>On Wednesday, April 9, a Public Hearing will be held on Proposed Ordinance #3110, which will increase dog licensing fees as follows:
Spayed/neutered dogs: $22.00 (current fee = $14.20)
Unspayed/Unneutered dogs: $25.00 (current fee = $25.20)
Although these fees are permitted by NJ State Law, they will be the highest dog licensing fees in Northwest Bergen County.
The Fly thinks that these steep fees may cause many Ridgewood dog owners to stop licensing their animals. What do you think?
>
Despite spending $50K in late 2004 to construct a traffic safety speed table and cutout on South Pleasant Avenue near the Somerville School, Village Council members are still very unhappy with motor vehicle traffic flow and parking in the area.
On March 12, Ordinance 3108 was introduced by Council members. This ordinance, if approved, will ban all stopping and standing along the west side of South Pleasant Avenue between the hours of 7:00 AM and 9:00 AM and 2:00 PM and 4:00 PM.
So, regardless of the new traffic safety speed table and cutout, which were constructed to facilitate drop offs and pick ups on the west side of South Pleasant Avenue, Council members plan to ban this practice.
The Fly thinks this will create even more of a traffic mess in the area. What do you think?
>
Valley expansion plan under fire
Saturday, March 22, 2008
Last Updated Saturday March 22, 2008, EDT 9:48 AMBY BOB GROVESThe cost of Valley Hospital’s proposed expansion would threaten Ridgewood’s taxpayers and the future of the facility, critics charged.
Valley’s $750 million plan to replace two of its older buildings with three new ones over the next decade could balloon, with interest, to $1 billion — and that would require the hospital to earn an additional $40 million a year for 25 years to pay it off, said Paul Gould. He is a member and spokesman of Concerned Residents of Ridgewood, a neighborhood group that has opposed Valley’s expansion plans for months.
“Where will it come from?” Gould said. “Will we end up with another Pascack Valley?” The Westwood hospital went bankrupt and closed last year after building a $50 million addition.
On the contrary, Valley’s plan “is vital to its success,” said Maureen Curran Kleinman, a hospital spokeswoman.
“If Valley is not allowed to renew over time, we will not be the hospital that the community will choose for its medical care in the future,” Kleinman said in a statement. “It will impede our ability to attract the best physicians and staff, and the hospital would be at risk of facing the same unfortunate fate as Pascack Valley and many other New Jersey hospitals that have been forced to close their doors.”
The Ridgewood Planning Board is deciding whether to approve separate requests, by Valley and by Concerned Residents, for changes in the village’s hospital zone ordinances and master plan. Those changes would either allow the hospital to expand or preserve the surrounding neighborhood.
Beyond financial concerns about the hospital’s plan, Gould and other members of his group worry how much Valley’s expansion would cost the village.
“Taxpayers would absorb the additional infrastructure costs of roads, fire and police, which are paid for by the residents of Ridgewood,” he said.
If, for example, Valley increased its occupancy rate from its current 87 percent to 100 percent, to help pay for the expansion, that could add 80,000 car trips on village streets to the hospital per year, on top of 600,000 vehicle visits already made there annually, Gould said.
While other area hospitals have expanded or renovated in recent years, Valley’s $750 million plan is one of the most ambitious.
Gould’s group is worried that Valley will suffer the same fate as Pascack Valley, which succumbed to a $100 million annual debt after it opened an addition. The hospital closed in November.
“We do not want another bankrupt hospital,” Gould told the Planning Board during a public hearing this week.
But Valley officials say the hospital is not in financial danger.
Valley would finance the first phase of its expansion, estimated at $420 million, through tax-exempt bonds, fund-raising and existing cash, “as is typical financing for not-for-profit hospital projects,” Kleinman said.
Even after the project is complete, Valley’s debt will be “manageable and moderate in comparison to other hospitals,” Kleinman said.
Gould conceded that Valley “is very profitable today,” he said. At a time when many of the state’s hospitals are struggling financially, Valley hospital has $225 million in cash and investments and a $46 million debt, according to tax filings. Revenue increases by 8 percent each year, Gould said.
But to pay for the hospital to pay for the expansion, Gould said, net patient revenue would have to increase by an additional 8 percent a year. How will the hospital do that when it’s only adding three more beds to its current 451? he asked.
Valley officials have repeatedly said their building plan is being done to bring the hospital up to modern medical standards, not to bring in more patients. Will the hospital have to increase what it charges patients? the neighborhood group asked.
