Author Topic: Education/Charter Schools/Testing  (Read 152503 times)

Offline Editor

  • Administrator
  • *****
  • Posts: 4430
  • Karma: 17
    • View Profile
    • Hackensack Now
Re: Education/Charter Schools/Testing
« Reply #90 on: June 22, 2012, 12:12:48 AM »
Census: N.J. second among states in education spending per student
Thursday, June 21, 2012    Last updated: Thursday June 21, 2012, 11:19 PM
BY LESLIE BRODY
STAFF WRITER
The Record

When it comes to public school spending, New Jersey’s average of $16,841 per pupil in 2010 ranked it second to the top among states, the U. S. Census Bureau reported Thursday.

The average of $18,618 in New York and $18,667 in Washington, D.C., exceeded New Jersey’s per-pupil spending. All nine states in the Northeast region were ranked among the top 15 in spending in 2010.

In arguing for a new tenure bill and weaker seniority rules, Governor Christie has long argued that money alone does not bring achievement, and that billions poured into the state’s poorest city schools have not brought adequate results.  Many educators counter that New Jersey’s schools, in the aggregate, are among the highest-performing in the country, even though there are pockets of chronically troubled schools with dismal test scores and low graduation rates.

There are many ways to calculate per-pupil spending, depending on whether transportation, debt service, capital outlays and other expenses are included. Last year Christie started counting those items, saying doing so gives taxpayers a fuller picture. According to data released in May by the state Department of Education, New Jersey spent an average of $17,469 per student in the school year ending 2011.

The Education Law Center, an advocacy group, asserted that Christie added items to the per-pupil funding figures to bolster his arguments for reining in spending on urban schools. The group says the Christie administration’s proposed 2013 budget, which must be negotiated and passed by July 1, shortchanges poor children.

According to the Census Bureau, Utah spent $6,064 per student, the least nationwide.

Public school systems received $594 billion in 2010, up .5 percent from the prior year. Of that, local and state governments contributed 44 percent each, and federal sources paid the rest.

For detail, go to census.gov/govs/school/

Email: brody@northjersey.com

Offline just watching

  • Long-time poster
  • *****
  • Posts: 928
  • Karma: -25
    • View Profile
Re: Education/Charter Schools/Testing
« Reply #91 on: June 23, 2012, 08:28:58 AM »
Utah. No surprise there.  Utah can afford to spend less per pupil.  There are no struggling inner cities, families are strong, and spiritual values are more important than all the nonsense broadcasted on television. I don't accept that the Mormon Faith is based on actual revelation from God, but you have to respect their model for society. And I don't hear the cries of oppression coming from any other groups in Utah.  Nobody is being oppressed.

Offline Editor

  • Administrator
  • *****
  • Posts: 4430
  • Karma: 17
    • View Profile
    • Hackensack Now
Re: Education/Charter Schools/Testing
« Reply #92 on: July 10, 2012, 10:51:15 AM »
Pioneer in school policing looks back on success in Hackensack
Sunday July 8, 2012, 11:55 PM
BY REBECCA D. O’BRIEN
STAFF WRITER
The Record

When Detective Kenneth Martin left his patrol in the projects to roam the halls of the Hackensack school system, there were no cellphones, no anti-bullying laws and little precedent for his assignment — interacting with students. That was 24 years ago, and Martin was just 10 years out of high school himself.


KEVIN R. WEXLER/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
Detective Kenneth Martin is preparing to retire after 24 years in school policing in Hackensack. Now Martin, 52, is retiring from the position he largely defined as New Jersey’s first school resource officer, a role informed as much by community policing tactics as by Martin’s deep familiarity with the city.

“My approach is to be visible,” Martin said, though at 6 feet 4 inches and 300 pounds, this seems less an approach than an inevitability. “I get out there and interact with students.” Trust, he said, is critical.

“But I have a line, and once they cross that line, they’ve gotta be held accountable for their actions,” said Martin, who also serves as the schools’ liaison to the Police Department.

That line lies in the gray area between juvenile misconduct — the acts and attitudes that schools traditionally addressed internally — and the criminal behavior that lands kids in serious legal trouble.

Police presence in U.S. public schools has increased dramatically over the past three decades, from fewer than 100 cops nationwide in the late 1970s to a peak of roughly 15,000 in 2003. Scholars and policymakers decry this trend, saying overzealous policing endangers students, undermines the educational mission and engenders distrust in vulnerable communities.

They argue that posting police in schools has transformed discipline into criminalization. A 2011 study by the Justice Policy Institute reported that school resource officers had little impact on crime rates in schools, and may encourage dropouts and juvenile arrests.

In place of distrust, Martin leaves “big shoes to fill, literally and figuratively,” said Hackensack Police Chief Tomas Padilla, who credited Martin with shaping the resource officer position with a deft hand. “Somebody once described Kenny as a guidance counselor with a badge,” Padilla said.

Though he wears a bulletproof vest every day, Martin has never drawn his gun on school property. He does not yell. The students cherish him; they consider the school a safe haven, and turn to him with tips and concerns.

“He’s going to be next to irreplaceable,” said Hackensack High School Principal James Montesano, who was a student at Hackensack High in Martin’s early years as SRO. “He is so part of the fabric of our community.”

Martin was born in 1959 to fourth-generation Hackensack parents. He graduated from Hackensack High School in 1978 and enrolled at Bergen Community College, but left after a year to work full time — as a supervisor for armored trucks at a local bank. When the Police Department test came up, in 1986, Martin took it and passed.

