Welcome!

Welcome to Laurie Goodman's blog. I use this space to share news and opinions about education and schools in Ridgewood, the state of New Jersey and the nation, in addition to other issues I'm personally interested in. I invite you to share your thoughts, feelings, questions or opinions, too, by posting comments on any blog entry. Please observe basic courtesy -- keep your comments focused on issues, no personal attacks or bullying, please. Contact me directly at: lauriegood@mac.com

Monday, December 29, 2008

Happy New Year!

Things have been quiet around here over the holidays...sorry I haven't done much posting. Just taking a little break. It's nice to have stretches of time here and there with nothing pressing to do. Of course, those stretches are getting shorter and less frequent. But I'm determined to relax as much as possible this week! (Gee, that doesn't sound very relaxing...)

But I do wish you a happy new year. All the best wishes for all of us in 2009!

Borrowing an idea from Nixon for education?

An opinion piece in yesterday's New York Times tells about Richard Nixon's plan to increase Federal funding of schools -- and how it's an idea President Obama should consider. Pretty interesting. Here's how it starts:

"Local control of schooling — which means local financing of schools — is an injustice, masked as a virtue, so deeply ingrained in the American mind that no politician in either party dare challenge it. But America’s obsession with local finance, which made perfect sense in the 19th century, is now sinking us morally and economically. To fix it, Barack Obama needs to steal an idea from Richard Nixon..."

Click here to read the article.

Thursday, December 18, 2008

Ridgewood Health Professions Academy is a national "model."

It's very nice to see that the National Career Academy Coalition has named the Ridgewood Academy for Health Professions a "model" academy, with an extremely high rating based on a rigorous and detailed assessment. According to the Coalition, "Many academies are reviewed based on the ten National Standards of Practice for career academies, but few are of model status...The passion of your school team, coupled with the support of the school administration, and the intense focus from Valley hospital and Bergen Community College, have created a stellar program for students and the community. The rigor of the curriculum and the depth of your industry partnership are to be commended." Kudos to the RAHP team -- administrators, teachers, students and Valley staff.

Wednesday, December 17, 2008

Application to DEP for field improvements

At last Monday's Board of Ed meeting, the Board approved spending $11,500 for an engineer to complete an application to the DEP for improvements at the RHS stadium and Stevens Fields. What does this mean?

It does not mean we're proposing to do anything specific yet. The facilities committee has been exploring several options for making improvements to those fields, both for the high school's wellness programs and athletics and also to fulfill our responsibility to the village's master plan for recreation facilities. We don't yet know what we will propose to do. We need more info, namely:

1) We should find out once and for all exactly what type of improvements will be allowed by the DEP in those areas along the Hohokus Brook. Since the area is in some level of flood plain (flood way? flood fringe?), there will undoubtedly be restrictions. It makes sense to find out NOW what all those restrictions are, and then use that info to inform our decision-making. But didn't a group of citizens already pay to have an application for permit filed? Yes, they did. The Foundation for Ridgewood Athletics spent $30,000 for the original permits (at no expense to taxpayers). Unfortunately, after that application was filed, the DEP decided that the types of projects being explored should be categorized differently (I can't remember the exact terminology). And that re-categorization requires an entirely different application -- and an engineer to do the work. The new application will be for "everything:" artificial turf, new/improved bleachers, lights. Applying for everything will enable the DEP to define the parameters for what would be allowed.

2) We are still working on getting the most accurate estimates possible on costs for fields, bleacher upgrades, and the installation of a new track at BF.

3) We need to work with the Village to relocate the varsity baseball field, currently at BF, in order to accommodate the track at BF.

Once we get a ruling from the DEP, and get the true cost estimates, and work out the "domino" effect of field use with the Village, then we'll decide what projects, if any, to include in the Bond Referendum next year.

Hopefully this clears up what the vote last Monday was for. Any questions, let me know.

Bill to move school elections stalled

Legislation that would move April’s non-partisan school board member elections to the partisan November general elections, while also eliminating public votes on below-cap school budgets, did not come up for a vote in the full State Senate on Dec. 15. The bill had been released by the Senate Education Committee on Dec. 8.

Looks like the idea is back in limbo, where it belongs (did I say that?)

How to Find the Best Teachers

There was a very interesting article in the 12/15/08 issue of The New Yorker. The title is:
Most Likely to Succeed:
How do we hire when we can’t tell who’s right for the job?


It's by Malcolm Gladwell, who is a talented reporter and good at taking a fresh look at things. He compares hiring teachers to NFL scouts predicting which draft picks will end up performing well in the NFL. He writes, "There are certain jobs where almost nothing you can learn about candidates before they start predicts how they’ll do once they’re hired. So how do we know whom to choose in cases like that? In recent years, a number of fields have begun to wrestle with this problem, but none with such profound social consequences as the profession of teaching." He goes on to describe some interesting studies of quality teaching being conducted by the University of Virginia’s Curry School of Education. Really fascinating.

Click here to read the full article.

Monday, December 15, 2008

BOE Meeting Tonight 12/15

Highlights of the agenda for tonight's Board of Education meeting, scheduled for 7:30 p.m. on the 3rd floor of the Ed Center:

Students from Orchard and GW will give a brief violin performance.

Dr. Fishbein will give an update on referendum plans.

The usual hires, changes of assignment, appointments, resignations...

Financial items include a change order for the RHS Cupola repair and approval of a contract with an engineer who will be filing our application with the DEP to determine what types of improvements are allowed at the RHS and Stevens fields. Also, Dr. Fishbein will be updating us on the budget process.

And, as always, you are all invited to attend and bring comments or questions.

Our next public meeting will be January 12...happy holidays!

Let them eat cake?

Just a little self-promotion: my cake/baked goods website is now up at www.lauriebakes.com. I'm still taking orders for this holiday season.

Wednesday, December 10, 2008

US high school students are cheating more than ever, survey says...

A new survey of 30,000 high school students across the country showed some alarming results. According to the survey, 64 percent of high school students surveyed by the Center for Youth Ethics at the Josephson Institute in Los Angeles said they had cheated on a test at least once in the past year, up from 60 percent in 2004. Thirty-six percent said had used the Internet to plagiarize an assignment, up from 33 percent two years ago. And 82 percent said they had copied another student's work at least once in the past year. But my favorite part is this: 93 percent of the respondents said they were satisfied with their personal ethics and character. This is troubling, no?

Math Gains Reported for U.S. Students

Good news regarding US students' math education: according to the latest TIMSS (Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study) survey, which is the world’s largest review of math and science achievement, American fourth- and eighth-grade students made solid achievement gains in math in recent years. Read the entire New York Times article by clicking here.

The gap is still large between the US and some of the Asian countries, but the US scores did show some of the largest margins of improvement in math from 1995 to 2007. We may be getting better, but as one of the report's authors said, the other countries aren't sitting still. Are we gaining on them?

Of course, this is just one study (albeit a study that I believe is pretty universally recognized as objective and accurate). No one should base all their opinions on just one study. Just thought I'd put this info out there...

Tuesday, December 9, 2008

School Board Elections in November = BAD IDEA

That headline covers just one aspect of the wrong-headed bill that passed the Senate Education Committee Monday and is headed to the full Senate. The reason this is back on the fast track has nothing to do with the Senate or anyone in Trenton actually caring about our school board elections. It is all about Trenton trying to find some way, any way to at least LOOK like they are working on property tax relief. AND Governor Corzine is simply stalling so he doesn't have to make his budget address in February...he would rather wait and see what kind of income tax revenues come in April.

Here are the main components of the Bill and why it's wrong:
1) Moving school board elections to November, combined with county, state and federal PARTISAN elections, will needlessly politicize school campaigns and clutter voters' mailboxes and attentions. School board elections should be based on educational issues -- that's it. Why do they think turnout will be better in November? Even when the governor's job and all state senators' and assemblypersons' seats have been up for election, turnout has remained consistent.