“Valley’s charges are among the absolute lowest of any hospital in the state,” Kleinman said. “Even after the project is in place we will still have charges well below other hospitals in New Jersey.”
The neighborhood group also claims that the Planning Board, through its attorney and other professional advisers, has already been negotiating with Valley officials about some terms of the expansion before it has been approved.
David Nicholson, chairman of the Planning Board, said its professionals had met with Valley officials, but denied that they had “negotiated” any of the proposal.
“The implication that this matter is already decided is simply not true,” Nicholson said.
Kleinman said the hospital met with village professionals to discuss the hospital ordinance and make a recommendation to the Planning Board, but not to negotiate terms of the proposed expansion.
E-mail: [email protected]
>Bids Requested For Additional Flood Prevention Measures At Village Hall
VILLAGE OF RIDGEWOOD – NOTICE TO BIDDERS
Sealed bid proposals will be received by the Village of Ridgewood, in the 3RD Floor Conference Room, Village Hall, 131 North Maple Avenue , Ridgewood, New Jersey 07451, on Wednesday, April 16, 2008 at 10:00 am, prevailing time, and then publicly opened and read aloud for the following project: Village Hall Flood Protection Project
The work of the Contract shall be to construct and furnish the following flood protection measures for Village Hall:
“Approximately 80 linear feet of 3-foot tall stucco finished reinforced concrete wall.
“Approximately 70 linear feet of 3-foot tall stucco finished face, formed reinforced concrete wall.
“Two 3-foot tall stucco finished reinforced concrete end pillars with seating benches for mounting Doordam panels.
“Approximately 100 linear feet of Doordam Panels with mounting pillars, mullions, brackets, and all necessary appurtenances for a complete installation for flood protection.
“Site landscaping and sidewalk restoration, as needed.
>According to the New Testament, Christ was crucified on the eve of Passover and shortly afterward rose from the dead. In consequence, the Easter festival commemorated Christ’s resurrection. In time, a serious difference over the date of the Easter festival arose among Christians. Those of Jewish origin celebrated the resurrection immediately following the Passover festival, which, according to their Babylonian lunar calendar, fell on the evening of the full moon (the 14th day in the month of Nisan, the first month of the year); by their reckoning, Easter, from year to year, fell on different days of the week.
Christians of Gentile origin, however, wished to commemorate the resurrection on the first day of the week, Sunday; by their method, Easter occurred on the same day of the week, but from year to year it fell on different dates. An important historical result of the difference in reckoning the date of Easter was that the Christian churches in the East, which were closer to the birthplace of the new religion and in which old traditions were strong, observed Easter according to the date of the Passover festival. The churches of the West, descendants of Greco-Roman civilization, celebrated Easter on a Sunday.
Rulings of the Council of Nicaea on the Date of Easter
Constantine I, Roman emperor, convoked the Council of Nicaea in 325. The council unanimously ruled that the Easter festival should be celebrated throughout the Christian world on the first Sunday after the full moon following the vernal equinox; and that if the full moon should occur on a Sunday and thereby coincide with the Passover festival, Easter should be commemorated on the Sunday following. Coincidence of the feasts of Easter and Passover was thus avoided.
The Council of Nicaea also decided that the calendar date of Easter was to be calculated at Alexandria, then the principal astronomical center of the world. The accurate determination of the date, however, proved an impossible task in view of the limited knowledge of the 4th-century world. The principal astronomical problem involved was the discrepancy, called the epact, between the solar year and the lunar year. The chief calendric problem was a gradually increasing discrepancy between the true astronomical year and the Julian calendar then in use.
Later Dating Methods
Ways of fixing the date of the feast tried by the church proved unsatisfactory, and Easter was celebrated on different dates in different parts of the world. In 387, for example, the dates of Easter in France and Egypt were 35 days apart. About 465, the church adopted a system of calculation proposed by the astronomer Victorinus (fl. 5th cent.), who had been commissioned by Pope Hilarius (r. 461–68) to reform the calendar and fix the date of Easter. Elements of his method are still in use. Refusal of the British and Celtic Christian churches to adopt the proposed changes led to a bitter dispute between them and Rome in the 7th century.
Reform of the Julian calendar in 1582 by Pope Gregory XIII, through adoption of the Gregorian calendar, eliminated much of the difficulty in fixing the date of Easter and in arranging the ecclesiastical year; since 1752, when the Gregorian calendar was also adopted in Great Britain and Ireland, Easter has been celebrated on the same day in the Western part of the Christian world. The Eastern churches, however, which did not adopt the Gregorian calendar, commemorate Easter on a Sunday either preceding or following the date observed in the West. Occasionally the dates coincide; the most recent times were in 1865 and 1963.