He was assigned to the Hackensack housing projects, then in the grips of a crack-induced crime epidemic. His partner, Allen Ust, trained Martin in community policing, a relatively new theory in urban crime prevention.

“Ust’s technique was to go out there, meet the people, be visible, stay out of the police car, and just walk around,” Martin said.

Ust, who later served as the Bergen County undersheriff, said the two worked closely with local youth. “They knew Kenny was a friendly person,” Ust said.

By the early 1980s, the Hackensack Police Department, frustrated by years of emergency calls from the schools, began to assign officers to patrol them. Until Martin came to the schools position, in 1988, the officers stayed in their cars, responding only to crises.

“All the training Ust gave me, when I was assigned here, I took that training with me,” Martin said, sitting in his well-worn office on the first floor of the high school. His phones rang constantly.

Martin has upgraded security at the schools, locking the doors, installing cameras, walking the hallways. For years he accompanied Hackensack’s teams to away games, guarding the locker room. Students began to tip him off to fights in the hallway, imminent drug deals and parties, suspicious characters in the area.

Though he took the lessons of the streets into the schools, much of Martin’s work in the quarter-century since has been keeping the streets out of the schools, which serve roughly 5,000 students.

When Martin first arrived, the biggest problems were drugs and brawls fomented by “outsiders,” Martin said.

“Now the kids from other towns know me,” Martin said. “They know if they came here, they’d automatically get arrested. I have a very good relationship with other schools, because I trained their officers.”

Today, school officials said, 85 percent of their student trouble has to do with social media and cellphones, which have enabled a 24-hour cycle of bullying, “sexting,” and the unchecked spread of gossip, media and teenage vitriol.

“All of this is coming from outside into the school, and so kids are saying, ‘Why are you dealing with this inside the school? It has nothing to do with the school’ — but it does,” Martin said. “It impacts the school community.”

Kids bring other problems to school — broken homes, mental illness, abuse, weapons. Martin once had a girl’s father arrested for sexual assault; he has hauled kids in for selling drugs. Recently, a handful of middle schoolers brought sharp objects to school, threatening to cut themselves.

The father of two girls — the older, Taylor, graduated from Hackensack last month, with a perfect attendance record — Martin is particularly attuned to teenage culture.

“People ask me, ‘Aw man, are the kids worse than they were when I was in school?’ and my answer to that is, ‘No, they’re not worse,’Ÿ” Martin said. “Technology has changed things so much. Things are the same, it’s just they’re doing it in a different way.”

While Hackensack has long simmered with latent racial tensions and police mistrust, Martin believes police should be accountable to the people they serve. “If I’m gonna deal with any youth, I’m going to explain to them what I’m doing and why I’m doing it while I’m doing it,” Martin said.

In this sense, he addresses a frequent criticism of school policing: that it violates student rights and marginalizes at-risk youth.

“Problems that used to be treated as education moments are instead treated as a law enforcement matter,” said Paul Hirschfield, a sociology professor at Rutgers University who specializes in youth, criminal justice and schools. “The issue is when police become overzealous and fail to tolerate any insubordination.”

Hirschfield said school policing can create hostility to the criminal justice system. Ust disagrees.

“When young people see a police car riding down the street, they have no connection to that officer,” Ust said. “But when you have police in schools, they can approach them. Their job isn’t to lock kids up for no reason, their job is to protect the students.”

“I try to avoid filing complaints against a juvenile when I can,” Martin said, though he declined to provide numbers. But in some cases, he said, the courts may be the only way to get students support. “It’s a tough lesson to learn, but juvenile laws are different,” Martin said. “When they do go to court, our society says it wants to rehabilitate our kids, not crucify them or lock them up.”

Padilla, the chief, said Martin has kept “thousands” of kids out of the criminal justice system. “The bottom line is to discipline, to teach,” Padilla said. “Sometimes, things that could escalate into complaints and courts can be better handled at the school level using school personnel.”

“I guess it’s an art,” Padilla said. “You have to know when you need to be soft and when you need to be hard. Martin is also one of the toughest guys you’ll ever meet.”

Still, Montesano, the high school principal, said: “He always knew that the kids came first, and that kids make mistakes.”

Martin serves on several local and national school safety boards, and has received many awards.

Later this month, the National Association of School Resource Officers will honor Martin with its 2012 Exceptional Service Award at its annual conference in Reno.

Nobody has been officially tapped to succeed Martin, though Padilla said an officer had been trailing him.

Martin is spending this summer as he always does, working in the police department. He plans to spend the rest of the year “getting my life together.” Afterward, he hopes to stay involved in Hackensack.

He may not have a choice — Montesano said he plans to reach out for advice. “I told him, don’t change your phone number.”

Email: obrien@northjersey.com
« Last Edit: March 01, 2013, 11:28:17 AM by Editor »

Offline Editor

  • Administrator
  • *****
  • Posts: 4430
  • Karma: 17
    • View Profile
    • Hackensack Now
Re: Education/Charter Schools/Testing
« Reply #93 on: March 01, 2013, 11:21:16 AM »
Hackensack teachers protest as contracts are still pending
Friday, March 1, 2013
BY  JENNIFER VAZQUEZ
NEWS EDITOR
Hackensack Chronicle

Hackensack School District educators come together in unison, every Friday morning, as they rally outside district schools. These demonstrations are, in solidarity, to protest the current contract negotiations and the fact that a resolution is still pending.


