APRIL 17, 2015 LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY, APRIL 17, 2015, 12:31 AM
BY MARK KRULISH
STAFF WRITER |
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS
An ordinance introduced last week to limit the hours motorists can park on Corella Court during the school day has nearby residents concerned that parking problems will now spill over onto neighboring Stevens Avenue.
From Sept. 1 through June 30, parking will be limited to two hours from 8 a.m. until 3 p.m. on both sides of Corella Court. The ordinance also calls for a stop sign to be installed on the east side of the street at its intersection with Stevens Avenue.
The changes stem from an influx of cars parked on Corella Court for hours at a time each day, which was attributed to construction done at Hawes Elementary School that took away parking from employees, forcing them to the nearby cul-de-sac, said Village Manager Roberta Sonenfeld.
“It is a serious situation at Corella Court,” Sonenfeld said. “We cannot get emergency vehicles in and out [and] people cannot back out of their driveways, so it really is a serious problem.”
Jim Brandes, a Stevens Avenue resident, said the current proposal will only move the problem further up the street to the area of Stevens Avenue north of Corella Court. Brandes said the situation will, in fact, become more dangerous because Stevens Avenue is busier and more narrow than Corella Court.
APRIL 16, 2015 LAST UPDATED: THURSDAY, APRIL 16, 2015, 3:43 PM
BY DARIUS AMOS
STAFF WRITER |
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS
Municipal officials gave high marks to the Ridgewood school system for its overall work and offered preliminary support to the district’s proposed $101 million budget.
At the annual joint meeting between the village’s governing and education leaders on Monday, Board of Education members and district administrators reviewed their anticipated 2015-16 spending plan, which will be up for BOE vote later this month.
The schools budget calls for an average tax bill increase of approximately $195, a figure based on an assessed home value of $690,662.
When combined with the district’s outstanding debt service levy, the amount to be paid is a 2.04 percent increase over last year.
In explaining the proposal, Alfredo Aguilar, district business administrator, highlighted the various programs that the budget would support. Included in his list were four additional staff positions, 13 new class offerings throughout the high school and middle schools, and $1.5 million earmarked for technology maintenance and upgrades.
N.J. releases figures on opt-out rates for new state tests
APRIL 15, 2015, 7:17 PM LAST UPDATED: WEDNESDAY, APRIL 15, 2015, 7:43 PM
BY HANNAN ADELY
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD
TRENTON — The state education commissioner is urging students to sit down for the second round of new state tests, which starts in two weeks in many schools, even if they were among the thousands who opted out in the first round of testing.
Refusal rates for the tests ranged from 4 percent to 15 percent, depending on grade level, according to preliminary figures released Wednesday by the state Department of Education. The numbers were part of a snapshot of testing that Commissioner David Hespe provided Wednesday.
“We are encouraging school leaders to reach back out to parents and students and the school community and continue the message of how important participation is and how valuable those school reports are going to be,” Hespe said in an interview with The Record.
Hespe described the first round of tests known as PARCC as “successful,” despite refusals and protests from parents and teachers who argue that they take up too much time and resources and are too difficult. The commissioner noted that 98 percent of students took the test by computer – the highest rate of the 11 states that gave the tests – and that there were few, mostly minor problems with technology.
There was not a single employee of the Ridgewood Public School System who could have been promoted to fill the principal’s position at Orchard?
What does that say about top District management and the BOE itself if we have no viable succession program?
From last night’s meeting agenda:
iv. Appointments
Administrator
FERRERI, Mary, K. – Principal of Orchard School, effective
July 15, 2015 through June 30, 2016.
Mrs. Ferreri credentials are as follows:
Montclair State University, Upper Montclair, New Jersey
Master of Arts in Educational Administration – 2005
The College of New Jersey, Ewing, New Jersey
Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education/History – 2002
Experience:
Westwood Regional School District; Principal, George
Elementary School – July 2010 to present
Westwood Regional School District; Acting Assistant
Principal, George & Ketler Schools/Supervisor of
Elementary Programs/District Head Teacher K-6 – January
2009 to June 2010
Westwood Regional School District; Third Grade Teacher –
2002 to 2009
Westwood Regional School District; First Grade Teacher –
2002 to 2009
The Ridgewood Board of Education will hold a Regular Public Meeting on Monday, April 13, 2015 at 7:30 p.m. This meeting will include a Joint Meeting with the Ridgewood Village Council to discuss the proposed 2015-2016 school budget.