Because the Easter holiday affects a varied number of secular affairs in many countries, it has long been urged as a matter of convenience that the movable dates of the festival be either narrowed in range or replaced by a fixed date in the manner of Christmas. In 1923 the problem was referred to the Holy See, which has found no canonical objection to the proposed reform. In 1928 the British Parliament enacted a measure allowing the Church of England to commemorate Easter on the first Sunday after the second Saturday in April. Despite these steps toward reform, Easter continues to be a movable feast.
An article from Funk & Wagnalls® New Encyclopedia. © 2005 World Almanac Education Group, A WRC Media Company
ADVERTISEMENTResources: Discussions | Newsletters | Shop History | THE HISTORY CHANNEL Magazine | Travel | World Timeline | Maps
Services: How to Cite This Site | Site Map | TV Parental Guidelines | FAQ/Contact Us
Corporate: Corporate Information | Employment Opportunities | Terms of Service | Privacy Policy | Around the World | Advertise With Us
© 1996-2007, A&E Television Networks. All rights reserved.
>
So what to do when you dog has to go? If your down town be aware that many merchants in town maintain the flower beds around the trees in town and it makes there job of beautifying the town more difficult if you allow your dogs to relieve themselves in those beds, yes its not illegal but its just plain rude, so lets work together and keep the Village of Ridgewood a beautiful place.……
>Hi PJ,
My name is Richard . I grew up in Ridgewood, moved away, went to Georgetwon and Columbia B-School, found myself a wife and moved her back to Ridgewood with me in 2005.
Between your blog and other sources I have learned what a mess the BOE and the math curriculum are and I have just one question that I hope you can help me with: How did this all come to pass? I came back to Ridgewood late in the game and things had already been moving.
Where is the acting superintendent?
Why did the new guy who was hired disappear?
How did the elementary schools end up with 3 different math curricula?
Why did the BOE feel the need to change the old (traditional?) math system?
I guess, just like at my company, when people barge in my office with a problem I find it easier to make our way back to the light when I know how we got into the mess to start with.
If you don’t know all these answers maybe you can point me to someone else who may.
I trust your judgement based on all I have read on your blog and I appreciate that you keep the thing up at all!
Here’s my own contact info as well
Best regards PJ,
Richard
>The Gang That Couldn’t Shoot Straight… but They Can Do Damage Anyway
By Steve Lonegan
It is clear that the big-government radicals that are running Trenton will stop at nothing to advance their vision of an even bigger nanny state. So much so that they will pass drastically flawed and dangerous bills that will destroy New Jersey’s competitive business climate in favor of emotion based, job destroying politics. This time, however, they got caught.
New Jersey taxpayers will be expected to fork over another $130 million in new taxes to seed the launch of the radical Paid Family Leave bill and small businesses already struggling in the nation’s worst business environment will be sacrificed on the alter of entitlement.
The destructive Paid Family Leave bill will go back to the Senate for another round of hearings and voting. The bill, which allows every single worker in the state six weeks Paid Leave for virtually any reason at all with pay of up to $550, is so deficient it would result in crippling lawsuits for New Jersey’s beleaguered small businesses.
After prompting from conservative legislators, AFP Citizen Activists and Members of the NJBIA, Attorney General Ann Milgram issued an opinion stating the bill is too vague and opens the small business community to costly litigation. The bill’s proponents are so committed to advancing their socialist agenda and expanding the entitlement state they will stop at nothing to advance what they consider the “Common Good,” no matter what the cost.
Left to their own devices, the backers of this bill would have sought a way to by-pass Senate rules and shove this bill through this past Monday. Thanks to Senator Tom Kean, Republican Minority Leader, it became obvious the required thirty votes would not be there for an emergency vote.
The real lesson here is the willingness of those we elect to represent us to railroad destructive legislation past the voters in order to gain favor from state worker union leaders. It is impossible to believe the Senators who voted to pass the dangerous PFL legislation did not realize the potential for trouble. Set aside the basic fact this is bad policy—the fact that they were willing to ignore clear issues of litigation and costly business destroying lawsuits for the bill’s benefit reveals a far more insidious motive. Even legal laymen were questioning the bill’s disastrous side effects, but the Trenton gang did not care. They just wanted to gain favor from those labor union bosses looking down from the gallery.