BERNADETTE MARCINIAK/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
Teachers gather in front of Hackensack district schools, including Hackensack Middle School, above, Friday mornings before the school day begins. This is meant as a way of bringing awareness to their current contract negotiations. HMS science teacher Theresa Jones said it's a non-disruptive, peaceful way to stand up for fair contracts without bringing students into the middle of negotiations. The teachers' demonstrations take place before the start of the school day — during the past few weeks, said Michael DeOrio, the Hackensack Education Association vice president.

"We are doing this as a sign of solidarity," DeOrio said.

DeOrio is not only the vice president of the association but a special education teacher in Hackensack Middle School. He has worked for the district for the past 10 years, albeit his overall experience as an educator spans 17-and-a-half years.

Contracts for district educators expired in June 2012, according to HEA Chief Negotiator Louis Ferrante, who is also Hackensack High School biology teacher.

"Our contract expired in June," he said. "But we have been negotiating since March 2012."

According to Ferrante, teachers and the board of education met, in excess of 24 hours, to try to come to an understanding — to no avail. Because of this, both sides reached an impasse and a mediator was assigned to the case.

An impasse takes place when the two sides negotiating are unable to reach an agreement.

Though these protests do not effect or hinder the educators' work day, many who take part believe it is a necessity to bring awareness to the proceedings.

"This is us coming together in unity," Hackensack Middle School science teacher and negotiator Theresa Jones said during a Friday morning demonstration. "We are standing up for what we believe in and what we believe in is a fair contract."

"The gatherings take place every Friday," Ferrante said. "[The protests] are nothing like Meet the Mediator Rally because the county or teachers from other districts aren't involved. Only Hackensack teachers are participating and it only takes place on Fridays.

"We gather outside the schools — this is happening at all Hackensack schools — before the start of the [school day]…We still adhere by our contractual time. We start at this time on Fridays and leave at our contractual time on Fridays. …We want to stand-up and receive what is fair and reasonable."

What is "fair and reasonable," includes, among other provisions, a better pay and work schedule, according to DeOrio and Ferrante.

"Our association is not happy with the proposals set forth by the board of education," DeOrio said. "For one thing, our pay is well below the county average. The percentage is insulting. ...We are hoping to receive a fair adjustment in salaries. We are hopeful that our school year and our school day is not altered."

According to DeOrio, the board of education is aiming toward making a longer school year. State legislation mandates that New Jersey schools work off a 180-day school calendar. Hackensack teachers work 185 days, DeOrio said.

Due to ongoing litigation and negotiations, specifics on what exactly is sought by district teachers cannot be addressed, according to DeOrio and Ferrante.

New Jersey Education Association UNISERV Representative Norman Danzig, who has been involved with the contract negotiation since it went to mediation, said the board of education is unrealistic in its requests — which currently includes 38 proposals.

"What [the board] is looking to do is, essentially, gut the entire union contract," he said. "They currently brought 38 proposals to the bargaining table. That's unheard of. [Feb. 28] is our third mediation meeting, by this point in time topics are generally narrowed down to half a dozen…they want to undo years of contract between the union and board…the board is totally unrealistic in their negotiations."

"In the past, we always had a very good relationship with the board of education," DeOrio said. "That isn't the case this time around. I chalk this up to an inexperienced negotiating team in the [board of education]. There are currently four members sitting on the board that have never negotiated contracts before."

According to DeOrio, the four members are: Clarissa Gardner, Dr. Angel Carrion, Kevon Larkins and Rhonda Bembry.

However, the teacher's union is content with the fact that the board brought in legal counsel – the Machado Law Group — who is familiar with negotiations, after mediation was determined, according to Danzig.

Despite the fact that requests being made by both sides are not made public due to ongoing proceedings, Interim Superintendent Joseph Abate knows that the next mediation meeting will bring forth passionate debate from both sides.

"At this point, there is nothing much I can say, except that I expect, and know, both [teachers and the board] are going to be active in their discussions [Feb. 28]," he said.

The Machado Law Group had no comment regarding the negotiations.

Email: vazquez@northjersey.com

Offline Editor

  • Administrator
  • *****
  • Posts: 4430
  • Karma: 17
    • View Profile
    • Hackensack Now
Re: Education/Charter Schools/Testing
« Reply #94 on: March 08, 2013, 11:01:16 AM »
Hackensack teachers' contract negotiations reach 'fact finding' stage
Friday, March 8, 2013
BY  JENNIFER VAZQUEZ
NEWS EDITOR
Hackensack Chronicle

After the third mediation session took place Feb. 28, the Hackensack Board of Education and district teachers have not come to an agreement regarding teacher contracts.

This stall in a final decision has prompted the parties to go on to a next step —fact finding.

According to Hackensack Education Association Vice President Michael DeOrio, the "third and final mediation session ended at 1:30 a.m."

"Even though there was some progress made, [both sides] were far enough apart in order for a fact finder to be brought in as a next step," HEA chief negotiator and Hackensack High School biology teacher Louis Ferrante said.

According to Ferrante, who has been a teacher for the past 20 years —19 of those as part of the Hackensack School District —this is the first time, he can remember, the district going to fact finding.

New Jersey Education Association UNISERV Representative Norman Danzig, who has been involved with the Hackensack district negotiations since mediation, said that the fact finding stage will be a lengthy process.