The public is invited to attend the meeting at the Ed Center, 49 Cottage Place, Floor 3. The meeting will be aired live on FiOS channel 33 and Optimum channel 77. Or it may be viewed live via the district website at www.ridgewood.k12.nj.us using the “Link in Live” tab.
Click here to view the agenda for the April 13, 2015 Joint Meeting with the Village Council and Regular Public Meeting.
Click here to view the 2015-2016 preliminary proposed budget presented at the March 23, 2015 Regular Public Meeting
April 10, 2015 Last updated: Friday, April 10, 2015, 12:31 AM
The Ridgewood News
To the Editor:
In a March 27, 2015 column in this paper, our Superintendent of Schools Dan Fishbein argued in support of “good digital citizenship,” a reprint of which all district parents received via email subsequently. In it, Dr. Fishbein told an amusing, cautionary tale about divulging one’s identity to vendors and its far-reaching consequences, a vexing aspect of modern life. He then related this experience to students posting about PARCC testing via social media.
I object to Dr. Fishbein’s column and email because I am worried that they minimize legitimate concerns about what appears to be an effort by private agents and public officials to squelch dissent to the new PARCC standardized tests.
It came to light the other week that Pearson, the testing giant, and the NJ Department of Education contracted with a security agent, Caveon, in order to trawl social media sites for mention of PARCC by students. This is ostensibly to protect PARCC test questions from breach and promote fairness, as well as to protect intellectual property. The identity of any student committing a so-called security breach is then reported to the NJ DOE, which has happened to at least one student in Watchung (as reported by its alarmed superintendent).
What used to be one of the few ways to wring value from a standardized test, namely discussing test questions and answers with peers and mentors after a test, is now illicit in this era of Big Standardized Testing.
Further, it is not just “security breaches” that are being swept up by corporate security agents working in tandem with state government. In practice, as Caveon has explained, it is casting an even wider net that may include mere mention of PARCC.
Yes, posting on social media is public and there should be no expectation of privacy. However, so is talking at a playground or on the phone in a pizza parlor. Are we just as comfortable with Pearson agents hiding at the outskirts of school grounds with microphones and cameras, or conducting surveillance through children’s smartphones?
Perhaps children should not be allowed to have social media accounts because they lack maturity and judgment about what to post and not post, an issue that’s come up in many contexts. I agree that we have to guide children in making good judgments in their digital lives.
However, more important than good digital citizens in my view is the raising of courageous citizens who are aware of their right to discuss, dissent, even to disparage ideas, institutions, their leaders. That is what makes American democracy unique and valuable.
If a child tweets that “some PARCC questions were dumb” or “PARCC stinks” or “I wish I could find out before next year how I did on the PARCC so I could learn something,” there should be no risk that that child’s identity will be reported to the state government or that he will incur a permanent black mark on his record.
Ridgewood NJ, The weekly workshops are for girls in grades 6-8 who are interested in finding out more about the high school Colorguard.The workshops take place on Wednesdays through April 22, from 5-6 p.m. in the RHS Band Room. The concluding showcase performance is Thursday, April 23 at 7 p.m. Click here for more information
April 3, 2015 Last updated: Friday, April 3, 2015, 12:31 AM
By Matthew Birchenough
ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR |
The Ridgewood News
RIDGEWOOD — Its roster might look different, but the Ridgewood High School baseball team entered the opening week of the season with a familiar feeling.
The program said goodbye to the 16 seniors that led the team to 16 wins in 2014, but it welcomes back a solid core of varsity contributors as well as a promising group of players from last season’s successful JV and freshman teams, which led to renewed optimism as the Maroons got underway this week.
“Our expectations are still thinking we’re going to be a team that can get into the state playoffs and hopefully the counties, and that’s still part of our mindset,” RHS head coach Kurt Hommen said Sunday night from Vero Beach, Fla., where the Maroons enjoyed a few days of preseason training in sunny weather.
