Tag: Ridgewood Schools

Posted on by — Leave a comment

Fishbein: It’s budget season

cottage_place_2_theridgewoodblog.net_6

Fishbein: It’s budget season
March 28, 2014    Last updated: Friday, March 28, 2014, 12:32 AM
By Daniel Fishbein

As is historically done at this time of year, last week the Ridgewood Board of Education (BOE) approved the district’s 2014-2015 preliminary proposed budget for submission to the executive county superintendent. The total budget for next year, which was developed with detailed input from administrators and principals in combination with figures from existing labor agreements, insurance estimates, General Fund revenues plus state aid and debt service, comes in at just under $100 million, at $99,405,376.

These dollars will provide an education for more than 5,800 Ridgewood Public Schools students, which constitute 25 percent of the village’s residents. This proposed budget, as always, is largely supported by the local tax levy, which I am happy to report is the lowest increase in a decade, 1.908 percent.

I use the term proposed budget because until the executive superintendent approves it and a public hearing is held at our regular public meeting on April 28, the budget cannot be formally adopted by the board. Please note that this year the BOE voted to move the annual school board elections from April to November, thereby eliminating the annual voter referendum on the proposed general tax levy that is at or below the statutory tax levy cap (currently 2 percent).

Each year it is an ongoing challenge to create a fiscally responsible budget while upholding the district’s mission of excellence. Excellence requires:

– See more at: https://www.northjersey.com/news/education/it-s-budget-season-1.753148#sthash.bAFm0oP2.dpuf

Posted on by — 1 Comment

Delaying new standardized testing would benefit schools, students: Opinion

sat-test-2

Delaying new standardized testing would benefit schools, students: Opinion

by Patrick J. Fletcher and Daniel Fishbein

Increases in academic rigor, use of technology in assessing student performance and professional accountability for teachers and administrators all represent a positive direction — but without expanding capacity in our state’s school districts, it may well be impossible to successfully implement these initiatives.

And since New Jersey’s schools, particularly those in Bergen County, are already among the finest anywhere, one unavoidable question arises. What’s the rush?

Beginning with the coming school year, the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers standardized test series replaces current state testing. With 19 other states, New Jersey agreed to adopt PARCC to better assess students on the Common Core Standards. The test is designed to be administered online multiple times throughout the year, and data gathered also will be used to evaluate teachers and
principals.

https://www.nj.com/opinion/index.ssf/2014/03/delaying_new_standardized_testing_would_benefit_schools_students_opinion.html

Posted on by — Leave a comment

Ridgewood administrator details Common Core standards

Children-of-the-Core

Ridgewood administrator details Common Core standards

MARCH 27, 2014    LAST UPDATED: THURSDAY, MARCH 27, 2014, 3:32 PM
BY LAURA HERZOG
STAFF WRITER

Fresh off the heels of Indiana’s announcement on Monday that it would be the first state to formally drop the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) for math and language arts, about 100 parents attended the district’s presentation on the standards on Tuesday night at Orchard School.

And in spite of all the looming national agitation, most parents appeared to leave feeling much less concerned about the initiative.

The presentation highlighted what the district believes are the many positive aspects of the CCSS, including its professed aim to improve the ability of U.S. students to compete globally.

Ridgewood father James Giordano stood up to leave at the tail end of the presentation and made an announcement.

“I came here to this meeting very pessimistic … This is very encouraging. I’m very pleasantly surprised,” he said.

– See more at: https://www.northjersey.com/news/education/ridgewood-administrator-details-common-core-standards-1.752820#sthash.hyZ03XBv.dpuf

Posted on by — 6 Comments

Food Fight: Local Delis, Students Upset Over New Bergen Schools Rules On Food Deliveries

090109belushi

Food Fight: Local Delis, Students Upset Over New Bergen Schools Rules On Food Deliveries

Officials: We Don’t Want Outsiders In Our Buildings; Bring Lunch Or Buy Here
March 24, 2014 6:34 PM

RIDGEWOOD, N.J. (CBSNewYork) — It’s a trend that is being stopped in its tracks.