"Let me put it this way," he said. "If memory serves me right, I filed for mediation around June and we just finished [Feb. 28]. Fact finding will certainly be as long, if not longer."

The fact finding stage of the contract negotiations is the next step, after mediation, under the Public Sector Collective Bargaining law, according to Danzig. This stage includes bringing in a fact finder.

"The first meeting will essentially be a mediation," Danzig said. "This is done in hopes of a possibility of a settlement. If there still is no mutual agreement, we will have a formal fact finding hearing."

The fact finder, who is assigned to the case by the Public Employment Relations Commission (PERC), will be presented "testimony, information, data and a tremendous amount of facts" by both parties, according to Danzig.

The fact finder will then gather all the presented information and creates a report after closing arguments from both sides. This report is, essentially, a third-party decision and is non-binding, according to Ferrante and Danzig.

"We have gone to mediation before," Ferrante said. "We have worked it out very quickly. This time around it has been different."

Superintendent Joseph Abate, however, is hopeful that an agreement can be met.

"I am disappointed with the outcome [of mediation], however, I am confident that an agreement can be met," he said.

Abate also said he hopes the teachers "will uphold their professional responsibilities during the remaining part of the process."

The Machado Law Group —counsel to the Board of Education —had no comment, as they normally do not comment on cases.

Offline Editor

  • Administrator
  • *****
  • Posts: 4430
  • Karma: 17
    • View Profile
    • Hackensack Now
Re: Education/Charter Schools/Testing
« Reply #95 on: March 23, 2013, 10:49:55 AM »
Hackensack considers using Padre Pio Academy for kindergarten classes
Friday March 22, 2013, 5:00 PM
BY  JENNIFER VAZQUEZ
NEWS EDITOR
Hackensack Chronicle

HACKENSACK - School officials are looking to convert the soon-to-be-vacant Padre Pio Academy into an additional building to hold the district's pre-kindergarten and kindergarten classes.


Interim Superintendent Joseph Abate discussed the potential for the district to use the Padre Pio Academy building, after it is vacated, in an attempt to alleviate overcrowding by moving the district's pre-kindergarten and kindergarten classes there.
BERNADETTE MARCINIAK/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Interim Superintendent Joseph Abate discussed the potential for the district to use the Padre Pio Academy building, after it is vacated, in an attempt to alleviate overcrowding by moving the district's pre-kindergarten and kindergarten classes there.

Interim Superintendent Joseph Abate touched on this plan during the presentation of the 2013-2014 school budget Thursday night.

"Our elementary schools are bursting at the seams," he said. "Each of our elementary schools struggled with enrollment, including kindergarten - so much so that we added two kindergarten classes this year."

Though the board is looking into a long-term plan that will deal with increasing enrollment figures, it could take years for complete execution.

"When talking about a long-range plan, there is a lot of work involved, including community input," said Abate. "This can take three to five years, but the [student population increase] issue is happening today."

While the early childhood school is a possibility, Abate also mentioned the possibility of the district keeping kindergarten classes in two different schools to accommodate students who would have to travel long distances to get to the proposed early education school.

"We might retain kindergartens in two other schools," he said. "In Hillers [school] for those students in the southern end of town and in Parker [school] to accommodate the people in the north. This way there would be no need for [the district] to provide transportation - which is very expensive."

Transportation for special needs students is mandatory, it is not for the general student population.

Abate and a number of other officials have been to the Padre Pio building a number of times. The school, according to Abate, was built in the 1960s and includes a gym and auditorium.

Negotiations with the Archdiocese of Newark, the entity that owns the building, is currently taking place.

"We sent a proposal and received a counterproposal that is very doable," Abate said. "I see the board continuing on its way to a long-range plan, but this plan would give the board a breather. They can later decide to either buy the building or build another."

Board member Angel Carrion said the district could possibly pay $1 million a year for leasing the property.

When a resident in the audience asked if the board is looking for the acquisition of Padre Pio to take place in time for the following school year, Abate stressed the need to move quickly.

"We have to take this opportunity and move quickly before a charter school comes in and takes a hold of the building," he said.

Email: vazquez@northjersey.com

Offline Editor

  • Administrator
  • *****
  • Posts: 4430
  • Karma: 17
    • View Profile
    • Hackensack Now
Re: Education/Charter Schools/Testing
« Reply #96 on: April 21, 2013, 09:20:40 PM »
Parents, students seek coveted entry to prestigious Bergen charter school
Sunday, April 21, 2013 Last updated: Sunday April 21, 2013, 9:30 AM
BY  HANNAN ADELY
STAFF WRITER
The Record

GARFIELD — Parents leaned in, eyes wide, to read the names flashing on the screen of the children who had made it into kindergarten at the Bergen Arts and Science Charter School through a lottery.


Jennifer Arroyo, second from left, with daughter Kaitlin, 11, at the admissions lottery for Bergen Arts and Science charter school in Garfield. Kaitlin was able to get on the waiting list.
DON SMITH/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER


Jennifer Arroyo, second from left, with daughter Kaitlin, 11, at the admissions lottery for Bergen Arts and Science charter school in Garfield. Kaitlin was able to get on the waiting list.

With 247 applications and only 80 open spots — 46 spots already awarded to students' siblings — the odds were long.

"I did not hear any cheers," said Nihat Guvercin, the school's chief executive officer and team leader, as he glanced around the gym.