2) Eliminate the public elections on school budgets that are under state caps. This part is ok, in my opinion. Budget votes are basically meaningless because of the caps and adequacy amounts. Voters FEEL like they are actually influencing the budget, but the state is already controlling the potential for increase. And besides, with the economy, rising prices, flat state aid and threatened adequacy enforcement, there is little room for budgets to come in substantially below the 4% cap anyway.

3) Moving the vote on "second questions" for additional funding to November. This is just ridiculous. When the school district's budget year runs from summer to summer, how will we plan a budget when we won't find out about funding until November, half-way through the year? How will the village know how much property tax to collect? Will they have to go back and revise tax bills (which will cost the village money) if a second questions is passed in November? It's just silly.

This bill is about Governor Corzine and the legislature grasping at straws to help themselves look better and to help them deal with the tanking state economy. I don't appreciate it. I'm letting Senate President Richard Codey and Sen. Shirley Turner, chairwoman of the Senate Education Committee, know how I feel. Click on their names if you'd like to do that, too.

Referendum Project Details

Last night at the BOE meeting we went through the complete working list of projects to potentially be included in a referendum next year. It was a lot to digest and I'm sure many people want to take a closer look. The spreadsheet will be posted on the website soon, and I will do a summary here, but I'm tied up in a meeting all day. Check back tomorrow and I should have it.

Monday, December 8, 2008

No more AP classes?

The high-performing Scarsdale district eliminated AP classes and guess what? The sky didn't fall and the world didn't end. The students' college acceptance rates at top colleges remained consistent. Perhaps the students actually learned more (and were assessed more accurately). The only thing we know for sure happened is that the College Board, with its ridiculous over-influence on our schools, received less revenue from Scarsdale parents. So what's not to like?

Read the NY Times article here.

Obama's plan to help schools

In his weekly address last Saturday, President-elect Obama said something interesting about schools...

"...my economic recovery plan will launch the most sweeping effort to modernize and upgrade school buildings that this country has ever seen. We will repair broken schools, make them energy-efficient, and put new computers in our classrooms. Because to help our children compete in a 21st century economy, we need to send them to 21st century schools."

I wonder if any of that will filter down to districts like Ridgewood?

Hey, at least he's talking about it!

You can read the entire address, which contained more encouraging talk about public works projects, by clicking here. I've often wondered why we can't bring back efforts like the WPA or Civilian Conservation Corp, which built and repaired things like bridges, roads and other public structures and created many of our national parks, by employing unemployed Americans. We have plenty of roads and structures that need repairing, not to mention school buildings...seems like a win-win.

Sunday, December 7, 2008

Agenda for BOE 12/8 meeting

You can read the entire agenda for Monday night's meeting by clicking here, but here are a few highlights:

The RHS madrigals are going to give a performance at the opening of the meeting.

Dr. Fishbein and Mr. DeSimone will give a presentation of the elements which are currently included in the proposed referendum. This will include the building additions at GW, Ridge, Willard and Hawes, as well as renovations and capital projects throughout the district, and a discussion of possible field renovations.

Mr. Lorenz and Mr. Nyhuis will discuss courses being added to the high school. One of my favorites is Finance class designed to teach real-world things like managing money, saving, mortgages, investing, etc. There are several more new classes listed in the full agenda.

We will have discussion on the budget process and on the possibility of independent athletic play in 2010-2011, joining other districts in protesting the new league alignment within the NJSIAA.

There's plenty of other topics on the agenda as well. These are just a few highlights. See you Monday night!

Saturday, December 6, 2008

Taro's Race today

I was wrong on the XC race: The boys' Nike National race is at noon PT...And it's not on ESPN live. It will be taped and shown on ESPN later.

The race WILL be be video LIVE online at the official site: CLICK HERE

Friday, December 5, 2008

Facilities/Referendum Discussion Monday Night

At Monday night's Board of Ed meeting, the Facilities Committee will be presenting its initial recommendation for building improvements and expansion, to potentially be included in a referendum as early as next Fall. We've discussed individual schools' expansion projects at various BOE meetings, but this will be a look at the total picture including capital improvements, building by building, as well as potential athletic field improvements. There will be opportunity for public comment both Monday night and at the following meeting on 12/15. (Well, there's opportunity for public comment at all BOE meetings, but if you want to speak specifically to buildings/fields, these two meetings will be best for now.)

Have a great weekend! Post any questions or comments here. See you downtown tonight!

Thursday, December 4, 2008

Student-Made Christmas Tree Decorations

A parent asked me about the story that Ridgewood elementary school students would be making ornaments for the Village Christmas tree in Van Neste Square. She criticized the use of school time, materials, etc., on a religious-themed project. I checked it out and learned that the ornament idea was suggested by members of the Village Council and the making of the ornaments was offered as an option for those kids who were interested, during lunch or after school. Just wanted to clarify that class instructional time and materials were not to be used. (I forgot to mention that the ornaments were to be made from recycled materials.)

I think it's interesting that over the years the "holiday issue" comes up again and again, and I always hear from many "sides:" At Somerville (where my kids attended) there always seemed to be parents who wanted MORE holiday presence (no pun intended) such as Christmas trees and "Silent Night" at the chorus concert, as well as parents who wanted no reminder of any religious holiday (no Christmas trees, no dreidels), PLUS even some parents who wanted EVERY holiday represented (Kwanzaa, etc.). Apparently this issue will never be resolved.

I will be interested to see the "recycled" ornaments tomorrow night...

"Prop 8: The Musical"

One of the perks of having some unexpected "free time," is discovering the "rest" of the internet (you mean it's not only for work or research?).
See more Jack Black videos at Funny or Die

Wednesday, December 3, 2008

Always darkest...

I went to the Bergen County School Boards Assoc meeting last night and heard Mr. Michael Vrancik, the NJ School Boards' Assoc Director of Governmental Relations, talk about "Current Issues -- What's Next for School Boards." It was not pretty.

Main messages:

Changing school elections...
Just this week, the Senate Education Committee suddenly placed Bill S1861 (Assembly Bill A15) on its agenda for this Monday 12/8. This bill "Provides for the election of school board members at November general election and eliminates vote on school budgets except for separate proposals to spend above cap which will also occur at general election."

Mr. Vrancik believes the motivation behind rushing to get this into the last 2008 meeting of the Education Committee is to give the Governor more time now to defer making decisions on the state budget. He may even decide to wait until after April when state income tax revenues are known. The Governor probably wants to wait as long as possible to make any commitments to school funding, in order to see how bad things get with the state's economy. He was not sure what this would mean for districts and our budget cycles.

The state will claim that moving the election to November and eliminating budget elections will save $5 million and pat themselves on the back (next year's an election year, remember), but that's a pretty tiny percentage of the state budget.

State of the state economy...
Mr. Vrancik also talked about NJ's fiscal situation. He said the current "best case scenario" is that the state's budget shortfall next year (FY2010) will be $5 billion. He said, "It is almost impossible to imagine that there will not be state cuts to education funding." He predicted flat funding would be the "best case." He also explained how state cuts in things like the Homestead Rebate will adversely affect schools -- those hardest hit by the elimination of the rebates will be seniors, who tend to use that rebate to pay their property tax. Without that help, they will feel even more resentful of property taxes and be more likely to vote against school budgets. (Of course, they won't be voting on budgets if A15 passes! Silver lining? JK)

The school board members present were encouraged folks to contact legislators (supposedly 1/8 of the entire legislature is from Bergen County) to reiterate opposition to moving the School Board elections to November.

All in all it was a thoroughly depressing evening.

Tuesday, December 2, 2008

Run, Taro, run!