They were caught this time. The Senate will have to vote again. Now that we have revealed their lack of consideration for the business community and taxpayers, we must convince more of our taxpayers to pick up the phone and call Senators who voted yes and get them to change their votes.
Here they are. Call them now!
JOHN H. ADLER – Democrat (856)-489-3442
BILL BARONI – Republican (609)-631-9988
BARBARA BUONO – Democrat (732)-205-1372
RICHARD J. CODEY – Democrat (973)-731-6770
SANDRA B. CUNNINGHAM – Democrat (201)-451-5100
NIA H. GILL, ESQ. – Democrat (973)-509-0388
JOHN A. GIRGENTI – Democrat (973)-427-1229
ROBERT M. GORDON – Democrat (201)-703-9779
RAYMOND J. LESNIAK – Democrat (908)-624-0880
FRED H. MADDEN, JR. – Democrat (856)-232-6700
DANA REDD – Democrat (856)-384-5862
RONALD L. RICE – Democrat (973)-371-5665
M. TERESA RUIZ – Democrat (973)-484-1000
NICHOLAS J. SACCO – Democrat (201)-295-0200
PAUL A. SARLO – Democrat (201)-804-8118
NICHOLAS P. SCUTARI – Democrat (908)-587-0404
BOB SMITH – Democrat (732)-752-0770
BRIAN P. STACK – Democrat (201)-330-3233
STEPHEN M. SWEENEY – Democrat (856)-251-9801
SHIRLEY K. TURNER – Democrat (609)-530-3277
LORETTA WEINBERG – Democrat (201)-928-0100
JOSEPH F. VITALE – Democrat (732)-855-7441
JIM WHELAN – Democrat (609)-383-1388
>”As far as the budget goes, you should give Bombace credit for suggesting that they not take the full 4% increase in the budget.
Doesn’t the BOE realize that higher school budget=higher property taxes. New assessments, lower home equity, lower stock accounts, lower interest rates on savings = we don’t want to pay another dime for tutors because you can’t teach our kids math.
Are we all so wealthy in this town that we can take a recession and pay higher school taxes and pay for tutors for afterschooling? “
>
ABOUT SAINT PATRICK
Saint Patrick is believed to have been born in the late fourth century, and is often confused with Palladius, a bishop who was sent by Pope Celestine in 431 to be the first bishop to the Irish believers in Christ.
Saint Patrick was the patron saint and national apostle of Ireland who is credited with bringing christianity to Ireland. Most of what is known about him comes from his two works, the Confessio, a spiritual autobiography, and his Epistola, a denunciation of British mistreatment of Irish christians. Saint Patrick described himself as a “most humble-minded man, pouring forth a continuous paean of thanks to his Maker for having chosen him as the instrument whereby multitudes who had worshipped idols and unclean things had become the people of God.”
Saint Patrick is most known for driving the snakes from Ireland. It is true there are no snakes in Ireland, but there probably never have been – the island was separated from the rest of the continent at the end of the Ice Age. As in many old pagan religions, serpent symbols were common and often worshipped. Driving the snakes from Ireland was probably symbolic of putting an end to that pagan practice. While not the first to bring christianity to Ireland, it is Patrick who is said to have encountered the Druids at Tara and abolished their pagan rites. The story holds that he converted the warrior chiefs and princes, baptizing them and thousands of their subjects in the “Holy Wells” that still bear this name.
There are several accounts of Saint Patrick’s death. One says that Patrick died at Saul, Downpatrick, Ireland, on March 17, 460 A.D. His jawbone was preserved in a silver shrine and was often requested in times of childbirth, epileptic fits, and as a preservative against the “evil eye.” Another account says that St. Patrick ended his days at Glastonbury, England and was buried there. The Chapel of St. Patrick still exists as part of Glastonbury Abbey. Today, many Catholic places of worship all around the world are named after St. Patrick, including cathedrals in New York and Dublin city
Why Saint Patrick’s Day?
Saint Patrick’s Day has come to be associated with everything Irish: anything green and gold, shamrocks and luck. Most importantly, to those who celebrate its intended meaning, St. Patrick’s Day is a traditional day for spiritual renewal and offering prayers for missionaries worldwide.
So, why is it celebrated on March 17th? One theory is that that is the day that St. Patrick died. Since the holiday began in Ireland, it is believed that as the Irish spread out around the world, they took with them their history and celebrations. The biggest observance of all is, of course, in Ireland. With the exception of restaurants and pubs, almost all businesses close on March 17th. Being a religious holiday as well, many Irish attend mass, where March 17th is the traditional day for offering prayers for missionaries worldwide before the serious celebrating begins.