Ridgewood is coming off a solid 16-10 campaign, which included a trip to the North 1, Group 4 semifinals and a near upset of top-seeded Bergen Catholic in the county tournament.
April 3, 2015 Last updated: Friday, April 3, 2015, 12:31 AM
By Matthew Birchenough
ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR |
The Ridgewood News
RIDGEWOOD — Coming off the program’s best record in four years and a top-five finish in The Record rankings, it’s hard to imagine that the Ridgewood High School girls softball team would be overlooked this season.
But that’s exactly where the Maroons stand, due in part to being a member of the powerhouse Freedom Division in the Big North.
“We have a really tough league,” RHS head coach Patti Auger said of the division, which includes No. 2 Northern Highlands, as well as defending State Group 3 champion Indian Hills, which is coming off a 34-0 season. “There are not going to be any easy games, and I like that. I’d much rather have great games where you’re challenged every day and it makes you better ballplayers and a better team.”
The Highlanders and Braves, as well as No. 16 Paramus, all appear poised to challenge for the division crown this season.
Meanwhile, the No. 13 Maroons graduated six seniors from last year’s 20-7 squad, but captains Rachel Pizzuti and Kali Wolfer have been happy with the way the team has come together in the early going.
The Fashion Show is April 19. The Committee is now securing donations for the auction. Click here for more information and the donation form. Items may be dropped off at Gail Mandell’s office, Life Opportunities Unlimited, 75 North Maple Ave. Suite 104 Monday – Friday from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Fashion Show chairpersons are ShariHellman (201-310-6286 [email protected] and Gail Mandeli (201- 248-2575 or [email protected]).
PG-15 upcoming monthly meetings: April 9 and May 14 at 7:30 p.m. in the RHS Library.
Dues are due. Make $165 check payable to “RHS Class of 2015” and mail to Sharon Walker, 94 Sherwood Road, Ridgewood, NJ 07450.
Class of 2015 Project Graduation Representatives
Chairpersons Tara Callaghan 201-803-7778 and Rosie McCooe 201-602-8097
Chairpersons email: [email protected]
Treasurer Sharon Walker [email protected]
Communications Jeff Coster [email protected]
Reader asks I am not sure about Christie but will PJ be attending?
RHS Class of 1980 35th Reunion
October 24, 2015
Sheraton Mahwah Hotel
The Class of 1980 Waits to See if Chris Christie Will Attend Reunion
LIVINGSTON, N.J.—While many Republicans are wondering if New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie will enter the 2016 race for president, his former high-school classmates have a more immediate question: Will he attend their 35th-anniversary reunion?
Mr. Christie has been a devoted member of Livingston High School’s class of 1980, helping to organize reunions before he became governor and keeping up with his classmates through Facebook. (Haddon/Wall Street Journal)
APRIL 2, 2015, 6:54 PM LAST UPDATED: THURSDAY, APRIL 2, 2015, 6:54 PM
BY HANNAN ADELY
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD
The controversy over new state tests has reached Bergen County’s congested roadways, with new billboard ads on Routes 17 and 80.
The ads, which both appeared in Rochelle Park this week, feature the image of a child holding her hand out in a stop gesture. The sign says “Refuse PARCC tests. Bad for kids, bad for education.”
The state tests, known as PARCC, were required for the first time this year for grades 3 to 11 in math and English language arts. The tests measure students knowledge of academic standards and yield data that can be compared to other schools and state.
They are named for the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers, the group of states that developed them.
APRIL 3, 2015 LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY, APRIL 3, 2015, 12:31 AM
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS
Addressing PARCC and Common Core
To the editor:
Over the course of the last eight months, there have been some letters to the editor demonizing the Common Core State Standards and PARCC tests. One such letter appeared last week.
Unfortunately, it contained some misinformation, and also expressed some opinions which, in our view, are unfounded. So let’s be clear about the facts.
The implementation of Common Core State Standards and PARCC testing resulted in little if any incremental spending in the district. Curriculum upgrades and revisions take place routinely and systematically over a five-year cycle. Since New Jersey adopted the Common Core State Standards in 2010, alignment to the Common Core was taken, in stride, as part of that cycle.