RHS student Taro Shigenobu has qualified to run in the Nike National Cross Country Championship this Saturday in Portland, OR. It's the first-time ever that individual runners have been invited to run (it's usually a teams-only event) and Taro is one of only 45 individual runners nationwide who qualified. The addition of these top individual runners means this will truly be a national championship and should be a great run. The race will be televised on ESPN (I'm not sure which one) at 3:00 EASTERN time. Go, Taro!

Thursday, November 27, 2008

Happy Thanksgiving

Wishing you a nice, relaxing holiday with family, friends...the important people in your life. Key thought for today: RELAX!

Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Is the School Calendar Dated?: Summer Learning Loss and the Achievement Gap

I read this interesting article in the Teachers College Record, but the original is really long so I'm summarizing it here. I wonder if the U.S. school calendar will ever change...one thing the author didn't mention is the COST to educate our children longer...seems like that will be the real decider. Any thoughts? -- LG
(And P.S. this is just ME musing on this topic...not an official Board item! I just thought it was interesting in a conceptual way.)

From Teachers College Record, by Harris Cooper — September 15, 2008

In the 19th century, if children lived in agricultural areas, summertime meant helping tend crops or livestock around the farm. If they lived in urban areas, it was not unusual to attend school for at least two of summer’s three months (Richmond, 1977).

According to the Association of California School Administrators (1988) family mobility at the turn of the century led to implementation of the current 9-month calendar. In the early 20th century, many children held jobs during the summer. Passage of the first child labor law in 1916 meant that school-aged children had little to do during their vacation from school. Community leaders organized summer recreational activities, and educators came to see summer as an opportunity to increase students’ interest in lifelong learning.

Today, promoting lifelong learning may not be the only rationale for offering educational experiences during summertime. When school is not in session, students may forget what they have just learned. Many educators argue that children learn best when instruction is continuous. The long summer vacation disrupts the rhythm of instruction and requires time be spent reviewing old material when students return to school.

Research evidence bears out these concerns. A meta-analysis of summer loss studies (Cooper, Nye, Charlton, Lindsay, & Greathouse, 1996) confirmed that, on average, achievement test scores declined between spring and fall.

Calls for change in the school calendar do not stop with concerns about the summer break’s impact on student learning. The American family has undergone dramatic changes in the last half-century, and the living arrangements of children are very different from those that prevailed when the current school calendar was adopted (Farley, 1996). It is much more common today for both parents to work outside the home or for families to be headed by a single parent. These changes bring increasing demands for services for children when school is not in session. Advocates for children living in families that lack the resources to provide educational and recreational activities lead the call for quality summer programs.

Adding Days to the School Year

Research in schools and school districts that have added days to the school year reveals mixed results (Axelrod, 1996, Karweit, 1985). Generally, the research supports the notion that adding just a few days to the school calendar will have little impact on student learning. Some research suggests that as many as 25 to 35 extra days would be needed to produce a noticeable change in student achievement. This change in the number of days would necessitate a corresponding change in curricula and teaching strategies.

Modified Calendars

Another meta-analysis focused on stud­ies of school districts that modified their calendars but did not increase the length of their school year (Cooper, Charlton, Valentine, & Muhlenbruck, 2000). These schools might have students attending for nine weeks followed by three weeks off, and this pattern would be repeated four times a year. Remedial and enrichment programs might be available during intercessions. The evidence revealed ambiguous results. The effect favored modified calendars, but the size of the impact was quite small.

Summer School

Summer school is the most traditional remedy for summer learning loss and for helping students who are behind academically. A study integrating the results of 93 evaluations of summer school (Cooper et al., 2000) revealed that summer programs focusing on remedial, accelerated, or enriched learning had a positive impact on the knowledge and skills of participants.


Summer Homework


Many educators are now resorting to “summer homework” as a means to combat summer learning loss. The impact of teachers’ assigning academic tasks meant to be carried out over the summer break is still a “data-free zone,” but controversy over its use will probably kick start some research efforts. Proponents argue that it helps prevent summer learning loss while opponents contend that children need the “down time” afforded by summer to pursue other interests and just be kids (The Edutopia Poll, 2008).

Based on the research mentioned above and other research on homework during the school year (Cooper, Robinson, & Patall, 2006), it is assumed that summer homework does have some positive effect on achievement by cutting down on review needed when the new school year starts. But, unless it is moderate in amount and handled properly by students and parents (e.g., it is monitored so that small amounts are done throughout the summer rather than crammed into the last days before school starts up) it is also a family stressor.

Looking to the Future

Change in the school calendar is inevitable. However, these changes will not occur because educators and researchers will convince the American public that more or rearranged time in school will improve academic achievement or close the achievement gap. After all, this was not the impetus behind the traditional calendar. Instead, changes in American families will dictate changes in school calendars. For most parents, summer may be hazy but it is not lazy, and finding appropriate activities for children when school is out is a real dilemma. Eventually, the shift in family economics evident in the late 20th and early 21st centuries will overcome the resistance to change in the school calendar, but the process may be long.

Monday, November 24, 2008

Bad sportsmanship

Had a great (and incredibly cold) time at the RHS football game on Saturday...except for the rude and annoying Ridgewood students who shouted at the Livingston band members when they came over to "our"" side to watch the RHS band's halftime show. These kids -- most of them freshman boys but also some juniors I recognized -- were yelling "boo" and various nasty, derogatory comments. It was so disappointing. I love school spirit, but this was pretty disgusting. Not to mention, throughout the game, several of these boys kept up a running commentary of shouting that included expletives just about every other word. Now, honestly, I'm not a "prude" but it sounded like the HBO show "Deadwood" out there! Several Ridgewood moms (many with young children) around me turned around to tell these guys to knock it off, but it didn't make much difference. All in all, it was pretty disappointing.

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

The Parent Trap

Really interesting article in the Nov. 17 New Yorker about "overparenting." It's actually a review of several books...covering everything from the scam of Baby Einstein videos to overscheduled summers, competitive tutoring, elite sports camps and college application consultants. Check it out. Sounds like what I call the Merry-Go-Round. No one wants to jump off for fear that their child will miss out. But maybe all that concern means they're missing out on things like learning to think, solve problems, and deal with disappointment. Any thoughts? Click here for article.

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Feedback on District Website

If you'd like to answer a couple quick questions about the district website, I'd like to hear it. Feel free to post a comment answering any/all of the following questions:

1) What things do you like and dislike about the current district website?

2) What are the things you like and dislike about your school website?

3) What do you think is missing from the websites?

4) What is the most common reason you visit the district or school website?

5) General website comments?

Thank you.

Tenure for Teacher's Aides?

Just a quick note to let you know about state bill A420 which "Establishes measures to provide employment stability for teaching paraprofessionals employed in school districts that receive federal funding under Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act."

In other words, lifetime tenure for teacher's aides.

This is a bad thing. If you pay attention to some of the business at our Board of Ed meetings, we are constantly acquiring and un-acquiring aides. That's because the need for aides is driven by students' IEPs. When a particular student classified as special ed requires an aide, we are are required to provide it. And when that student no longer requires an aide, or if the student leaves the district, then we reassign the aide or the aide leaves the district. It's a fluid and changing environment and the district needs to be able to make decisions based on educational needs.

This bill passed the state Assembly (yesterday, I think) by a vote of 70-7-1. It now goes to the Senate Education Committee.

You can contact members of the Education Committee by clicking here. Tell them this is a bad idea.

(I'm still waiting for someone to propose a bill guaranteeing tenure for copywriters. Or accountants. Or fill-in-the-blank-with-whatever-job-you-have.)

What am I doing?

So, apparently a couple people were concerned by my comment last week, where I said: "I have felt lost in "the maze" many times over the past six months (hey, it was just my six-month anniversary last week, I just realized!). The primary job I've had so far is just trying to figure out just what it is I'm supposed to be doing, what I should be doing, what I legally CAN be doing...quite honestly it's been frustrating." (You can click here to read the quote in its context.

