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, Due to two recent separate positive COVID-19 cases of unknown origin, Orchard Elementary School will transition to all remote learning tomorrow, Tuesday, December 1, 2020. In person instruction will resume on Tuesday December 15, 2020. Orchard Elementary School students should not participate in out of school activities during this time of remote learning. The situation is fluid and updated information from the NJDOH may alter this return date.
photos by Boyd Loving
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, In July 2018, after a fire occurred in a classroom at the district’s Willard Elementary School. A subsequent inspection of a “smart plug” installations identified other similar devices at Willard and Orchard Elementary School that exhibited heat damage leading the district to promptly remove the devices in August 2018.
Continue reading Ridgewood Schools Sues Electrical Contractors Over Faulty “Smart Plugs”
“An independent investigation should be conducted to determine if criminal charges should be filed in connection with this matter. I’m beginning to wonder if Frances Edwards’ illness and subsequent death was due to the Board of Education’s failure to address soil contamination issues at the Orchard Elementary School. Ms. Edwards and her family lived directly across from the school for several years, and lived there at the time of her untimely death. Frances and her husband Joseph Alvaro had many disputes with the Ridgewood Public School System. Could they have been targeted? That is, did someone know toxic runoff from chemicals at Orchard were flowing into the Alvaro’s residential property and would eventually result in illness and/or death?”
November 2,2017
the staff of The Ridgewood Blog
Ridgewood NJ, Village Council members are now considering approval of a Soil Movement Permit in connection with construction work on the Dayton housing project, located at the old Brogan Cadillac site on South Broad Street.
During Wednesday evening’s Village Council Work Session, Village Engineer Christopher Rutishauser informed Council members that current plans call for approximately 400 large dump trucks full of soil to use a route which would require them all to exit the site and head southbound on South Broad Street into Glen Rock.
Citizen concerns were expressed as to the appropriateness of directing 400 large dump trucks full of dirt directly into a neighborhood consisting mostly of single family residences, along a primary walking route to and from the Orchard Elementary School, and into neighboring Glen Rock. Mayor Susan Knudsen indicated that given the aforementioned concerns, alternative routes would be reviewed and considered.
The Council is scheduled to formally vote on the Permit during a public meeting next Wednesday evening, November 8th.
August 9,2017
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, According to Niche.com Ridgewood School District was ranked 15th in the state of New Jersey out of 237 districts.
Niche.com’s does an annual ranking based on test scores, college data ,ratings and information from the U.S. Department of Education.
Niche is a website that helps you discover the schools and neighborhoods that are right for you. We rigorously analyze dozens of public data sets and millions of reviews to produce comprehensive rankings, report cards, and profiles for K-12 Schools, Colleges, and Places to Live. Every month, millions of families use Niche to research public and private K-12 schools.
The Niche 2018 K-12 Rankings are 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. Because we have the most comprehensive data in the industry, we’re able to provide a more comprehensive suite of rankings across all school types.
Families from every corner of America and every background use Niche to research schools, so our rankings are intended to be useful to a wide range of families and filterable by type and location. Our rankings strive to reflect the entire school experience, including academics, teachers, diversity, student life, and student outcomes. We also believe that each school is so much more than just one ranking number. That’s why we have in-depth profiles on each school and district and also assess them across a number of factors to produce annual graded Report Cards for each school and district. This year, nearly 100,000 schools and districts received a Niche ranking and 2018 Report Card.
Niche gave Ridgewood an overall grade of A+, receiving high marks for college prep, academics and sports.
Ridgewood teachers also scored 13th best in the state and Ridgewood scored a 39th best in places to teach in.
All Ridgewood Schools received an A grade with three schools, Ridgewood High School, Hawes Elementary School and Orchard Elementary School, receiving an outstanding A+.