
Ridgewood School District Launches New Website

FEBRUARY 10, 2016, 6:49 PM LAST UPDATED: WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 2016, 6:57 PM
BY STEVE JANOSKI
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD
RIDGEWOOD — The Board of Education and the Ridgewood Education Association remain locked in their inability to come to terms on a new teachers’ contract, despite the efforts of a state-appointed fact finder.
Members of the REA, cloaked in red to show solidarity, crowded into a school board meeting Monday night for the second time this month to decry the lack of progress in negotiations. Although there are numerous points of contention, the sharpest disagreement has come over how much REA members must contribute to their health-insurance premiums.
REA President Michael Yannone, a 19-year veteran of Ridgewood High School, said Monday the board’s position in a Feb. 3 fact-finding meeting was reduced to two points: The district had no additional money to spend on teacher salaries, and no other New Jersey school district had agreed to a reduction in healthcare contributions, because that would be “unaffordable.”
Yannone said neither was true. A number of districts had negotiated reductions in healthcare contributions, he said, and an influx of state aid and health contribution money — combined with under-budgeting in certain areas — had led to a sizable surplus in the local school budget.
SEPTEMBER 4, 2015 LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 4, 2015, 12:31 AM
BY MATTHEW SCHNEIDER
STAFF WRITER |
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS
The years-old question of full-day kindergarten for Ridgewood schools was once again raised at last week’s Board of Education meeting.
However, such a change isn’t likely to come to Ridgewood for a while, according to school district officials.
While some, like board trustee James Morgan, say they understand the value and importance of full-day kindergarten, they realize that it isn’t a feasible option at this point in time.
“Full-day kindergarten is one of the most effective methods for teaching young children,” Morgan said. “It’s a great idea, but the major question is how do we fund it?”
The issue lies in the board’s budget limitations, Morgan said.
Were full-day kindergarten to be instituted, about 10 new teachers would need to be hired, each making around $75,000 per year, according to Morgan. Once these amounts are factored in with the cost of resources, the price jumps to over $1 million per year, which is an amount that the board just doesn’t have at this point, officials said.
Morgan said there are major hurdles to surpass if full-day kindergarten were ever to be truly discussed.
https://www.northjersey.com/news/education/district-explores-move-to-full-day-kindergarten-1.1403625
Ridgewood school district putting goals into action
MARCH 24, 2015 LAST UPDATED: TUESDAY, MARCH 24, 2015, 11:22 AM
BY DARIUS AMOS
STAFF WRITER |
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS
Ridgewood education leaders have outlined several forms of action that the district will consider as it works toward the goals established during community planning sessions last fall.
At a March 9 Board of Education meeting, Superintendent of Schools Daniel Fishbein reviewed the laundry list of action items created to address five distinct BOE goal areas: student achievement, communication, diversity, facilities and technology.
These areas were identified during an hours-long brainstorming process, which brought together school board trustees, administrators, students and community members in September. Goals were then refined by a consulting firm, which presented its report to the BOE and the public in November, and accepted by the BOE.
In its 24-page presentation, Sousa and Stern Education Consultants provided a blank sample plan of action for the BOE to complete while including benchmarks and timelines for each of the goal areas.
According to the goal list, a focus on student achievement would create a comprehensive learning environment that will inspire and empower all students to reach their highest potential academically, creatively and socially.
https://www.northjersey.com/news/education/district-putting-goals-into-action-1.1294469
The Ridgewood School District has been ranked the tenth best school district in New Jersey
Best Public School Districts ranks 8,738 school districts based on dozens of key statistics and 4.6 million opinions from 280,000 students and parents. A high ranking indicates that the district contains great schools with exceptional teachers, sufficient resources, and a diverse set of high-achieving students who rate their experiences very highly.
The Ridgewood School District has been ranked the tenth best school district in New Jersey, according to the 2015 Niche rankings. Niche developed a list of the top 100 school districts in the state by ranking “8,738 school districts based on dozens of key statistics and 4.6 million opinions from 280,000 students and parents.” Ridgewood received an Academics grade of an A+, a Health & Safety grade of an A, a 4 out of 5 on Parent/Student Surveys on Overall Experience, a B on Student Culture & Diversity, an A+ for Teachers, a B+ on Resources & Facilities, an A+ for Extracurriculars & Activities and an A for Sports & Fitness. “Grades” were calculated based on ”statistics and student, alumni, and parent surveys regarding academics in the district.”