In American cities with a large Irish population, St. Patrick’s Day is a very big deal. Big cities and small towns alike celebrate with parades, “wearing of the green,” music and songs, Irish food and drink, and activities for kids such as crafts, coloring and games. Some communities even go so far as to dye rivers or streams green!
>Lois & Maskin Respond to Questions – Answers online
Both candidates answered a set of 13 questions forwarded by a group of concerned citizens. The responses of Ms. Maskin can be found here. Greg’s answers are here. The popular “Ridgewood Blog” has sent questions to Sarah-Kate and Greg – their responses will be published on the Ridgewood Blog.
Have a question for the candidates? Please come to the League of Women Voter’s forum scheduled for April 1st at the Ed Center (49 Cottage Place, 7PM). Questions from the floor will be answered. Or feel free to email the candidates: click here to email your questions.
This week’s “Sneak Peak” Press Release
Sheila Brogan has served on the Board’s ‘Legislative Committee’ since 2005. According to Board Candidate Greg Lois “Ms. Brogan has failed to bring the needs of Ridgewood to the attention of the Legislature and failed to obtain a fair return for our schools.”
According to Lois, “Ridgewood has an average per capita yearly income of $51,638 (pop. of 24,936) and the State is taxing that income (at a graduated rate) averaging 6.37% per earner – That is 6.37% on $1.3 Billion dollars or at least $82,054,765 in tax revenue that goes to the State of New Jersey.”
According to Lois, “The State returns approximately $3,146,911 (in 2007) in State aid to our school district – we are not getting our fair share” of State funds. Lois stated that it was Brogan’s responsibility to bring this shortage of State funding to the attention of our lawmakers and community. Lois said that Brogan had “failed to bring the funding disparity to the attention of our Assembly and Senate lawmakers and by that failing had cheated Ridgewood out of necessary funding. . . Brogan presented long ‘legislative recaps’ to the Board of Education but did nothing during her current tenure to advocate for the Village Schools or bring this matter to the forefront.”
Greg Lois is an attorney and candidate for the Board of Education. According to Lois, the Board member who serves as the Head of the Legislative committee should be expected to “do more than just report to the people of Ridgewood – he should be expected to advocate for the people of Ridgewood and bring more of our own tax dollars back to this District.”
Other Campaign News
Sarah-Kate and Greg met with Dr. Monica Brown, principal of Somerville Elementary School on Tuesday, March 11th. One of the issues discussed was the increase in the number of students at Somerville.
Sarah-Kate met with the Orchard Home School Association on March 12th, answering questions brought by attendees. Podcast available here: link.
Greg and Sarah-Kate met with Principal Margy Leninger of Travell School and Principal Anthony Orsini of Benjamin Franklin Middle School on Friday, March 14th.
Sarah-Kate and Greg will be meeting with Ridgewood High School Principal John Lorenz and Ridge Elementary Principal Jean S. Schoenlank on March 17th.
Next Actions
Lawn signs are available – please click here to request delivery (be sure to provide your address). Please contact us if you can volunteer – volunteers are needed for April 12th & 13th (Saturday & Sunday)(phone bank volunteers needed).
Thanks again for your support.
* * * *
This email sent by Maskin & Lois for School Board, P.O. Box 30, Ridgewood, NJ 07450. Paid for by Maskin & Lois for School Board, P.O. Box 30, Ridgewood, NJ 07450. To be removed from this email list, please click here.
>Valley Hospital ‘at a pivotal point’
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Last Updated Tuesday March 11, 2008, EDT 9:01 AMBY BOB GROVESThe Valley Hospital needs more space to handle advances in medical technology and provide better patient care, officials said Monday.
“The hospital is at a pivotal point in its history,” Audrey Meyers, Valley’s president and chief executive officer, told the Ridgewood Planning Board. “Valley must be allowed to evolve over time.”
About 200 people, including supporters and opponents of Valley’s expansion plans, attended the public hearing. Valley’s $750 million plan includes adding a parking deck and replacing two buildings with three new ones, increasing the hospital’s size by 67 percent.
Although modern surgery involves less-invasive techniques, it requires bigger equipment than can be accommodated by Valley’s existing operating rooms, Meyers said. Under the plan, Valley would add just three beds to its existing 451 beds, but the hospital wants to make all its room private in keeping with current standards of care, Meyers said.