Administrators in one New Jersey school district have put a stop to food deliveries during school hours. It had become a popular alternative to the school cafeteria.

For 5,900 students in Bergen County it’s a simple directive: either carry in your lunch or buy it at the cafeteria. No more delivery.

A local deli owner told CBS 2’s Lou Young the new rule is killing him.

“I used to do 150 lunches on a slow day, up to 250 a day. I was in eight schools, and now that’s down to zero,” said Roger Schmorrbusch, owner of the Park Wood Deli.

https://newyork.cbslocal.com/2014/03/24/local-delis-students-upset-over-new-bergen-schools-rules-on-food-deliveries/

Posted on by — Leave a comment

Ridgewood school board sends spending plan to county

cottage_place_theridgewoodblog.net_21

Ridgewood school board sends spending plan to county

MARCH 24, 2014    LAST UPDATED: MONDAY, MARCH 24, 2014, 11:02 AM
BY LAURA HERZOG
STAFF WRITER

The Board of Education (BOE) has approved Ridgewood’s preliminary 2014-2015 school year budget.

The spending plan will now be submitted to and reviewed by the executive county superintendent of schools.

The proposed $86,223,037 local tax levy features a 1.908 percent property tax hike, amounting to $172.80 more in school taxes for the owner of an average assessed home in the village, valued at $688,358.

If the executive county superintendent approves the proposed budget, Ridgewood’s public hearing on the spending plan will take place at 7:30 p.m. on April 28 at the Education Center on Cottage Place. Additional budget presentations are planned for April (see page B3 for details).

There will be no public budget vote this year, in light of the board’s decision last year to forgo April school board elections.

Business Administrator Michael Falkowski’s updated 2014-2015 budget presentation, which he presented to the board on Monday, is now available online via a link on the district’s homepage.

During Monday’s presentation, Falkowski emphasized next year’s technology upgrades, building improvements and Ridgewood’s high educational ranking. Ridgewood High School is in the top 1 percent of the nation and No. 2 in New Jersey, excluding specialty high schools, based on a U.S. News & World Report 2013 ranking, he noted.

– See more at: https://www.northjersey.com/news/education/ridgewood-school-board-sends-spending-plan-to-county-1.750244#sthash.Qa0taCIm.dpuf

Posted on by — 1 Comment

Proposed N.J. cap on college tuition faces stiff resistance

animal-house2

Proposed N.J. cap on college tuition faces stiff resistance

A bill to mandate a fixed-rate four-year tuition at the state’s colleges and universities would, if made into law, put New Jersey in the vanguard of states trying the tactic in an effort to hold down college costs.

But the measure — introduced as the “signature piece” of a 20-bill higher education reform package last week — is likely to face stiff opposition from the schools and critics who say there is no evidence that it will stem tuition in the long run.

“There’s reason to oppose any bill that caps tuition,” said Paul Shelly, spokesman for the New Jersey Association of State Colleges and Universities. “We’re already at 1990s levels of state funding and now you’re going to handicap the colleges from raising the money they need?”

There are different variations of fixed-rate tuition plans around the country. Rates can be locked in for four, five or even six years. Some colleges just fix tuition and not fees, while others include housing. Some schools charge more for the fixed-rate plan at the outset, with families hedging against future tuition increases.

The trend is still small, with less than 7 percent of the nation’s colleges and universities offering fixed-rate plans last year, according to the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators. But the numbers are growing. The legislatures in Illinois and Texas have both approved bills requiring that public colleges offer a fixed-rate plan. (Alex/The Record)

https://www.northjersey.com/news/proposed-n-j-cap-on-college-tuition-faces-stiff-resistance-1.749168#sthash.Er8NfC8w.dpuf

Posted on by — Leave a comment

How Democratic donors benefit financially from climate policy

Steyer-Soros-Podesta

Gas Attack

Column: How Democratic donors benefit financially from climate policy

BY: Matthew Continetti
March 21, 2014 5:00 am

Some lies just won’t go away. In February the Washington Post published an article with the following headline: “Why There’s No Democratic Version of the Koch Brothers’ Organization.” It was the umpteenth attempt to explain, in a particularly simplistic manner, how the millionaires and billionaires who donate money to the Democratic Party are nothing, absolutely nothing, like those meanie cancer research philanthropists Charles and David Koch.