TOP 10 SCHOOL DISTRICTS
1 Millburn Township School DistrictMillburn Township, NJ
2 Princeton School District Princeton Township, NJ
3 Mountain Lakes School District Mountain Lakes, NJ
4 Pascack Valley Regional High School District River Vale Township, NJ
5 Northern Highlands Regional High School District Upper Saddle River, NJ
6 Summit School District Summit, NJ
7 Bernards Township School District Bernards Township, NJ
8 School District of the Chathams Chatham Township, NJ
9 Montgomery Township School District Montgomery Township, NJ
Ridgewood school district seeks business administrator
JULY 26, 2014 LAST UPDATED: SATURDAY, JULY 26, 2014, 1:21 AM
BY CHRIS HARRIS
STAFF WRITER
THE RECORD
RIDGEWOOD — The school board has begun interviewing candidates to replace the district’s business administrator, whose one-year tenure will expire at the end of August.
Sheila Brogan, the president of Ridgewood’s school board, said this week that Michael Falkowski — who started with the district a little more than a year ago — tendered his resignation in late June.
The board formally accepted Falkowski’s resignation during its Monday meeting.
According to Brogan, Falkowski “lives some distance” from Ridgewood “and apparently, the commute was getting to him.”
– See more at: https://www.northjersey.com/news/education/school-district-seeks-business-administrator-1.1057692#sthash.sSpHwiXc.dpuf
Ridgewood school district’s energy program produces results
JULY 11, 2014 LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY, JULY 11, 2014, 12:31 AM
BY JODI WEINBERGER
STAFF WRITER
Print
A “behavior modification” program designed to conserve the district’s energy use has turned in significant savings, but when put against the cost of hiring an energy conservation company, the district is just breaking even.
Last year, the Board of Education signed on for a three-year contract with energy-savings company Cenergistic for $168,600 per year and hired an energy specialist for $75,000 per year.
Although the data is not complete, Business Administrator Michael Falkowski told the Board of Education at a meeting on Monday, June 23, that a conservative estimate of savings puts them at 14.3 percent, or $128,235.
It’s been difficult to fully calculate energy savings, said Falkowski, because the district is in the process of disputing some bills with PSE&G. Falkowski said savings could be about 20 percent when all the information is compiled.
If the district does not break even, Cenergistic will fund the difference because it’s a “no loss” contract. When Cenergistic first pitched the program, they hoped for Ridgewood to see a savings of more than $3 million over 10 years, representing a roughly 30 percent reduction in expected energy costs.
“It’s been difficult to produce a comparison from year to year when the data isn’t available,” Falkowski said.
– See more at: https://www.northjersey.com/news/education/energy-program-producing-results-1.1049698#sthash.rzUGCbRe.dpuf
REGISTER FOR RIDGEWOOD SCHOOL DISTRICT SUMMER PROGRAMS
RHS and RPL Team Up for Summer Reading
In order to enrich the experience for students and encourage reading over the summer, Ridgewood High School and the Ridgewood Public Library are offering their Second Annual Teen Readers Tru 9&10 book discussion groups on selected titles. All incoming ninth and rising tenth graders will have the opportunity to voluntarily choose to read one or more of the selected books and then participate in a discussion group led by library volunteers and high school student mentors.
Click here for more information and the brochure..
The Ridgewood High School Summer School Program runs from June 30 through July 31, 2014. There are two class periods: The first period will be held from 8-11a.m. and the second period is from 11:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. This is a tuition-based program.
Click here to go to the RHS Summer School web page..
The Ridgewood Community School is offering several summer programs.Click herefor links to more information on the following summer programs through the Ridgewood Community School: Tennis Camp at RHS, Wrestling Camp, Varsity Boys Basketball Camp, Boys Basketball Camp,Space Camp,Cheer Camp, Summer Music Academy, Summer Adventure.
Click here to go to the Ridgewood Community School web page.
Boys Varsity Basketball Camp Runs July 14-17
Click here for the flyer.
Boys Basketball Camp Runs June 30 – August 14
Click here for the flyer.
Summer Music Academy Runs July 1 – August 1
The Summer Music Academy provides lessons and performing opportunities for beginning, intermediate and advanced level musicians. Students from all districts are welcome! Program highlights include string orchestras, jazz bands, woodwind, brass and percussion ensembles, drum set classes and the 2014 Guitar Camp. All students are encouraged to join this dynamic program.
Click here for the brochure and registration form.
Sign Up for Space Camp at Hawes School
Two sessions: June 27 – July 11 or July 14 – July 25
Is your son or daughter interested in Space? Have they completed grades 2-4? Sign them up for summer space camp where they learn astronomy by going into a planetarium, build and launch model rockets, learn about the history of flight, solve problems in groups, play space games, enjoy physical fitness (rope climbing, zip lining, and more), perform experiments and make art projects. It’s going to be a blast!
Click here for the flyer and registration form.