The population of Valley’s service area is relatively stable and expected to grow by only 4 percent in the next 10 years, she said. “The demand for change at Valley will be driven by changes in technology and patient care delivery,” she said.
Opponents say the proposed 80-foot-tall hospital buildings don’t belong in the residential neighborhood because they would overshadow homes as well as Benjamin Franklin Middle School.
Answering concerns by nearby residents that the expansion would increase traffic, Meyers said that the hospital’s nine off-site facilities have already eliminated more than 673,000 car trips per year to the hospital’s main campus.
Tuesday night’s special Planning Board meeting at George Washington Middle School was its fourth public hearing on Valley’s proposal.
The next meeting will take place next Tuesday, when Concerned Residents of Ridgewood, a group that opposes the hospital’s plan, will make their arguments before the Planning Board.
In January, the residents group applied to amend the village Master Plan and its hospital zone ordinance to “limit its impact on the community and preserve the village’s residential character.” The group also asked the Village Council and the Planning Board to amend the ordinance to change the minimum distance — from the current 40 feet, to a proposed 80 feet — that hospital buildings must be set back from North Van Dien and Linwood Avenues.
“We want further clarification about whether the hospital has changed any of its positions from 12 months ago — particularly the magnitude and scale of the proposed development — following the public outcry,” Paul Gould, a member of the group, said before the meeting.
David Nicholson, chairman of the Planning Board, said the board would consider the request by the hospital and concerned residents “as legitimate and equal” and will consider them simultaneously. “The board will then make its decision whether it will consider any changes — one or the other or one of our own devising — to the ordinances,” he said. “My hope is we will make a decision by the end of April.”
E-mail: [email protected]
>March 13, 2008
Panel Proposes Streamlining Math
By TAMAR LEWIN
American students’ math achievement is “at a mediocre level” compared with that of their peers worldwide, according to a new report by a federal panel. The panel said that math curriculums from preschool to eighth grade should be streamlined to focus on key skills — the handling of whole numbers and fractions, and certain aspects of geometry and measurement — to prepare students to learn algebra.
“The sharp falloff in mathematics achievement in the U.S. begins as students reach late middle school, where, for more and more students, algebra course work begins,” said the report of the National Mathematics Advisory Panel, appointed two years ago by President Bush. “Students who complete Algebra II are more than twice as likely to graduate from college, compared to students with less mathematical preparation.”
The report, to be released Thursday, spells out specific goals for students. For example, it says that by the end of the third grade, students should be proficient in adding and subtracting whole numbers; two years later, they should be proficient in multiplying and dividing them. By the end of sixth grade, it says, students should have mastered the multiplication and division of fractions and decimals.
The report tries to put to rest the long and heated debate over math teaching methods. Parents and teachers in school districts across the country have fought passionately over the relative merits of traditional, or teacher-directed, instruction, in which students are told how to solve problems and then are drilled on them, as opposed to reform or child-centered instruction, which emphasizes student exploration and conceptual understanding. The panel said both methods have a role.
“There is no basis in research for favoring teacher-based or student-centered instruction,” said Dr. Larry R. Faulkner, the chairman of the panel, at a briefing for reporters on Wednesday. “People may retain their strongly held philosophical inclinations, but the research does not show that either is better than the other.”
Districts that have made ‘’all-encompassing decisions to go one way or the other,” he said, should rethink those decisions, and intertwine different methods of instruction to help students develop a broad understanding of math.
“To prepare students for algebra, the curriculum must simultaneously develop conceptual understanding, computational fluency and problem-solving skills,” the report said. “Debates regarding the relative importance of these aspects of mathematical knowledge are misguided. These capabilities are mutually supportive, .”
The president convened the panel to advise on how to improve math education for the nation’s children. Its members include math and psychology professors from leading universities, a middle-school math teacher and the president of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics.
Closely tracking an influential 2006 report by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, the panel said that the math curriculum should include fewer topics, and then spend enough time on each of them to make it is learned in depth and need not be revisited in later grades. This is how top-performing nations approach the curriculum.
After a similar advisory panel on reading made its recommendations in 2000, the federal government used the report as a guide for awarding $5 billion in federal grants to promote reading proficiency.
The new report does not call for a national math curriculum, or for new federal investment in math instruction. It does call for more research on successful math teaching, and recommends that the Secretary of Education convene an annual forum of leaders of the national associations concerned with math to develop an agenda for improving math instruction.
The report cites a number of troubling international comparisons, including a 2007 assessment finding that 15-year-olds in the United States ranked 25th among their peers in 30 developed nations in math literacy and problem solving.