What does that mean? What have I been doing all this time, stumbling around in circles? What in the world did I sign up for with this school board business? Let me clarify:

I thought I knew what I would be doing as a member of the Board of Ed. But I'm here to tell you, the real-life experience is different than what's apparent from the outside. For starters, the Board of Ed does NOT run the schools. We do NOT make decisions about what happens day-to-day in the schools. We can't pick up the phone and tell Dr. Fishbein to cut the overgrown grass at a school, nor can we tell a teacher what to do or tell a janitor what to do. It isn't an issue of what we WANT to do...it's what we're legally allowed to do. Believe me, I want to pick up the phone or send an email...and I still do it, regularly. It's my nature. But it's not the way it's supposed to work. And that's been one of my frustrations.

My other frustration involves school district bureaucracy and the pace of the work that's done. School districts by their nature and structure cannot move quickly. I'm not defending the pace -- which is slow and deliberate -- but as one person, I can hardly change it myself. I am learning how to work within the system, and how to do what I can to make the system better.

Enough whining. What CAN I do? What have I been doing? Ever wonder what a school board member actually does?

(Note: These are things ALL of the board members do, plus many other things, in various combinations.)

I'm on the Facilities Committee and we have been meeting almost weekly since the summer, talking with architects and principals and trying to figure out what projects to include in a bond referendum next year. • I'm on the Communications Committee and we've met several times, making some website improvements and working on a parent survey instrument. • We have Board meetings at least twice per month, with quite a lot of reading to prepare over the weekend. • We take turns reviewing District bills, basically looking at every single check the District writes. • I've given input on the Math Planning Team and process and while I didn't agree with everything, the Board as a whole did, and I support its successful implementation. • I receive calls and/or emails from parents with questions or concerns, and I follow-up. • I've met with several principals. • I've attended HSA meetings at the high school, BF, Willard, Ridge. • I participated in negotiations between the Board and the REA. • I've been to mandatory training from the New Jersey School Boards Association and attended a session on school funding from the League of Municipalities. • I'm on a committee that's reviewing the District website design. • I've attended school functions like library open houses, celebration of the arts, fall festivals, football games. • I update this blog a few times a week. • I've attended Professional Development day for Ridgewood staff. • I'm on the joint village Fields Committee (which meets at 7:00 AM!)

I'm sure I'm forgetting something...but I hope it's helpful for you to see that I have not been sitting back just "trying to figure out what I'm supposed to be doing" for the past 6 months. I estimate that I put in 20 hours a week, in addition to my full-time job.

I'm not being defensive. You deserve to know what we do and I understand I'm accountable to you and the rest of the community. So...consider this my 6-month accounting. Thank you for trusting me with this job. It's frustrating...but I'm loving it!

Monday, November 17, 2008

American Education Week November 16-22

I'm not really sure what the appropriate activities are during American Education Week...it's not as if we want to celebrate education just this week and not every other week of the year! Just thought I would point out the commemoration.

So I googled American Education Week and learned that it's a celebration sponsored by the National Education Association. Their annual tagline (I guess they choose a new one every year) is "Great Public Education: A Basic Right and our Responsibility." Hmmm and I thought this was going to be a boring little post. But this brings up the topic I tried to raise last week...is education a right? I happen to think it is, but I included a link last week to the blog of a teacher who feels it is not a basic right. I was surprised and curious what others think. No one has responded yet. Oh well, if you're reading this, I'll settle for just getting you to think about it for a minute.

Report Card 'Shock'

It's that time of year...not the leaves in the street...not the football playoffs (congrats Ridgewood!)...it's time for Huntington Learning Center's TV ad, the glowing testimony to parent-child non-communication that starts running constantly right about the time that first quarter grades are released. You know the one:

Mom waving the report card, "But we tried everything! What about college?"
Kid with headphones and surly expression, "Face it, I'm not getting into college!"
Mom grabs the phone: "That's it, I should have done this long ago!"

Is she calling her child's teacher? Perhaps the guidance counselor? The principal? Anybody connected with the school?

Nope, she's just been shocked, shocked! by a bad report card and her response is to call Huntington for help.

Even before I was on the Board of Education, that commercial bugged me. How is this woman (or Dad, in an alternate version) so surprised by the report card? Why is waiting for the report card portrayed like waiting for the publisher's clearninghouse drawing? Each quarter is 10 weeks or so...what have you been doing during those 10 weeks? Just sending your kid to his room to do homework, without checking in? No conversations at the dinner table about classes or quizzes or assignment grades? No looking at notebooks or returned papers?

The commercial bugs me for two reasons: 1) because it shows parents who are completely unaware of what's going on at school until that report card arrives; and 2) because it misrepresents the reality of our schools. I'm not saying there are not situations where Huntington or private tutors can help, but too often, parents get word of some trouble and jump right to tutors or "learning centers." We already have "learning centers." They're our schools and they are filled with teachers and staff who can help when a student is struggling. I've heard many stories, and have my own stories, about contacting teachers or counselors with concerns -- and getting offers for help, be it after-school sessions, suggestions for homework help, or conversations with the child study team. There's a lot of help available, and my hope is that parents avail themselves of all the resources and energy and options within their schools (and for which our taxes already pay), before turning to expensive companies with big marketing budgets.

Not thrilled with your child's report card? By all means, reach for that phone...and call the school!

From the Today Show: 'Grade School Lolita'

Interesting report last week on the Today show. In their new book “So Sexy So Soon” authors Diane Levin and Jean Kilbourne write about the trend of children becoming sexualized at a young age due to media images and marketing campaigns that encourage youth to be “sexy,” and they offer advice on how parents can protect their kids.

The most striking message to me was how early kids are being affected. When high schoolers or middle schoolers are dressing sexy or obsessing with their weight, we think those issues just suddenly appeared with teenager-dom. But, according to the authors, the seeds are being sown much earlier than we may think.

Click here to read the Today show story and book excerpt, and see the video report.

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

RHS Students' Wish List

At tonight's HSA meeting at the high school, the two student reps gave a little presentation on student attitudes toward RHS. One of the questions they had been asked by the HSA was: in a perfect world, what things do you wish you had at RHS? The list was compiled at their Student Congress meeting.. Here's what they wished for (remember, this is in a "perfect" world):
-- More use of Blackboard by teachers
-- Laptops in the Campus Center for group project work
-- Better recycling practices on campus
-- More use of recycled paper
-- Ability to access their "u-drive" (student computer files) from home, for easier transfer of work between home and school
-- More time between classes
-- More student parking
-- A golf course
-- Student lounge, possibly in the balcony of the campus center
-- Bus from student parking at Vets field
-- Solar panels to generate electricity at the HS
-- Better lockers
-- ID Cards that function like debit cards, so they can swipe to pay for food in cafeteria, student store
-- Email for students, for sending announcements, assignments, etc.

The students listed the following STRENGTHS of RHS:
-- Student-faculty relationships
-- Freedom (open campus, etc.)
-- Easy access to teachers for extra help

They listed the following WEAKNESSES of RHS:
-- Facilities are a little run-down (looks nice from outside)
-- No parking for students
-- Crowded classes (in lower grades)

The two student reps did a great job talking about these things and I thought the lists were quite interesting. It's great to hear directly from the students how they feel, rather than only relying on what the "grown-ups" say the students think.

A great idea at BF.