Sharon Whitaker broke the silence with a solo clap from a corner seat in the last row. "I'm excited," said the Hackensack resident, talking about her 5-year-old son, who got in. "He has a chance to have a better education."

Many more parents got the disappointing news at the school admissions lottery Saturday that their children didn't make the cut and would be placed on lengthy wait lists. The lottery has become an annual tradition for hundreds of families who vie to enter the high-performing charter school. Parents say they're impressed by the class size, the science and technology program, and the discipline at the charter school, which they believe is superior to other non-charter public schools.

With that in mind, many had hopes riding on the lottery, including Tania Cespedes of Garfield. She has tried unsuccessfully for the past two years to enroll her son Christian, 7.

Christian, who applied to first grade, was unlucky again this year when he didn't place in any of the 16 open spots. Cespedes said she believed her son would have gotten individual attention at the Bergen charter school that he lacked at his own school.

"He's just another kid going to school," she said. "Nobody knows my child."

She vowed to keep trying. "I feel education is something priceless you give your child, so you have to try," she said, fighting tears.

The lottery, though fraught with emotion, dispels any misconceptions among parents that a child is getting special preference because of some connection or because he or she is a high-scoring student, Guvercin said.

The children are selected using a computer program in a process that's done live at the admissions lottery. The school places siblings first, and gives preference to students from Garfield, Hackensack and Lodi. Beyond that, the selection is random.

Rajeev Wahi of Hackensack said he welcomed the open process. His son didn't get in but he was optimistic, saying he would find good opportunities elsewhere. "You don't know what opportunities will open for him, with this door being shut," he said.

With this outcome, he said, he plans to move to a top public school district in North Jersey that will accept his son for kindergarten in September. Hackensack won't, he said, because of his October birthday. Bigger public schools have their own advantages, he said, including competition, peer learning, and a spirit of belonging.

Kitabu Cessay of Hackensack was thrilled that his daughter, Aisatou, made it into kindergarten at the charter school. "It's like hitting a million-dollar jackpot," he said.

His son didn't get accepted to eighth grade, but will have a sibling advantage in the next year.

"There's small class size, better discipline," he said. "I think they'll benefit from the environment here."

The Bergen charter opened in Garfield in 2007 and has 420 students in Grades K-6 at the MacArthur Avenue site where the lottery was held. Another 240 students are in Grades 7-10 at a separate building in Hackensack.

The school signed a lease last month with the Archdiocese of Newark to use the former Our Lady of Sorrows School in Garfield, where they'll open a campus in September to accommodate students as the school expands to Grade 12. The news angered Garfield school officials, who have rented the former parochial school for about eight years and say they had been led to believe that church officials wanted to continue that arrangement. The district has been using the site as an annex to School 4 for about 200 kindergarten and first-grade students.

As one lottery ended, another group of parents entered the room to hear information about a new affiliated school that will open in Paterson next year. The parents heard promises of strong discipline and potential entry to prestigious colleges.

The school will start with 360 students in Grades K-5 and is expected to grow by 60 students each year until it expands to eighth grade. The location will be announced in about a week, Guvercin said. The lottery for that school will take place May 18.

A lottery for a third affiliated school, in Passaic, will take place Saturday.

Guvercin said he gets lots of hugs from parents who learn their children have been accepted. "I'm so happy for them," he said, "but I am so sorry for the others. There is nothing we can do for them."

For information on the Bergen, Passaic and Paterson Arts and Science Charter schools and the admissions process, visit njascs.org.

Offline Editor

  • Administrator
  • *****
  • Posts: 4430
  • Karma: 17
    • View Profile
    • Hackensack Now
Re: Education/Charter Schools/Testing
« Reply #97 on: April 23, 2013, 10:34:27 PM »
Three Bergen County schools ranked among top 200 on annual U.S. News list
Tuesday, April 23, 2013    Last updated: Tuesday April 23, 2013, 6:02 PM
BY  LESLIE BRODY
STAFF WRITER
The Record

Three Bergen County schools ranked among the top 200 public high schools nationwide, according to the annual list released today by U.S. News & World Report.

They include Bergen County Academies in Hackensack (No. 34), Bergen County Technical High School in Teterboro (73) and Ridgewood High School (188).

Tenafly High School (316) and Northern Valley Regional High School in Demarest (373) also placed relatively well among 21,000 schools in the running. In Passaic County, Manchester Regional won a “bronze” but did not score well enough to be ranked.

U.S. News said it worked with the American Institutes for Research, a Washington-based organization, to evaluate schools on overall student performance on state exams, as well as achievement by black, Hispanic and economically disadvantaged students. Performance on Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate exams was used to determine how well schools prepared students for college.

Schools, real estate agents and parents often refer to such rankings, but critics say they use flawed methodology. Some argue that many schools that score well teach students from well-educated, high-income families who tend to do well on standardized tests – so the rankings often reflect student demographics more than effective teaching. The rankings do not measure whether schools inspire a love of learning or creativity, or whether they nurture students emotionally.

Biotechnology High School in Freehold, part of the Monmouth County Vocational School District, was the first among New Jersey schools and ranked eighth nationally. Seven of the 10 highest-ranked New Jersey schools were county vocational-technical schools, which often have competitive admissions policies. Passaic County Technical Institute in Wayne won a “bronze” medal but was not ranked.