The report says that Americans fell short, especially, in handling fractions. It pointed to the National Assessment of Educational Progress, standardized-test results that are known as the nation’s report card, which found that almost half the eighth graders tested could not solve a word problem that required dividing fractions.
After hearing testimony and comments from hundreds of organizations and individuals, and sifting through 16,000 research publications, the panelists shaped their report around recent research on how children learn.
For example, the panel found that it is important for students to master their basic math facts by heart.
“For all content areas, practice allows students to achieve automaticity of basic skills — the fast, accurate, and effortless processing of content information — which frees up working memory for more complex aspects of problem solving,” the report said.
Dr. Faulkner, a former president of the University of Texas at Austin, said the panel “buys the notion from cognitive science that kids have to know the facts.”
“In the language of cognitive science, working memory needs to be predominately dedicated to new material in order to have a learning progression, and previously addressed material needs to be in long-term memory,” he said.
The report also cites recent findings that students who depend on their native intelligence learn less than those who believe that success depends on how hard they work. Dr. Faulkner said the current “talent-driven approach to math, that either you can do it or you can’t, like playing the violin” needed to be changed.
“Experimental studies have demonstrated that changing children’s beliefs from a focus on ability to a focus on effort increases their engagement in mathematics learning, which in turn improves mathematics outcomes,” the report says “When children believe that their efforts to learn make them ‘smarter,’ they show greater persistence in mathematics learning.”
The report makes a plea for shorter and more accurate math textbooks. Given the shortage of elementary teachers with a solid grounding in math, the report recommends further research on the use of math specialists to teach several different elementary grades, as is done in many top-performing nations.
The report also recommends a revamping of the math content on the national assessment test, to focus on the same skills that the report emphasizes.
Here are the panel’s recommended benchmarks for elementary school math education:
Benchmarks in Math Education Fluency With Whole Numbers
1 By the end of Grade 3, students should be proficient with the addition and subtraction of whole numbers.
2 By the end of Grade 5, students should be proficient with multiplication and division of whole numbers.
Fluency With Fractions
1 By the end of Grade 4, students should be able to identify and represent fractions anddecimals, and compare them on a number line or with other common representations offractions and decimals.
2 By the end of Grade 5, students should be proficient with comparing fractions and decimalsand common percents, and with the addition and subtraction of fractions and decimals.
3 By the end of Grade 6, students should be proficient with multiplication and division offractions and decimals.
4 By the end of Grade 6, students should be proficient with all operations involving positiveand negative integers.
5 By the end of Grade 7, students should be proficient with all operations involving positiveand negative fractions.
6 By the end of Grade 7, students should be able to solve problems involving percent, ratio,and rate and extend this work to proportionality.
Geometry and Measurement
1 By the end of Grade 5, students should be able to solve problems involving perimeter andarea of triangles and all quadrilaterals having at least one pair of parallel sides (i.e.,trapezoids).
2 By the end of Grade 6, students should be able to analyze the properties of two-dimensional shapes and solve problems involving perimeter and area, and analyze the properties of three dimensional shapes and solve problems involving surface area and volume.
3 By the end of Grade 7, students should be familiar with the relationship between similar triangles and the concept of the slope of a line.
Source: National Mathematics Advisory Panel, 2008.
>A solution to how to teach math: Subtract
By Greg Toppo, USA TODAY
WASHINGTON — Wondering why your child isn’t learning enough math in school? Her textbook may be too thick.
In an unprecedented effort, a blue-ribbon panel commissioned by President Bush has been working since 2006 to find out why the math skills of U.S. students pale next to those in so many other industrialized nations. The 20 respected scholars scoured more than 16,000 research studies, heard testimony in eight cities and argued among themselves — sometimes heatedly — for nearly two years.
CHART: What kids need to know — and when
In the end, they found a math instruction system that’s “broken and must be fixed” if the USA is to compete with established economic powers or emerging ones such as China.
In its long-awaited report, out today, the National Math Panel zeroes in on several factors:
•Children badly need both automatic recall of math facts and understanding of big concepts, in effect declawing both sides in the decades-long “math wars.”
•Based on brain research, Americans should look at prowess in math less as a talent than as the result of sheer hard work.
•Schools must streamline their math courses, focusing on “a well-defined set of the most critical topics” from early elementary school through middle school. “Any approach that continually revisits topics year after year without closure is to be avoided,” the report says.