I've learned that BF is holding a "Snowball Social" in January -- a casual evening of dinner, dancing and fun for the parents of Benjamin Franklin Middle School students. Yay! Middle School is problematic for parents (understatement, huh?). Consider: it's normal that our kids start separating from us in middle school...it's normal that parents who were very involved at the elementary school will find fewer opportunities for involvement when their kids get to BF or GW. That's understandable...they're growing and maturing and they can't always do that if they think they're going to run into Mom or Dad in the hallways. HOWEVER, this natural separation from our kids results in parents becoming separated from each other. We lose our connections to other parents, so that by the time the kids get to high school, we know fewer and fewer other parents. The trouble is, middle school and high school are when we need those parental connections MORE. By the time the kids start driving or going to parties or whatever, even Ridgewood can seem like a mysterious black hole when our children leave the house on Friday or Saturday night. Having a strong (and large) network of parents gives us a chance to compare notes, find out things our children "forgot" to tell us, and alert each other to concerns or issues.

The funny thing is, when your kid gets to high school, there is a renewed effort to get parents involved -- band parents, sports boosters, HSA, Project Graduation -- but it's difficult to pull parents back in when that connection was lost during the middle school years.

So congratulations to BF for adding the Snowball Social -- a purely social event for parents to have fun together. (Too bad I'm not a middle school parent anymore, but oh well.)

P.S. I'm not neglecting GW! I'm just less familiar with the day-to-day over there -- if you are a GW parent and can share some info about parent involvement/socials at GW, please let me know so we can celebrate another great idea! (Something tells me I'm going to hear about some other middle school parent activities that I didn't know about -- bring it on and let's let people know!)

From the Trenches of Public Ed.: Improving education vs. students' rights

Normally I find this blog (From the Trenches of Public Ed.) interesting and usually thought-provoking, but I have to say I disagree with the point of the following post (see link for entire article). Here's the part I take issue with:

"Education should not be considered a right. A "right" is something that government should not be able to take away from you, not something government is obligated to give you. As Philip K. Howard says, education is not a right, but a benefit provided by a democratic society. I believe that our democracy should provide education, but there are going to be a lot of places where we can't do it effectively as long as we look at it as a right."

Hmmm....What do you think of this?
From the Trenches of Public Ed.: Improving education vs. students' rights

Sunday, November 9, 2008

Travell's New Library!

Travell is having an Open House on Wednesday 11/12 at 7:30 p.m. to officially open their new Media Center (aka Library). Everyone is invited to check it out. I can't wait to see it -- word "on the street" is it's quite nice! As you may (or may not) know, Travell's library was damaged last winter by a leaking pipe, so this summer it was completely renovated thanks to a fundraising effort by school leaders, parents, teachers, the Travell HSA and Travell Girl Scout troops. In addition to removing and replacing the damaged floor (and removing asbestos underneath), the entire room underwent an "extreme makeover," with new carpet, paint, shelves, electrical, tables, chairs, computer work stations, a circulation desk, flat screen TV and SMART Board electronic white board. Thank you to everyone who worked so hard coordinating, fundraising and rebuilding. The students of Travell will benefit from your efforts for years to come.

If you have a chance to stop by Wednesday night, check it out!

Saturday, November 8, 2008

LOVE this video (and catchy song!)

Try and let the whole thing load before you start playing...it'll run more smoothly.

Friday, November 7, 2008

Post-Halloween Scare: The 09-10 Budget

One of the main topics of last Monday's Board of Ed meeting was the beginning of the process to develop the 2009-2010 budget. The calendar for creating the budget begins now, with our estimated enrollment officially just over 5,700 students. Throughout November, principals (and other managers for lack of a better word) will work on projections and create preliminary budget requests. Those requests/plans will be reviewed with staff at the Ed Center. In December and January, Dr. Fishbein and staff will create a recommended budget, and then the Board will discuss the proposed budget at meetings in February. Public hearings on the final budget will be in March, but if you want to comment at the public Board meetings in February, I'm always a fan of "the earlier the better."

But let's never mind the schedule for a moment. The real news is this: we are looking at an estimated budget shortfall of $1.9 million. How does that happen? It's painfully simple: On the expense side, take all the costs that we know will be rising and which we cannot change (mainly salaries, benefits, transportation). On the income side, assume money from the state will be flat (no increase), and then assume we increase our revenue from taxes at 4% (the maximum allowed by law). Right there, we're $1.9 million in the negative. Our costs are increasing at a rate higher than we can increase our revenue.

Monday night, Dr. Fishbein said, "As always, we'll try to keep cuts away from students, but this much money is going to come really close to, if not into, cutting programs."

Thursday, November 6, 2008

Report from School Boards Workshop in Atlantic City

So Michele Lenhard, Sheila Brogan and I traveled to Atlantic City last week for the New Jersey School Boards Association annual Workshop. There were training sessions, "Action Labs," and other sessions, plus a general session with Jon Corzine and some other state legislators, and a special small session with Education Commissioner Lucille Davy. We were able to attend our state-mandated training as school board members. There was also a gigantic Exhibit Hall, with vendors offering info on just about any product you could possible sell to a school or district. From construction and building supplies to desks to school buses to computer data systems to playground equipment to auditorium curtains to insurance services to...it was truly amazing.

What sessions did I attend?

Well, I participated in an intensive "Engaging the Public" session that talked about the need to identify and speak to various "publics" and the need for trust. There was quite a bit of discussion on one of my favorite questions, namely, "what is the appropriate level of involvement for various stakeholders?" We talked about public involvement in Board committees -- some committees are more suited for public involvement than others and the key is ensuring that everyone (both the public members and the Board members) understand the expectations as to roles, powers, inputs, etc. This is an issue that I'll be the first to admit is more complicated than I anticipated, but I'm still committed to making something happen in this area. In due time.

I also attended a session on Evaluating the Superintendent...it may seem early (our guy just started!), but anyone who has worked in a company with good human resources policies knows that the best evaluation process actually starts with good preparation and communication up front, so that later when it's time to actually complete a written evaluation, there shouldn't be any surprises. The development of the Board's skills and the superintendent's skills is a process that is ongoing, forever, actually. (OK, maybe not "forever," but let's say many many years. :)

The other session I attended focused on School Board problem solving. It was subtitled "Working your Way Through the Maze" and that's obviously why I attended...I have felt lost in "the maze" many times over the past six months (hey, it was just my six-month anniversary last week, I just realized!). The primary job I've had so far is just trying to figure out just what it is I'm supposed to be doing, what I should be doing, what I legally CAN be doing...quite honestly it's been frustrating. But I'm making progress, I think.

Finally, one of the main benefits of the NJSBA Workshop for me, personally, was the opportunity to meet and speak casually with school board members from all over the state. In some cases it was reassuring to hear that our issues and challenges are shared by many, many boards and members. In other cases it was heartening to realize how lucky we are in Ridgewood...we have a community of very smart, committed people, well-intentioned, enthusiastic (yes, yes, I'm generalizing), but at least we don't have fist fights at the Board table, name-calling and shouting, defamation lawsuits, behind-the-scenes soap operas...KNOCK WOOD!

Tuesday, November 4, 2008

Friend, can you spare some CHANGE?

Oh thank goodness. There's hope yet. Congratulations, America.

And can I just say, NBC's computer-generated set was pretty cool.

And, boy do I miss Tim Russert.

Congratulations!

Side note from a Mom:
Congratulations to Marya Goodman, elected to the Executive Board of Chi Omega sorority, Mu Alpha chapter, at the University of New Hampshire. Good job!

Candidates' Education Positions and...FREE COFFEE!

So here was my path tonight...I clicked on the "I Support Strong American Schools" box on this blog (look right), feeling a little bummed that the candidates never really did talk much about education (regardless of my "ED in 08" buttons, oh well)...then I saw a link to a Wall Street Journal article comparing the candidates on several education issues. It is a nice clear comparison which you can read here and will probably not sway your vote tomorrow but might make you feel even better about what you're going to do. Here is the link to the article CLICK HERE.