Email: brody@northjersey.com. On Twitter @lesliebrody

Offline Editor

  • Administrator
  • *****
  • Posts: 4430
  • Karma: 17
    • View Profile
    • Hackensack Now
Re: Education/Charter Schools/Testing
« Reply #98 on: April 25, 2013, 06:00:37 PM »
Hackensack school board member's arrest is second since February
April 25, 2013 at 3:32 PM, updated April 25, 2013 at 3:38 PM
NJ.com

HACKENSACK — A Board of Education member was arrested by city police today — the second time he has landed behind bars since February.

Officers picked up 35-year-old Kevon Larkins at 11:11 a.m., according to Capt. Thomas Salcedo, after South Brunswick police issued a warrant for his arrest.

Salcedo was unsure whether the warrant stemmed from a prior arrest or a traffic violation.

"I don't know if it's traffic or criminal, but even a failure to appear (for a ticket) turns into a criminal warrant for your arrest," he said.

Police in Jersey City also had an active warrant for Larkins, but were unable to send an officer to Hackensack and issued a summons for his arrest. He was turned over to South Brunswick authorities this afternoon.

Larkins, who was appointed to the school board last year, was also arrested on a simple assault charge Feb. 2 after a domestic dispute with the mother of his children. The woman claimed he had slammed her hand in a door and threatened her with further violence.

He has yet to be convicted, but could lose his seat on the board if he is ultimately found guilty.

Offline Editor

  • Administrator
  • *****
  • Posts: 4430
  • Karma: 17
    • View Profile
    • Hackensack Now
Re: Education/Charter Schools/Testing
« Reply #99 on: May 06, 2013, 10:45:49 PM »
Hackensack district, teachers, have a tentative contract agreement
Monday May 6, 2013, 10:03 PM
BY  HANNAN ADELY
STAFF WRITER
The Record

HACKENSACK — The school district and teachers’ union have reached a tentative agreement on a new contract following more than a year of negotiations, union president Eileen Hooper said Monday.

The contract expired in June 2012 and negotiations started the prior January, she said. But talks hit an impasse, and a mediator was assigned to the case.

The union and district officials were able to resolve outstanding issues and reach an agreement at a meeting Thursday, Hooper said.

“I think it’s fair and equitable,” said Hooper, who announced the agreement at a Board of Education meeting Monday.

She declined to say what issues had held up the agreement or talk about the terms of the contract. Details will remain confidential until a membership vote and a school board vote, Hooper said.

The three-year contract will be retroactive to include the 2012-13 school year.

The Hackensack Education Association represents 560 teachers and paraprofessionals. Union members had rallied outside district headquarters and outside schools in recent months to call for a fair and quick resolution.

School Board President Veronica Bolcik McKenna said the agreement, if adopted, would allow people to move on and focus on their work without the distraction of an expired contract.

“We’re just pleased that the negotiating team was able to bring it to a close,” she said.

adely@northjersey.com

Email: adely@northjersey.com

Offline Editor

  • Administrator
  • *****
  • Posts: 4430
  • Karma: 17
    • View Profile
    • Hackensack Now
Re: Education/Charter Schools/Testing
« Reply #100 on: May 17, 2013, 09:06:13 AM »
District officials move forward with plan to use building
Friday, May 17, 2013
BY  JENNIFER VAZQUEZ
NEWS EDITOR
Hackensack Chronicle

The plan to use the soon-to-be vacant Padre Pio building to alleviate overcrowding in district schools is moving forward.


Interim superintendent Joseph Abate updated those in attendance on the district’s plan to use the Padre Pio building to house students in pre-K and kindergarten classes come this September. The Archdiocese of Newark announced the closure of Padre Pio Academy due to dwindling enrollment and increasing costs. Interim superintendent Joseph Abate hopes to come to a agreement with the Archdiocese that would allow the district to use the building to ease overcrowding.
BERNADETTE MARCINIAK/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
 

Interim Superintendent Joseph Abate gave an update at the May 6 Board of Education meeting concerning the effort.

Certain grades are plagued with overcrowding, particularly, at the kindergarten level, which experienced an influx of students.

"For the better part of this year, there was a lack of long-range planning for the district," Abate said. "We are struggling in the elementary school because of the very high enrollments of kindergarten — so much so we were forced to open two new kindergarten classes."

When Abate became aware that Padre Pio was closing, he "jumped on this opportunity" because the building was an option to "solve long-range issues short-term…immediately…as of right now."

With hopes of gaining a better perspective of the student population, the previous board decided to set a long-range plan and conduct a demographic study performed by Whitehall Associates.

What the study concluded was, though there was an increase in kindergarteners, an influx at the middle school was foreseen in two years. However, the increase in student population at the middle school was a present reality. This year alone, the school saw 102 new students with only 20 departures, Abate said.

In essence, acquiring the Padre Pio building would give the district the much needed space for the kindergarteners. Therefore, middle school students, specifically current fourth-graders, would continue to remain at the elementary schools without being forced into the middle schools, which is facing its own issues with a growing student population.

The Padre Pio building was an opportunity that the district had to take up immediately, especially since, according to Abate, a charter school was eyeing leasing the building as well.

While negotiations with the Archdiocese of Newark, the entity that owns the building, are currently taking place, Abate was cautious in over sharing.

"We have budgeted the rental of this facility," he said. "We settled on a price but haven’t signed anything yet…I’m reluctant to say what we are willing to settle in terms of money because I do not want word to get out there to [the archdiocese] of how much money we budgeted for Padre Pio [and have the archdiocese ask for that amount]."