No technology upgrades were necessary to implement the PARCC assessment. Technology improvements were already imbedded in the district’s technology plan, and were not undertaken to support PARCC.
Technology’s purpose in education is to take advantage of the best tools and software designed to augment instruction. The introduction of Chromebooks and Google-docs software has been enthusiastically welcomed by both teachers and students. They are recognized for their value in providing for collaborative study and student-teacher interaction and many other innovations.
The Board of Education, administrators, and teachers have a solemn duty to provide our students with the best opportunity to succeed in college and careers. College students constantly use their computers in their residences, the student union, and almost everywhere else. This applies to students of the liberal arts as well as the sciences.
Computer use is not incompatible to fostering a love of learning and development of critical thinking skills. It is a tool that enhances those qualities. We cannot be satisfied with preparing our students to live in some “technology-lite” society that no longer exists. If we want our students to compete globally, we need to prepare them for that reality.
Our media centers have not been converted to “test prep centers.” We have not diminished our excellent social studies, science or arts curriculum to focus on these assessments. Our students are not “watching lots of movies” because “their teachers are too busy to teach as much as they used to.” Movies are used for educational purposes and yes, at times, for rewards, but never because teachers are too busy to teach.
We have not devoted “endless hours” practicing for the PARCC tests. We did expose students to the assessment experience they were going to encounter just as some parents choose to expose their children to SAT, AP and ACT assessment.
Regarding “corporate greed,” we have textbooks and equipment with company logos throughout our schools. We use competitive pricing for all our purchases. Is a private sector company making a profit by serving the district somehow unethical? In our free enterprise system, which we teach to our students, opportunity to profit stimulates entrepreneurship, innovation, product development and efficiency. Success breeds job creation, prosperity and economic growth. This is a virtuous circle, not a “stench.”
These views are ours individually, not on behalf of the Board of Education.
MARCH 31, 2015 LAST UPDATED: TUESDAY, MARCH 31, 2015, 8:44 AM
BY MALCOLM HERBERT
FOR THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS |
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS
Building bridges – when it boils down to it, that’s a big part of what education is really all about.
The Kakehashi Project, operating with the slogan “The Bridge for Tomorrow,” extended that bridge to Ridgewood when 23 Japanese students visited the village as part of the cultural and educational exchange program.
The Kakehashi Project is the United States-focused portion of an effort by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan to “enhance bilateral youth exchange and mutual understanding” between the U.S. and Japan, according to the Ministry.
Ridgewood families hosted the Japanese students from Takamatsu High School from March 23 to 26. While in the village, the students “shadowed” fellow students at Ridgewood High School (RHS) by attending and participating in classes with them. The students will also visit San Francisco before returning to Japan.
The 23 Takmatsu students’ arrival in Ridgewood represents the second and final phase of the project. Last summer, 23 Ridgewood students took a 10-day trip to Japan, where they toured various parts of the country. They traveled through Tokyo and the mountainous Nagano Prefecture, exploring the cultures and educational foundations that have shaped that country.
Tokyo’s Fuchie High School served as the host school for the Ridgewood students. RHS was selected as one of just 47 American high schools to participate in the Kakehashi Project.
APRIL 1, 2015 LAST UPDATED: WEDNESDAY, APRIL 1, 2015, 10:19 AM
BY MALCOLM HERBERT
FOR THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS |
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS
The Ridgewood school district saved about $70,000 last year by installing solar panels at eight schools, and could be looking to increase those revenues by adding more solar energy units at the two middle schools.
Jim Wavle, president of Verterra Renewable Energy Group and a village resident, oversaw the installation of solar panels at all but two of Ridgewood’s public schools nearly three years ago. He was brought back by the Ridgewood Board of Education (BOE) to discuss possibly adding some more.
The potential new units would be set up at George Washington (GW) Middle School, which currently does not have any solar panels, and Benjamin Franklin (BF) Middle School, Wavle said at a BOE meeting last month.
Superintendent of Schools Daniel Fishbein reported that the district is exploring this possibility at this time because “the pricing point for us to expand our solar has come to a better point now.”
The district is considering a small solar project at GW and a larger, carport-based system at BF.