If widely adopted by states, the new approach could force U.S. textbook publishers to slim down their wares, forcing massive textbooks — some run 700 or even 1,000 pages — into extinction.
In their place would be books as slim as 150 pages to help children solidly learn just a few key skills each year.
“There is a problem of kids not feeling like they’re getting anywhere, that third-grade math is the same as fourth-grade math,” says panel chairman Larry Faulkner, president emeritus of the University of Texas at Austin.
Math books are much smaller in many countries with higher mathematics achievement, the panel says.
“In the U.S., we’re trying to teach first-graders 20-some topics,” says Michigan State University professor William Schmidt.
Schmidt, who is not a member of the panel, agrees with the finding that math curriculums often lacks coherence. “You’re trying to do everything everywhere,” he says.
The panel lays out a plan for a “focused, coherent progression” of skills. The progression includes fluency in adding and subtracting whole numbers by the end of third grade, and multiplying and dividing whole numbers by the end of fifth grade. Students should be able to solve problems involving percent, ratio and rate by the end of seventh grade.
The panel issues a call for an “authentic algebra course” for many students by eighth grade and a greater emphasis on fractions for young students.
Teachers told the panel students’ biggest deficiency was a poor command of fractions, Faulkner says.
The panel suggests updating the National Assessment of Educational Progress, a federally administered test, to emphasize mastery of fractions and other pre-algebra skills.
The report, to be delivered today to Education Secretary Margaret Spellings, could spark an effort to create a federally funded math program, much as the 2000 National Reading Panel led to the $1-billion-a-year Reading First program for early elementary grades.
“There was a recognition that we had to do for math what had been done for reading, which is to settle some of these long-standing skirmishes and get a better understanding about the core things that we know,” Spellings says. “Educators are hungry for it, looking for it. This will be well-received.”
On the “talent” question, Faulkner says the research is clear: “Effort counts. Students who believe that working hard will make them smarter in math actually do achieve better.”
The belief that people who are good in math are simply born good at it is “not a cultural belief that’s shared in China,” he says.
What kids need to know — and when
After two years of work, the National Math Panel issues its recommendations today. They include calls for greater emphasis on fractions, algebra and key “benchmark” skills in early grades. Here’s a sample:
Fluency with whole numbers Fluency with fractions Geometry and measurement
Grade 3 •Add and subtract
Grade 4 •Identify and use fractions and decimals, and compare them on a number line
Grade 5 •Multiply and divide •Compare fractions and decimals and common percents; add and subtract them •Solve problems involving perimeter and area of triangles and all quadrilaterals having at least one pair of parallel sides (i.e. trapezoids)
Grade 6 •Multiply, divide fractions and decimals •Add, subtract, multiply, divide positive and negative integers •Analyze the properties of two- and three-dimensional shapes and solve problems involving perimeter and area, surface area and volume
Grade 7 •Add, subtract, multiply, divide positive, negative fractions •Solve problems involving percent, ratio, and rate and extend this work to proportionality •Be familiar with the relationship between similar triangles and the concept of the slope of a line
>In a post 9-11 world, I understand that there are necessary security concerns that must be addressed. Over the past few years, the Board of Ed has been installing security cameras in all of the Ridgewood Public schools, with GW as the first pilot school. These cameras have two purposes. One is to help administrators catch students that commit vandalism or the like; the other is to provide a peace of mind for everyone in the building. Safety should be a pertinent issue in schools, and using technology to make the school environment a better place is a good thing.
To parents, the presence of security guards at the High School seems like a good thing. I see them as that too. They help direct traffic in the morning, patrol the parking lot for cars that do not have parking permits, and register visitors. I do not mean to belittle what they do; though I feel that they are not necessary – at least not the number that currently exist at the high school.
There are now security guards stationed at the main entrances at the high school, where teachers used to sit and sign people in. I appreciate that they help “maintain order” by walking around the school and doing other things, though I do not think an additional security guard is needed at the high school, as proposed by the Bd.
of Ed. In the 2008-2009 budget.
Cameras and guards alter the environment at the high school. The cameras, at least, help with locker room theft. But, I feel Ridgewood High School is a community high school, not a “public” high school that needs to become a secure fortress. Security measures are needed, but not to this extent. The school system should at least not expand the current security program. What’s next; metal detectors? It might seem far off, but I once thought security guards and cameras in the Ridgewood Schools were only a figment of the imagination.
I do not think RHS should add an additional security guard, as proposed by next year’s budget. What do you think?
-A Ridgewood Student