After juggling a few option as to how the building would be used if the district acquired it, the choice the board is leaning towards, according to Abate, is the option to move the entire pre-K, pre-K handicapped, and no more than three special education kindergarten classes into the building.

By law, transportation is provided to special education students. Since pre-K is not a mandated state program, transportation is not provided. Therefore, there will be no added cost for transportation and an additional administrator for the building.

The other option would entail moving the entire pre-K, pre-K handicapped, and as many kindergarten classes as possible into the building. However, this would have required the need for transportation that the district would have to pay for.

If the board decides to lease the building from the archdiocese, it is looking into a long term contract.

"We are looking for a possible 5 year lease," Abate said. "This timeframe will give the district a better idea as to what the [definitive] long-range plan will be, and prohibit the archdiocese from pulling the rug under us."

Abate clarified that he does not want the archdiocese to mandate the district to vacate the premises before the district has a better grasp of a definitive plan to address the population growth.

"During the [five-year lease] time frame, we will have a better idea if we should purchase Padre Pio or start building a new building," Abate said.

Abate and a number of other officials have visited the building a number of times. The school, according to Abate, was built in the 1960s and includes a gym and auditorium.

Abate first touched upon the possibility of the district using the Padre Pio building in an effort to ease overcrowding during the March 21 board meeting.

The board hopes a definitive answer by the May 20 meeting, according to Abate.

Email: vazquez@northjersey.com
« Last Edit: June 02, 2013, 11:06:02 AM by Editor »

Offline just watching

  • Long-time poster
  • *****
  • Posts: 928
  • Karma: -25
    • View Profile
Re: Education/Charter Schools/Testing
« Reply #101 on: May 18, 2013, 04:22:52 AM »
For those who didn't read the entire article, here's the key sentences.

*** Abate clarified that he does not want the archdiocese to mandate the district to vacate the premises before the district has a better grasp of a definitive plan to address the population growth.  "During the [five-year lease] time frame, we will have a better idea if we should purchase Padre Pio or start building a new building," Abate said. ***

"start building a new building".

IF that is what is going to happen, let's try to turn it from a negative to a positive.  If the Editor could post the map of the city's school district lines, readers can see how they are nonsensical and don't reflect the sense of community for each part of Hackensack.  Those lines were drawn that way for issues that no longer exist. For instance, the Fairmount District extends well south of Passaic Street, and east of Railroad Ave. The Nellie K. Parker District and the Hiller's District also extend east of Railroad Ave.

IF the city wants to create a sense of growth for the downtown and vicinity, maybe a new school building just outside of the downtown could be part of the answer. How about acquiring some lands around Union Street Park, especially to the north all the way to Atlantic Street, and making a new school building there ? Just north of the park along Union Street, there's an ugly box-style warehouse and two very old houses subdivided into many small apartments. I think the house on the corner is 4 or 5 apartments. No big loss there.  No big losses west of the park either, if that land is needed. That park was originally the site of the Union Street School, which was abandoned due to damages sustained in the Great Appalachian Hurricane (Nov, 1950) and then torn down.  Keeping the park as a park is needed, and it could double as the playground for the school. A new school could be built around the park, helping to define a new sense of community for the whole downtown area and vicinity.

Perhaps the new school district could cover everything EAST OF RAILROAD AVE, from around Passaic or Anderson Street down to around Essex Street or Kansas Street. School officials would have to look at the numbers to decide how far north and south it would go for enrollment to balance capacity in all the city's schools and to make sure that all the schools are roughly divided between Black and Latino students.  My gut tells me that these suggested school district boundaries would work on all those counts. From a community-defining standpoint, I'd say the Railroad Ave would be an excellent and firm western border, especially to create a sense of community for the neighborhoods just to the west of the downtown district (State St, Union St, Park St).

As needed, the city could perk the remaining school district boundaries between Nellie K. Parker and the other schools, again so that all schools would have proper balance regarding capacity and demographics.

Offline Editor

  • Administrator
  • *****
  • Posts: 4430
  • Karma: 17
    • View Profile
    • Hackensack Now
Re: Education/Charter Schools/Testing
« Reply #102 on: May 24, 2013, 10:23:53 AM »
After long negotiations, Hackensack settles fire, school contracts
Friday, May 24, 2013
BY  HANNAN ADELY
STAFF WRITER
The Record

HACKENSACK — Union contracts for teachers, firefighters and fire officers were approved this week following months of negotiations with school and city officials.

The city school board approved the Hackensack Education Association contract Monday. The three-year contract grants no raise in the first year and a 7.11 percent raise over the second and third years, said school board member Angel Carrion, who was on the negotiating team.

"I think all in all we did a good job," said Carrion, saying the raise was in line with the county average. "We compromised and I think people are happy."

The teachers also agreed to have two additional days of professional development, while seniority protections were written into the contract for paraprofessionals.

The contract for the union that represents 560 teachers and paraprofessionals expired in June 2012 and negotiations have gone on for more than a year. The new contract is retroactive to the 2012-13 school year.

Union President Eileen Hooper could not be reached Thursday. She said in an interview this month that she believed the resolution was "fair and equitable."

The City Council last week approved contracts for Hackensack Professional Fire Fighters Local 2081, representing about 60 workers, and the Hackensack Uniformed Fire Officers Association Local 3172, with about 40 members.