The author, Reid Wilson, interviewed “Democratic strategists who deal frequently with high-dollar donors,” and these Democratic strategists told him, strategically, that their high-dollar donors are better than Republican ones. “For the Koch brothers, electing the right candidate can mean a financial windfall,” Wilson wrote. “Democratic donors revolve more around social issues.” On the one hand you have petty, greedy rich men, and on the other you have committed liberals willing to sacrifice for causes they believe in. The morality play writes itself.

Now, these liberals are not totally selfless, Wilson cautions. They are human beings; they have egos; they seek affirmation. “Donors like being recognized for their philanthropic gestures.” Hedge-fund billionaire and radical environmentalist Tom Steyer, for example, “cooperated with the New Yorker when it wrote a profile of him last year.” Charles and David Koch, though, “didn’t cooperate when the magazine took a look at their political activities,” presumably because “no one needs to send the message that the better-known Koch brothers are there for Republican candidates.” So that’s why the Kochs didn’t talk to Jane Mayer.

Does Reid Wilson believe in Santa Claus? His willingness to suspend disbelief when confronted with the image of a mythic creature—the un-self-interested liberal—suggests as much. The words “labor” and “union” appear nowhere in his article, despite the fact that unions are 6 of the 10 top all-time donors recently compiled by OpenSecrets.org, despite the fact that unions spent some $4.4 billion on politics between 2005 and 2011. (Incidentally, every member of the OpenSecrets.org top ten either leaned Democratic or split money evenly between the two parties. The Democrats are not hurting for money.)

Unions, their leadership, and their staff see political giving as “an investment,” any non-cross-eyed observer of the political scene would agree, with donations laundered back to the SEIU, AFSCME, NEA, UAW, and others in the form of generous and unsustainable pensions, wage laws benefiting closed shops over free labor, government-mandated dues and contracts, and job protections that make it difficult even for child predators to be fired from schools. That’s an ROI the hosts of the Shark Tank would envy.

https://freebeacon.com/gas-attack/

Posted on by — 9 Comments

Ridgewood High school classroom mimics crime scene

crime-scene

Ridgewood High school classroom mimics crime scene

MARCH 21, 2014    LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY, MARCH 21, 2014, 12:31 AM
BY LAURA HERZOG
STAFF WRITER

The classroom was a crime scene.

Caution tape was everywhere.

A dead body lay sprawled on the floor.

This, of course, wasn’t a real crime (or a real body), but it was there to help simulate a real investigation.

The fake, model body on the floor was part of a lesson in Karen Walters’ forensics class for Ridgewood High School (RHS) seniors. Now in its second year, the new interdisciplinary college-level course allows students to learn a variety of subjects while using hands-on techniques, sometimes to solve classroom crimes.

And it’s not just faux deaths that the class investigates.

Once, the students discovered that their classroom had – surprise – been the subject of a burglary.

That classroom burglary was executed before class by Walters, who said she “should have gotten an Emmy” for her acting performance that day.

“I said, ‘What happened?!” she recalled.

– See more at: https://www.northjersey.com/news/education/high-school-classroom-mimics-crime-scene-1.747145#sthash.Le9BpJPr.dpuf

Posted on by — 1 Comment

Ridgewood RHS. boys indoor track : The Record Indoor Track Team of the Year

Tradition_of_excellence_theridgewoodblog.net_1-1

Ridgewood RHS. boys indoor track : The Record Indoor Track Team of the Year

MARCH 21, 2014    LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY, MARCH 21, 2014, 1:21 AM
BY PAUL SCHWARTZ
STAFF WRITER
THE RECORD

There’s an old saying that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. That’s very true of the Ridgewood squad that was The Record Boys Indoor Track Team of the Year.