Ridgewood school district’s program gives at-risk students an ally
APRIL 21, 2014 LAST UPDATED: MONDAY, APRIL 21, 2014, 5:28 PM
BY LAURA HERZOG
STAFF WRITER
Last year, it was a struggle to get one Ridgewood student into the high school. Now, this student has nearly perfect attendance.
Another student is now going to school and taking more responsibility for his work, and the effects are trickling into the home: A strained parental relationship has improved, opened to more positive, supportive and less school-centric interactions.
Other students struggling with issues at home, like divorce, are now feeling just a little bit safer away from home.
These positive stories, shared by Ridgewood High School’s (RHS) new clinical supervisor Cayte Castrillon, come thanks to the first several months of a new therapeutic program at the high school that identifies at-risk youth for in-house counseling during the school day.
This extra level of care is a particularly important addition to the district now, when educators have less time, and the at-risk population, though still very small relative to the general population, is increasing along with general anxiety.
Helmed by Castrillon, a full-time employee of the private and accredited therapeutic school Sage Day, the RHS Sage Day program was introduced this fall to help students in need avoid out-of-district placement through the in-house management of their social and emotional issues, like school phobia.
Of the 16 students currently in the program, about half are special education students and half are general education students, and areas of concern include family issues, anxiety and substance abuse. Basically, this program helps these students continue experiencing “as close to a mainstream school experience as possible” and “avoid classification,” said Kim Buxenbaum-Turner, director of special programs for the Ridgewood school district.
By keeping children in school, the district is also saving an estimated $200,000 to $300,000 in out-of-district tuition costs.
“There’s a good five or six [students in the program] that would have needed another placement,” said RHS Assistant Principal Jeff Nyhuis.
– See more at: https://www.northjersey.com/news/education/ridgewood-school-district-s-program-gives-at-risk-students-an-ally-1.1000257#sthash.4OAFrcQ9.dpuf
Ridgewood school district reports drop in incidents
MONDAY MARCH 3, 2014, 3:36 PM
BY LAURA HERZOG
STAFF WRITER
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS
The Ridgewood school district has seen a decrease in total incidents of violence, bullying, vandalism and substance abuse taking place in school and at district-sanctioned events.
And fall 2013 numbers on these incidents indicate a continued decline.
Ridgewood High School (RHS) Assistant Principal Basil Pizzuto presented the most recent state-mandated data during Monday’s Board of Education (BOE) meeting.
This past fall, there were seven total incidents discovered district-wide, he said. They included four instances of vandalism, mainly graffiti; zero incidents involving weapons; one incident of alcohol abuse; two instances of violence; and two incidents classified as “harassment, intimidation and bullying” (HIB).
Last year, there were about 33 total incidents reported in Ridgewood – versus 103 incidents about 12 years ago, most of which involved vandalism.
– See more at: https://www.northjersey.com/news/248247351_Ridgewood_school_district_reports_drop_in_incidents.html#sthash.faTEdpot.dpuf
Ridgewood school district may bring back school resource officer
TUESDAY FEBRUARY 25, 2014, 11:12 AM
BY LAURA HERZOG
STAFF WRITER
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS
The Ridgewood Board of Education (BOE) hopes to eventually dedicate a police officer to district schools.
The position, called a school resource officer (SRO), was filled several years ago, said Superintendent Daniel Fishbein, but was cut when the district lost all its state aid in 2010.
“The SRO really becomes a part of the school community,” Fishbein said.
Though school officials are speaking with the mayor about the possibility of reinstating the position, “This is not anything immediate, probably in 2015, if it happens,” said BOE President Sheila Brogan.
According to the board, barring an emergency elsewhere in the village, the SRO would be based in the schools, protecting and educating students. The officer would have a presence at school activities, in health classes and in law and driver’s education classes at Ridgewood High School.
– See more at: https://www.northjersey.com/news/247076601_Ridgewood_school_district_may_bring_back_school_resource_officer.html#sthash.BXmbRKU5.dpuf
Ridgewood School district saves green on energy
Tuesday February 11, 2014, 10:00 AM
BY LAURA HERZOG
STAFF WRITER
The Ridgewood News
The Ridgewood school district has already reaped at least $55,000 in energy savings for the 2013-14 school year, based on the calculations of an energy conservation company.
The savings are the result of the Board of Education’s (BOE) decision last year to hire a new energy specialist and contract with Cenergistic, an energy savings company. The total represents roughly 19.5 percent of what the district would have spent if it had not started the energy conservation program, said specialist Michael Parigi.
Parigi and two consultants from Cenergistic attended the Jan. 27 BOE meeting to explain the results of their work.
– See more at: https://www.northjersey.com/news/244884371_Ridgewood_School_district_saves_green_on_energy.html#sthash.R5iucwdi.dpuf