on the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) committee not to have taken money from the Sallie Mae PAC. In this position he was privy to HELP Committee and other reports detailing a broad swath of illegal and deceptive activities by the lenders, the universities, and even the Department of Education.
His rhetoric about making college “affordable” sounded great. The deletion of most every standard consumer protection (like bankruptcy and statutes of limitations) from student loans had caused a hyper-inflationary market, and a systemically predatory lending system that was lives and livelihoods of millions of people. The nation’s student loan debt had skyrocketed to $450 billion, and the Department of Education had actually begun turning a profit on defaults.
So when Obama was elected, largely due to overwhelming support from young people, it was assumed that he would make things right. But he did nothing to bring back any standard consumer protections. His administration did nothing to curb the predatory collection powers of the student lending system. College prices increased faster than previously, and today the average undergraduate is now leaving school with $35,000 in debt, up from about $17,000 when Obama announced.
By the time Obama leaves office next year, the nation will have added $1 Trillion to its student debt tab.
What the Obama administration did do was great for the federal government, not the students. Obama federalized the system to where the government now profitsimmensely from both interest on loans it makes directly to students, and defaults. To say that the federal government now sits atop the most predatory lending system in our nation’s history is not an understatement.