But wait! As I was reading that I got distracted by some truly groundbreaking news: Starbucks is giving away FREE COFFEE on election day! Woohoo! They started out promising a free tall coffee to anyone who votes, but then I guess they got a little worried about breaking election laws, so anyone who shows up at Starbucks on Election Day can have a free tall coffee, regardless of whether they vote or not (but, please oh please, VOTE!).

Have a good one!

Monday, November 3, 2008

Voting at Schools: Update

In response to parent concerns at some schools, Federated HSA has arranged for police presence at the following schools tomorrow:
Glen
Travell
Hawes
Orchard
Dr. Fishbein has said that the district will split the cost with Federated.

The district had already arranged for police presence at Willard, and for the police to walk through all other schools throughout the day.

The remaining schools' administrators, in discussion with their HSAs, feel their set-up is fine and they don't need police.

Remember, all of our schools (except Willard) have direct access to voting places so voters will not be walking through the hallways. Parking restrictions will be lifted to ease possible traffic issues.

A little extra info: when this year's calendar was set (two years ago), Election Day was discussed and it was decided not to close the schools. There are 4-5 elections every year...we can not afford to close schools on all 4-5 days, every year. This summer we began discussing election day again, mostly because some Willard parents were concerned. We attempted to get the polling place moved out of Willard to Ridge, and the election commission said "no." The use of schools as polling places is not up to the district or the town. We do not make that decision, and we cannot decline the use of schools. So, to meet the concerns of the Willard parents, we secured Officer Chris McDowell to keep watch at Willard. All of our schools will be employing regular security measures throughout the day -- locked doors, buzzing to get in with school business. If a voter buzzes at the office to enter for voting, they will not be admitted but will be directed to the polling place entrance.

It is certainly every parent's prerogative to keep their child home if they are concerned, but my personal opinion is that that our schools are and will be safe.

GO VOTE!

Topics at the BOE meeting 11/3

As always, the full agenda is posted here. But if you want to know the highlights, here's a snapshot of some of the items on the agenda for tomorrow night:

We'll be reviewing the calendar for developing the 09-10 budget. This will be of particular interest to me since I've never gone through the process before. The work on budget actually begins this week, in order to have a final budget proposal for the election next April. Tomorrow's agenda also says we'll be discussing "budget what ifs". Hmm...sounds depressing.

We'll have a first reading of the proposed Nepotism policy. This is something mandated by the state, that we must update in our district policy manual. Basically, no relative of a Board member or Superintendent may be employed by the district. Currently, there is no prohibition on the employment of relatives.

We'll get an update on the Math Planning Team and the public input meeting which was held last week. And by the way, there is still time for you to email your input on elementary math. PLEASE email your thoughts to KKiedaisch@ridgewood.k12.nj.us before November 10.

Oh I just remembered...I should give a little report of my time in Atlantic City last week. Some of us were there for the New Jersey School Boards Association annual Workshop. It was definitely interesting. More to come...

Friday, October 31, 2008

Hot topics

Look at this cool thing I found! The following image shows the top 100 words mentioned on this blog...the more times they've been mentioned, the larger the words appear. Really cool website called Wordle. You can enter any text or collection of words, or you can give the URL for a blog or site with RSS feed, and Wordle will create a word image automatically.

Image created by Wordle

Thursday, October 30, 2008

Voting @ Schools

Some parents have questioned the safety and security of our students on Election Day. Here is some information about the voting in Ridgewood on 11/4:

The District has been discussing and preparing for Election Day. Monday, Dr. Fishbein spoke with the Chief of Police. The police have not received any notices of imminent threats nor official alerts about security.

All of our schools, except Willard, are able to limit access to the polling areas, so that voters do not enter the rest of the school. For example, at Somerville, voters enter and exit the gym through dedicated gym doors, and not through the hallways. Willard, because of its design and the location of the voting, cannot do this. For this reason, there will be a police officer on duty at Willard all day on election day. (FYI, we did try to get the polling moved out of Willard and the county Election Commission denied the request.) Regular security procedures (locked doors, visitor sign-in, etc.) will be enforced for any person who enters the non-polling-place areas of any schools. In addition, police will do walk-throughs at every school building throughout the day.

It is not possible to deny voting at the schools (although feel free to bring that up with the county!). Without specific threats, closing the schools up to four or five times per year on election days is not practical.

The District's thinking is that persons entering our schools to vote are our neighbors, who come to the buildings several times a year on election days. I agree with Dr.Fishbein that it's important for students to see the democratic process in action.

Monday, October 27, 2008

The 'Math Meeting' was tonight...any feedback?

I was not able to attend the math meeting tonight. (FYI, too much work and I'm leaving tomorrow for the NJ School Boards Association Workshop). How did it go?

Parry Aftab will speak about internet safety on December 11: here at RHS!

All Ridgewood parents and community members are invited...

A Common Sense Approach to Internet Safety in this Age of Changing Technology

Parry Aftab, an Internet privacy and security lawyer, is WiredSafety's Executive Director. WiredSafety is the world's largest Internet safety and help group. Ms. Aftab will present to Ridgewood parents and community members in the Ridgewood High School Campus Center on December 11 from 7:00 to 9:30.

This will be a great and truly informative session! Ms. Aftab has spoken to thousands of students and parents and knows the hot topic issues, explains them in parent-speak, and offers parents workable ways to balance their parental responsibilities and create sensible guidelines for kids.

In particular, the very important topic of Cyberbullying will be discussed and the audience will be introduced and asked to take the Megan Pledge. In particular, Ms. Aftab will cover:

What steps can parents take to prevent their children from becoming victims of cyberbullying? (pro-active approach)

If they become victims, what can victims and parents do, where can parents go for help and when do they bring it to the attention of school administrators or law enforcement?

What to do if they find out that their child is a Cyberbully?

Most victims of CyberBullying are so affected by the threats and harassment that they keep quiet and never report it to their
parents, teachers or friends. It is important that victims realize that we adults are here to fight this new form of bullying.

Get more info by clicking HERE or HERE.

Fixing 'No Child Left Behind'

I thought this was an interesting OP-ED from Washington Times, 10/23/08. What do you think?

Nailing down specifics on 'No Child'
by Michael J. Petrilli

Education is the neglected stepchild of this year's presidential race - very likely because the candidates are correctly reading the electorate. A recent poll found that only 1 percent of registered voters identified education as the issue most important to them. Yes, they've got plenty else on their minds. Still, it's a stunning change from 2000 when, during a time of peace and prosperity, school reform made it to the top of the nation's agenda.

One of the most significant outcomes of that election was bipartisan passage of President Bush's No Child Left Behind Act - a controversial law that is now overdue for renewal. Both Sen. John McCain and Sen. Barack Obama have promised to make changes to it, though each has been coy about the specific fixes he would propose.

That's not too surprising, either. NCLB is hugely unpopular with the bases of both political parties, with teacher unions abhorring its focus on test scores and conservatives ruing its expansion of federal powers. In the face of this widespread buyers' remorse, both candidates have been careful not to offer any specifics that would alienate key supporters.

But no such reticence is an option once Mr. McCain or Mr. Obama becomes president. Nor is NCLB going away. This massive statute houses most of the major federal programs in elementary-secondary education, as well as some $25 billion per annum in federal education aid. To move any school-reform initiative forward, indeed to do anything significant in K-12 education, the new president and Congress will have to update NCLB. And that means finding a political compromise.

That's plainly true for Mr. McCain, who would face a Democratic Congress. But Mr. Obama, too, will have to make a deal. Because so many members of his own party are loath to buck the unions, he will need to find Republican votes in order to get any NCLB reauthorization through Congress.

What could such a compromise entail? The best feature of NCLB is the transparency it has created around school performance. Because of annual testing in math and reading, and the reporting of test results for sub-groups as well as entire schools, communities now have tons more information with which to gauge their schools' effectiveness. The worst feature of NCLB is its heavyhandedness, labeling schools as failures even if just a handful of students perform poorly on state tests - and spelling out in excruciating detail the year-to-year cascade of sanctions that are supposed to be imposed on such schools.