No individual Ridgewood athletes made All-North Jersey First Team or Second Team and nobody was selected All-Bergen First Team.

Yet the Maroons were the best team in North Jersey, with an overwhelming victory at the Big North Freedom meet and a seven-point win in the Bergen County Relays large school division. And despite losing by seven to West Orange in the Group 4 sectionals, the Maroons were still worthy of the honor.

“When some of our better athletes didn’t perform up to expectations, others stepped up,” Ridgewood coach Josh Saladino said. “Maybe our best performances came after a bad meet as our kids rebounded from meet to meet.”

– See more at: https://www.northjersey.com/sports/high-school-sports/boys-indoor-track/teamwork-helped-maroons-succeed-1.747291#sthash.rfxz6JUT.dpuf

Posted on by — 1 Comment

NJ lawmakers introduce sweeping education reforms aimed at lowering college costs

Animal-House

NJ lawmakers introduce sweeping education reforms aimed at lowering college costs

MARCH 20, 2014, 11:28 AM    LAST UPDATED: THURSDAY, MARCH 20, 2014, 11:53 PM
BY PATRICIA ALEX
STAFF WRITER
THE RECORD

A package of bills that would dramatically change everything from how college students pay for their meals and textbooks to how quickly tuition could rise was introduced Thursday by Democratic lawmakers who want to force the state’s colleges to graduate more students and keep costs in check.

But the 20-bill initiative faces several political and practical hurdles in a state that is home to the most expensive higher education in the nation.

The New Jersey Statehouse.

The proposals include a four-year tuition freeze, a tax-credit for student loans and provisions to shut down schools with low-graduation rates. The concepts behind the bills — introduced in the Assembly on Thursday — have appeared elsewhere as states try to grapple with the national problem of escalating college costs, but the sweeping scope of the New Jersey package appears unique.

– See more at: https://www.northjersey.com/news/nj-lawmakers-introduce-sweeping-education-reforms-aimed-at-lowering-college-costs-1.746746#sthash.IbhrOaYL.dpuf

Posted on by — 1 Comment

Ridgewood Police Sixth report of an attempted luring of a child in northern New Jersey

1797541_10152361505226320_256732152_n

FOX 5 / MyFoxNY.com’s photo.

Ridgewood Police Sixth report of an attempted luring of a child in northern New Jersey

March 19, 2014

There is now a sixth report of an attempted luring of a child in northern New Jersey. In the latest incident, a boy in Hackensack was walking to school on Monday morning when a man asked him if he’d help him find his lost dog. Police are also investigating reports of luring attempts in Leonia, Norwood and Ridgefield Park. Full story at this link:

Ridgewood Chief of Police John Ward has issued a safety message to parents and guardians about recent attempted luring incidents in Bergen County. Please click here  to read the letter, which was distributed by Dr. Fishbein yesterday.

Posted on by — 3 Comments

PARCC Field Test Goes Online as Exam Moves Closer to Full Development

cottage_place_theridgewoodblog.net_21

PARCC Field Test Goes Online as Exam Moves Closer to Full Development 

Kudos and controversies aside, New Jersey is about to undergo a sea change in the way it evaluates students, schools, and teachers.

PARCC is finally here — or at least pretty close.

Starting on Monday, more than 1,200 schools across New Jersey will start field-testing the new online state exams that are part of the 17-state Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Career (PARCC).

The testing is a change in the way New Jersey assesses how its public schools are performing and students are learning, fully aligned with the national Common Core State Standard.

For the first time, the tests will be administered entirely online. (Mooney/NJSpotlight)

https://www.njspotlight.com/stories/14/03/19/parcc-field-test-goes-online-as-exam-moves-closer-to-full-deployment/

Posted on by — Leave a comment

Teachers, Administrators Give Mixed Reviews to New Evaluations after Test Run

unnamed5-300x225

Teachers, Administrators Give Mixed Reviews to New Evaluations after Test Run  

But survey of educators who took part in tryout of new system shows most not worried about impact on jobs, tenure.

