Tag: Ridgewood NJ

Urbanization: I went into the discussion unbiased, and came out furious with the idea of rezoning the town.

I spent the morning in a Ridgewood resident’s home at a “coffee” with the Mayor to discuss the multi-family development projects with a group of residents. I went into the discussion unbiased, and came out furious with the idea of rezoning the town. I now believe the high density projects will ruin the town on so many levels, but most importantly our school system, parking and safety.

His claim is that changing the zoning laws for the developers (btw anyone can build a high rise once it is changed) will benefit businesses and a few mysterious “empty nesters” and retirees.  I find it hard to believe that people downsizing are willing to pay $3000 a month for a luxury one bedroom (that’s what they are asking for). I also find it hard to believe that an Applebees (proposed at the Brogan site) will help businesses like Daily Treat, Raymonds and East Coast Burger. I don’t know why the planning board would permanently change the master plan to appease a few developers and disregard the burden on our schools and infrastructure. Let them build, but they should work within existing zoning restrictions.

People should attend Tuesday nights 3/19/13 Planning Board Meeting for more information. This is the last public hearing until closed discussions begin in September, and the agenda is solely on the development projects. (Valley is going to take over planning meetings through June). Supposedly, at the last planning meeting on the subject, they almost put it to a vote right then and there. There is a feeling that they are trying to slip this through.

Parents, Experts Blast New State Database of Private Student Info
Thursday, Mar 14, 2013  |  Updated 12:02 PM EDT

Parents and privacy experts are blasting a new national database that compiles personal student information for educational companies that contract with public schools.

New York State officials, working with the city, have already uploaded students’ names, addresses, test scores, learning disabilities, attendance and disciplinary records into the inBloom database, according to the Daily News.

Educational companies can use the data to create teaching tools for students.

https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/Student-Information-Database-New-York-City-Education-Contract-197983051.html

Non-Teaching School Staff Costing Taxpayers Money
Lindsey Burke
March 4, 2013 at 5:01 pm
https://tinyurl.com/al5supg

The U.S. public education system has seen an enormous increase in staff over the past few decades. But unlike private companies, which base staffing decisions on product demand, the number of school staff positions has increased rapidly without a commensurate increase in the number of students served by the system.

A new report by the Friedman Foundation for Educational Choice highlights just how bad the school staffing surge has become:

Public schools grew staffing at a rate four times faster than the increase in students [from 1950 to 2009]. Of those personnel, teachers’ numbers increased 252 percent, while administrators and other non-teaching staff experienced growth of 702 percent, more than seven times the increase in students.

The Friedman report points out that there are 21 “top-heavy states” that employ more non-teaching personnel in the school system than teaching personnel. Benjamin Scafidi, the report’s author, writes that “Virginia ‘leads the way’ with 60,737 more administrators and other non-teaching staff than teachers in its public schools.” In another example, the report points out that the state of Maine experienced an 11 percent decline in students from 1992 to 2009, yet it increased the number of administrators and other non-teaching personnel in its public schools by 76 percent.

That’s the type of staffing surge that, if reversed, could save some $24 billion annually, Friedman estimates.

The Friedman Foundation’s research mirrors Heritage findings on the dramatic increases in education staff over the decades. Since 2000, the percentage of teachers as a portion of school staff has decreased by nearly 3 percent; since 1970, that percentage has declined by 16.5 percent. Notably, the percentage of teachers as a portion of school staff has decreased more than 28 percent since 1950. Today, teachers comprise just half of all education jobs.

Not surprisingly, academic achievement and graduation rates have shown little to no improvement over the same time period.

States should consider cutting costs in areas that are long overdue for reform and should refrain from continuing to increase the number of non-teaching staff in public schools. As the Friedman report concludes: “The policy of increasing public school staffing does not appear to improve student achievement—despite its massive and on-going cost to taxpayers.”

https://tinyurl.com/al5supg

Super Science Saturday – Fun and Learning for the Whole Family on March 9

Whether your interests range from robotics, to auto-guided planes or hatching baby chicks, Super Science Saturday features interesting exhibits for everyone. This celebration of science and technology, now in its 25th year, will be from 9 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Saturday, March 9 at Ridgewood High School, 627 East Ridgewood Avenue.Admission is free.

New exhibits this year include how solar energy works, demonstrations on polymer chemistry, rockets powered by Alka Seltzer, displays of gliders from the Bergen County Academy of Model Aeronautics and the Ridgewood High School orchestra showcasing the science behind musical instruments. Other highlights include a Franklin Institute show on “Life in Space,” hundreds of exhibits and demonstrations, the “Great Paper Airplane Contest,” the Bergen Community College solar telescope and model rocket launches on the high school football field.

A special guest this year will be Amy Freeze, meteorologist with WABC-TV in New York. She will demonstrate how scientists measure atmospheric pressure, wind currents and other factors to make weather predictions.

To celebrate its 25th anniversary, Super Science Saturday has a special activity this year: attendees are invited to participate in a 25-foot egg drop contest. Attendees of all ages will be supplied with kits, which they can use to protect their eggs from breaking on
impact.

Each year, Super Science Saturday attracts hundreds of student exhibitors, and interactive demonstrations from dozens of amateur and professional scientists. Students from any school system, as well as adult hobbyists and professional scientists, are invited to share their love of science with the community.

Started by a Ridgewood science teacher and a handful of students and parents in 1987,Super Science Saturday is a non-competitive event designed for fun, understanding and appreciation of science and technology in our daily lives.

Super Science Saturday is funded by The Valley Hospital, Ridgewood’s not-for-profit hospital, and Ridgewood Education Foundation, which provides grants to enhance and support the quality of education in Ridgewood public schools.

Reader says  The Valley expansion and the Downtown Projects are going to strangle Village life

I am a Westsider seemingly immune to the new Projects and the Valley expansion. I could live out the rest of my life never having to drive by either one.

But, I care for the Village and so won’t stick my head in the sand. The Valley expansion and the Downtown Projects are going to strangle Village life. I do have a self-interest i suppose — my million dollar home won’t be worth as much as it is now when the values of the town start dropping across the board as traffic increases, schools go further down in quality, etc.

By the way, there’s another planning board meeting tonight on the Downtown Projects. Tuesday the 5th I would urge people concerned with the prospect of another 400 to 500 families being packed into the middle of town to come out and speak their minds.