How could the next president and Congress keep the good while getting rid of the bad? They should turn NCLB on its head, making it tight where today it's far too loose while loosening the parts that today are excessively tight.

Right now, NCLB micromanages the formula and timelines by which schools are labeled and sanctioned, yet it allows states total discretion over the academic standards and tests used to judge schools (and kids) in the first place. These should be flipped. Provide incentives for states to sign up for rigorous nationwide (not federal) standards and tests. Make the results of this testing publicly available, sliced every which way by school and group. But then allow states and districts (or private entities, such as GreatSchools.net) to devise their own school labels and ratings - and let them decide what to do with schools that need help.

This will enable parents, policy-makers, and taxpayers to compare schools in an apples-to-apples manner, across state lines, but will also empower states and communities to take the driver's seat again when it comes to determining which schools need help and how to intervene.

This solution won't please everyone. Some reformers will worry that, without stern mandates from Washington, some states will fail to hold troubled schools accountable. Some conservatives will complain about "national" testing. And some union leaders will still chafe at the transparency of school results and the possibility of tying student performance to teacher effectiveness.

But reasonable people on all sides of the issue will see that this approach is better aligned with Uncle Sam's skill set. After all, Washington is at least three or four steps removed from the operation of local schools. There's only so much policy-makers can do from Capitol Hill and the federal Education Department, whatever their intentions. It would be far better for the feds to focus on making school standards explicit and results transparent, and then allow the states, communities and expert educators to focus on how to reform schools that aren't making the grade. It might even remove some of the buyers' remorse that has come to be associated with NCLB.

Michael J. Petrilli, a former Bush administration official in the U.S. Department of Education, is vice president for national programs and policy at the Thomas B. Fordham Institute.

Friday, October 24, 2008

Why we all need to answer the math questions.

I’m from the school of thought that believes if you’re asked outright for your opinion, you should give it. I’m also a big believer in second chances. Or even more chances. In the messy world of people with different opinions working together to figure out what’s best for the community, as many chances as it takes to get the job done.

The District is asking community members to share what’s important to them in terms of elementary math education. We have two options: 1) Attend the Math Meeting at the Ed Center on Monday night at 7:30. 2) Send our opinions via email to kkiedaisch@ridgewood.k12.nj.us. I’ll be using the second option. (But I'll probably be at the Ed Center to help with the meeting.) I encourage (urge, ask, beg) you to use whichever option most appeals to you. Just please make your opinion known now.

Yes, there were already focus groups. But those were over a year ago. And the purpose of the focus groups was not, no pun intended, focused. At that time, there was no explicit goal of choosing a math textbook/program for all elementary schools. Now that we know that’s the ultimate goal, and we had a long year of talk amongst friends and neighbors and others, let’s make extra-sure that the District knows the opinions of as wide a sample of parents as possible.

Click here to read the four questions you’re being asked. Please answer any or all of them. If you don’t like the first question about “passion,” (it’s a little touchy-feely for some), it would probably be ok to skip it. The real meat is in questions 3 & 4: what do you think all students should know, and what would you like to see in a math textbook?

So please come to the Ed Center Monday night. Or please send your email comments by November 10.

Wednesday, October 22, 2008

New Board of Ed web pages

The Board of Ed has expanded its web pages on the District website, in an effort to give the public more information on what we do, how and why. If you go to the Ridgewood Public Schools website and click Board of Ed on the left, you'll find:
-- Board member bios with e-mail addresses;
-- An FAQs page with explanations of how the Board operates, what the Board is responsible for vs. what the superintendent is responsible for, meeting formats, etc.;
-- List of Board committees with descriptions and Board member assignments;
-- Detailed line item budget;
-- Referendum planning page, containing drawings of expansion plans for GW, Willard, Hawes and Ridge.

If you check it out, let me know what you think. Is there anything else about the Board of Ed you'd like to know?

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

We have goals!

At last night's Board meeting, we approved the following as the Board of Education's goals for the 2008-2009 school year. (Normally this would happen sooner, but this year we waited to have our Board retreat until Dr. Fishbein had started as superintendent).

Student Learning
Promote academic achievement for all students. Develop a set of metrics to collect baseline data that measures and demonstrates individualized student success in curricular and co-curricular opportunities.

What this means: We want to define the things that are important to us as a district...how do we measure student success in ways other than test scores? Is there a Ridgewood definition of "success" that encompasses academics, extracurriculars, that measures effort in addition to achievement? This year we want to answer these questions, figure out what we want to prioritize, and then we'll proceed to use those metrics to evaluate the district and ourselves.

Communications
Conduct an audit of the two-way flow of information between the district and the community. Identify effective components and areas in need of improvement. Design a community survey instrument to be used in the 2009-2010 school year. Identify the procedures/standards, personnel and budget resources needed to create a highly effective communication system.

What this means: We want to evaluate our communications, both from the Board to the public and from the public to the Board. As part of this evaluation, we will create an annual survey or "report card" or feedback device where parents can tell us how the District and schools are doing. We'll determine where and how our communications can be improved.

Ridgewood Board of Education Policies and Regulations
Review and revise the district's Policy and Procedure Manual, aligning it with state law and code so that it becomes an effective reference and public information tool. Develop new policies that reflect legal mandates and local priorities. Develop a process that ensures ongoing review and updating of the policies and procedures.

What this means: Our Policy Manual needs to be updated, both to incorporate legal requirements and also to make it more user-friendly and more relevant to real, day-to-day life in the District. Updating the policy manual is routine every district must undertake -- it's time to do ours and we want to do it well.

2009-10 Budget and Bond Referendum
Develop a budget that meets the educational needs of all our students and is mindful of the state's budgeting parameters as well as the economic climate in the community. Design a bond referendum that would allow funding for construction of new and improved instructional space, building repairs and capital improvements as identified in our Long Range Facilities Plan and Ridgewood High School Building Evaluation, and possible improvements to athletic facilities.

What this means: Pretty self-explanatory, isn't it? It's going to be a tough budget year, and we're going to have to create a budget AND come up with a smart, comprehensive, fair, efficient and forward-thinking referendum to meet our pressing needs.

Let me know if you have any questions...

Sunday, October 19, 2008

Attn: Willard & Ridge Parents

Dr. Fishbein, Sheila Brogan and I will be at the Willard HSA meeting on Monday at 1:30, and the Ridge HSA meeting on Tuesday at 2:00 to discuss each school's expansion plans vis-a-vis the 2009 referendum. Please attend if you'd like to see the plans up close, ask questions, etc. (The plans will also be available in PDF form on the district website.)

Agenda for 10/20 meeting

You can see the complete agenda for tomorrow's Board of Ed meeting by clicking here. Some highlights (in addition to the Violence & Vandalism report already mentioned):

Update on referendum planning, specifically energy conservation/efficiency.

Mr. McDonald, RHS athletic director, will update us on the sports league changes. It's somewhat confusing and, from what I understand, no better than what they had when they started the discussion. I'm looking forward to Mr. McDonald explaining the latest.

We're going to discuss the Board's goals for 2008-09.

Dr. Fishbein will give an update on the Math Plan.

Ridgewood Education Foundation will announce grants totalling almost $8,000.

Like I said, you can read all the minute details on the district website, just click here.

See you tomorrow night!

School Violence & Vandalism

One of the topics on the agenda for tomorrow night's meeting (10/20 @ 7:30 PM) is the annual Report on School Violence and Vandalism for 2007-08. There will be a report on the numbers in Ridgewood, comparison to previous years, and also a discussion about activities in the schools related to the prevention of violence. There will be a public comment section, so if you have any questions or comments about violence or vandalism in our schools, you are invited to share and/or pose questions at the meeting.