For all the debate going on outside classroom walls, New Jersey schoolteachers who actually have been through the new state-mandated evaluation system have not found it to be as nerve-wracking as everyone thinks.

In a survey conducted by a team of Rutgers researchers, teachers and administrators who took part in the two-year pilot rollout of the evaluation system had mixed reactions to the new rules and the potential consequences for their careers.

On one hand, there was a wide range of opinion regarding whether the system was entirely fair and accurate, with administrators expressing much more faith than teachers — by a more than 2-to-1 margin.

Nevertheless, three-quarters of teachers surveyed by the Rutgers team said they were not worried that the new evaluations – including those newly tied to student performance — would have a negative impact on their tenure protections.

Even among teachers working to attain tenure, a majority said the new metrics would have little impact or might actually help them more than hurt in keeping their jobs. There were some pockets of anxiety over job security, to be sure, but the Rutgers researchers said it was not widespread – at least not yet. (Mooney/NJSpotlight)

https://www.njspotlight.com/stories/14/03/17/teachers-administrators-give-mixed-reviews-to-new-evaluations-after-test-run/

Posted on by — Leave a comment

Common Core money man Bill Gates defends K-12 experiment in ABC News interview

Lipstick-on-a-pig

Common Core money man Bill Gates defends K-12 experiment in ABC News interview
March 17, 2014
Ben Velderman

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Microsoft founder Bill Gates appeared on a Sunday talk show to respond to criticism of Common Core, the one-size-fits-all math and English learning standards that are being used in schools in 45 states.

In a softball interview with ABC “This Week” host George Stephanopoulos, Gates addressed concerns that Common Core will undermine local and state control over public education.

“The Common Core is not a curriculum. It doesn’t tell you how to teach. It’s not a federal takeover. Nobody’s pushing for that,” Gates said.

Gates – whose personal foundation has reportedly spent nearly $200 million to get the Common Core experiment off the ground – said the nationalized learning standards are better than states’ previous learning expectations because they emphasize genuine understanding of the material, instead of rote memorization.

“I believe 10 years from now, kids’ competence in math, kids’ scores in math, can be improved a lot,” Gates predicted.

“I think this is going to be a big win for education.”

There are a couple of major problems with Gates’ answers. We’ll start with his predictions that Common Core will help America compete in the global marketplace.

The Common Core standards were not piloted on actual students before they were adopted and implemented back in 2010 and 2011. The fact is no one can say with certainty if Common Core’s approach to math – which emphasizes “critical thinking” over memorizing basic information – is going to produce a generation of more and better mathematicians.

In fact, there are a number of thoughtful scholars who expect Common Core will have a disastrous effect on the national goal of preparing students for a career in a STEM field (science, technology, engineering and mathematics).

That same uncertainty applies to Common Core’s English standards which focus on non-fiction, “informational texts” at the expense of classic literature.

Gates and company believe more practical reading assignments will better prepare students for the ever-changing economy. Critics say the standards will produce an ignorant citizenry that won’t be prepared to think seriously about history, culture and politics.

This means Gates’ prediction that the “higher standards” will yield great academic fruit is just a wild guess. The opposite could just as easily turn out to be true.

But Gates’’ biggest misstatement was his assertion that Common Core doesn’t represent a “federal takeover” of America’s public education system.

While we agree that Common Core isn’t an outright takeover of the nation’s public schools, we believe it does give D.C. bureaucrats backdoor access to the nation’s classrooms.

https://eagnews.org/common-core-money-man-bill-gates-defends-k-12-experiment-in-abc-news-interview/

Posted on by — Leave a comment

Reader says We do not need pitchforks to say NO to over development

unnamed-10

Reader says We do not need pitchforks to say NO to over development

Much like the valley hospital situation, these people need an exception to the master plan. We do not need pitchforks to say NO. We do not even need a middle ground. These entities are all looking to build/expand so that they can make more money. Nothing personal, it’s just business.

What is in it for the town? More traffic, more kids in the schools and even less parking?

wine.com