Both contracts include 1.5 percent raises annually over three years, said City Manager Stephen Lo Iacono. The unions’ contracts had expired on Dec. 31, and the new ones will be retroactive to that date.

Email: adely@northjersey.com


Offline Editor

  • Administrator
  • *****
  • Posts: 4430
  • Karma: 17
    • View Profile
    • Hackensack Now
Re: Education/Charter Schools/Testing
« Reply #103 on: June 02, 2013, 11:03:42 AM »
Hackensack school officials scramble to ease overcrowding
Saturday, June 1, 2013
BY  HANNAN ADELY
STAFF WRITER
The Record
   
HACKENSACK — The city school district expects to lease a Catholic school that will close in June to get some relief from overcrowding, but officials say the building won't go far enough to meet long-term demands for classroom space.


Kindergarten teacher Pedra DelVechio with her students at Fairmount Elementary School in Hackensack. AMY NEWMAN/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

The school district is seeing a spike in enrollment that is expected to continue for the next five years. School officials say they'll consider plans that could include redistricting, or buying or constructing a new building.

"We need to be preparing because according to our demographic study, the bump in population is still coming. So what we see now is just the beginning," said Angel Carrion, a school board trustee and member of its long-range planning committee.

In Hackensack, the number of students has been growing for the past six years, according to a March demographic study. The number went from 4,879 in 2007-08, to 5,409 students in the current school year. The rise in young students bucks a trend in the rest of Bergen County, where enrollment of young schoolchildren has plummeted.

Despite growth in the city, there has been a lack of long-range planning in the district, said interim Superintendent Joseph Abate. The state requires school districts to submit a long-range facilities plan every five years, but Abate said the last one was done eight years ago.

School board members blamed turnover in administration for the lack of a current plan.

"When you have a high turnover, it's very difficult to maintain a level of continuity," said Veronica Bolcik McKenna, president of the school board. "Some things will not move forward the way they should."

She said the schools were "bursting at the seams" and operating at or near maximum capacity.

Abate said the district struggled this school year because of high kindergarten enrollment. The district had to open two more kindergarten classes and hire aides for "just about every one of our [kindergarten] classes, expect at the Jackson Avenue School," he said.

Ed Ahearn said he was concerned that his son's kindergarten class at the Fanny M. Hillers School had 25 students this year.

"It's a big burden on the teacher to have to manage 25 5-year-olds," he said. "And it could take away from the children as far as learning."

But Ahearn said the teacher had done a "fantastic job" under tough circumstances. The classroom also has an aide until 11:30 a.m., he said.

The middle school numbers also jumped this year and included many mid-year transfers; 102 new students enrolled but only 22 left, Abate said.

In an apparent stroke of luck for city schools, the Archdiocese of Newark announced in February that it would close the Padre Pio school in Hackensack. The school board is expected to approve a five-year lease for the building at its next board meeting.

The district plans to house pre-kindergarten, the pre-K handicapped program, and two or three special-education kindergarten classes at the school, Abate said. It will be called the Hackensack Early Childhood Development Center.

The board also expects to hire a certified school facilities planner to identify steps the district can take to accommodate the student population. The district may have to buy or build a new school, use classroom trailers, or redistrict, school officials said.

In the next five years, the total school population is expected to grow by 369 students, or 7 percent, according to the demographic study. The middle school will see the biggest jump in the number of students during that time.

As a result, the fifth grade will be moved into the elementary schools in the 2014-15 school year, Abate said. "The only way the middle school could absorb the numbers down the road, and in fact at the door already, is to remove a grade," he said.

He also believes fifth graders will fare better there than with older students at the middle school.

Barbara Kilgore, president of the middle school PTA, said moving the fifth grade out of the school will help. But she was dismayed, she said, by school officials' inaction. "The lack of planning just appalls me," she said.

The rising number of children in Hackensack is contrary to what's happening in most places in North Jersey.

The number of children under 5 fell 12 percent across Bergen and Passaic counties from 2000 to 2010, according to U.S. Census Bureau data, for reasons that include the economy, women's decisions to stay in the workforce, and decisions by more young parents to live in New York City instead of moving to suburbs in North Jersey.

But in Hackensack, the number of children under 5 went the opposite way — rising 12.5 percent. The municipalities with an increase, such as Hackensack, are generally less affluent and have more immigrants, whose birth rates are higher than those of native-born residents.

Hackensack also has new residential construction that can affect enrollment. The study estimates about 55 students will enroll from new housing — 44 of them from the 226-unit Avalon apartment complex, which opened about a month ago. With a big downtown rehabilitation push by the city, development is expected to continue.

School board members say the district's strong reputation also has attracted new students. The district has strong enrichment programs, many advanced placement classes and good teachers, they said. Newsweek recently named Hackensack High School among the top 1,500 high schools in the U.S., officials noted.

"We offer tremendous amounts of programs here that are above and beyond other school districts and people are starting to realize that," said Bolcik McKenna.

Email: adely@northjersey.com

Offline just watching

  • Long-time poster
  • *****
  • Posts: 928
  • Karma: -25
    • View Profile
Re: Education/Charter Schools/Testing
« Reply #104 on: June 02, 2013, 01:14:46 PM »
44 kids from Avalon Hackensack ????  I'm laughing at that one.  High end rental and condo buildings in Hackensack have traditionally put few or no kids into the schools. And the last kids we should be complaining about are ones from high-income families, you know, the ones that statistically perform better and make the statistics better.

 

anything