Monday, October 13, 2008

Summer Homework

A parent emailed me the following question:

"Why do so many other neighboring communities have "summer homework" - a required book/s to read, worksheets, historic local sites to visit, etc. - and Ridgewood does not? Just wondering!"

I will see what I can find out about our schools' practices and philosophy re: summer homework. But, in the meantime, I'm interested to hear what parents think. Any thoughts?

Tuesday, October 7, 2008

Consolidation of Special Ed Classrooms

As a continuation of the discussion on expansion, it helps to understand where our self-contained special ed classrooms are currently located, and where they'd be located following the expansion in the proposed referendum:

Pre Construction:
Somerville -- PARCCA (K-2)
BF -- PARCCA (3-5)
Orchard -- LLD (K-2)
Somerville -- LLD (K-2)
Travell -- LLD (3-5)
Travell -- LLD (K-2)
Travell -- LLD (3-5)

Post Construction:
Willard -- PARCCA (K-2)
Willard -- PARCCA (3-5)
Willard -- LLD (K-2)
Hawes -- LLD (K-2)
Hawes -- LLD (3-5)
Ridge -- LLD (K-2)
Ridge -- LLD (3-5)
BF -- PARCCA (6-8)

In other words, under this plan, PARCCA K-5 would be together at Willard, and then move to BF for PARCCA 6-8. Our LLD (Language & Learning Disabled) classes for K-2 would be at Willard, Hawes and Ridge, consolidating to 3-5 at Hawes and Ridge. (Traditionally, the numbers of LLD students is reduced from K-2 to 3-5.

Why are Ridge, Hawes and Willard the schools chosen to be expanded? Why not Travell or Somerville or Orchard? This mainly has to do with property and the availability of space for expansion. Ridge and Hawes have the most room. And Willard, as the oldest elementary school, has some very small classrooms which can be easily adapted for LLD or PARCCA, with the addition of larger non-LLD classrooms.

The 2008-2009 Math Planning Year

The outline for the 2008-2009 Math Planning Team has been released and you can find it at the District website by clicking HERE. You'll find a detailed outline of activities, objectives and action plan, as well as a list of the external advisors who will be participating and lending insight throughout the process.

The objectives for this Math Planning Year are:
1) Select an elementary math textbook or program for use in all elementary schools;
2) Plan professional development and implementation rollout for 2009-2010

The Math Planning Team consists of Dr. Fishbein, Ms. Botsford, Dr. Anspach (our new Director of Curriculum), Mr. Dan Ilaria (6-12 Math Supervisor), all the elementary school principals, and Ms. Nancy Schultz (Mathematics Specialist of Professional Resources in Science and Mathematics (PRISM) at Montclair State University). The Team's action plan includes the following:
-- Review relevant documents (see list in Math Plan)
-- Understand parents' wants/needs for math textbook/program
-- Understand teachers' wants/needs for math textbook/program
-- Understand the views of mathematicians (see full Math Plan for names/bios)
-- Write a District vision statement for elementary mathematics
-- Identify District needs and wants for math textbook/program
-- Recommend math textbook/program for Board approval in May 2009

Throughout the process, the Math Planning Team will give updates and solicit feedback at Board of Ed meetings, Board Curriculum Committee meetings, Curriculum Communication Committee meetings, HSA meetings and faculty meetings.

In terms of parent input, things will be kicked-off with an Elementary Math Evening on Monday, October 27, from 7:30 to 9 p.m., on the 3rd floor of the Ed Center. All interested parents are invited to attend. Please attend if you have an opinion about math education! The structure will be to work in small groups to respond to the following questions:

* What is your passion when it comes to mathematics?
* Reflecting on your own education in mathematics, what would you want that is different or the same for all children today in their mathematics education?
* What do you think all students should know and be able to do in mathematics when they graduate?
* What do you want to see in an elementary mathematics textbook or program?

The goal of the meeting will be to collect and forward input to the Math Planning Team, along with all the focus group and other parent input received last year.

So here we go...it's great to have a plan. The "math issue" has been out of the limelight over the past few months, and I think it has been good to tone down some of the emotions that got riled up last spring. Now we can focus and really work through the issue together.

So check out the plan (click HERE) and I'd love to hear what you think.

Sunday, October 5, 2008

Board Meeting Agenda Highlights for 10/6

Just a few highlights of what we'll be doing at tomorrow's Board of Ed meeting (you can read the full agenda by clicking HERE):

• Proposed plans for expansion at Ridge and Hawes. Revised plans for GW expansion. (This will be early on the agenda, so if you want to come see and discuss these plans, you can get home fairly quickly).

• Various human resources items (appointments, resignations, leaves of absence, substitutes, etc.)

• Miscellaneous financial approvals (receive donations, budget appropriation transfers, contract with the Ice House, change order for Hawes retaining wall project)

• Presentation of the Elementary Math Planning Year including objectives, action plan, timeline, team members and external advisors.

• Discussion items: 1) student residency; 2) security
NOTE: One of the security issues involves the posting of a guard at BF. I would love to hear what BF parents think about this. Do you think it's necessary? Do you and your children feel more safe with the guard in place? Any comments or thoughts? Email me or post here! Or come to the meeting and speak to the Board...

As always, there will be two opportunities for public comment: once at the very beginning of the meeting and once toward the end.

The public portion of the meeting will start at 7:30 p.m. Don't feel like coming down to the Ed Center? You can watch the meeting online by clicking here.

What’s the story on the referendum?

If you’ve been reading the Ridgewood News the past few weeks, you’ve seen stories about proposed construction projects at several of our schools. The articles have not done a great job of explaining the big picture. Maybe I can help clear things up a bit.

Here’s the deal. We have physical needs at all of our school buildings. Some of the needs involve expansion: we need to add instructional and other space where we’ve run out of room to educate our school populations. In addition, we need to create permanent homes for some of our special ed programs which have moved from school to school in recent years. Some of the needs involve renovation: many of our buildings are very old and have typical old-building needs like roofs, windows, leaks, handicap-access, etc. It has come time to address all these needs and, since our budget certainly doesn’t allow us to save up for construction projects, we’ll need to acquire the funds via a bond, which must be approved by voters in a referendum, or vote.

Since last spring and continuing now, the Facilities Committee has been meeting with principals and looking at each school, compiling a list of needs in terms of expansion and renovation. The third area we’ll be looking at is energy efficiency – looking for ways to either save on energy costs or possibly to create our own solar power (if the finances make sense). And the fourth thing we’ll be looking at is our athletic facilities, especially fields and gyms. The ultimate goal of all this research will be to put together a package of the most important and vital projects districtwide, and then bring the package to the voters for approval, probably in September 2009.

Over the last few Board meetings, we’ve seen plans for expansion at GW and Willard. Monday night we’ll look at plans for Ridge and Hawes. Future meetings will discuss needs at Orchard, Travell, Somerville, BF and RHS. The purpose of these presentations is to keep you apprised of our thinking, and to ask for feedback from the public. We’ll also be taking feedback and answering questions at HSA meetings. Plans will be posted on the District website soon. We’re moving somewhat quickly right now because we have a deadline of January to submit plans to the state for approval.

So right now, we’re gathering info and estimating budgets. Eventually, we’ll put it all together and we’ll have to make some decisions about priorities. We will have to say “no” to some things…a lot of things. But the ultimate goal is to update our school buildings and create learning environments that serve all our children and that comply with state laws.

When it comes time to prepare for the vote, we’ll have detailed plans, budgets, FAQs and more. There will be meetings and presentations. For now, tune in to (or visit) Board of Ed meetings and/or HSA meetings to be part of the planning process. And, if you have any questions, feel free to post a question here (click "comments") or email me at lauriegood@mac.com.

Tuesday, September 30, 2008

"Delete" Cyberbullying

Remember McGruff the Crime Dog? (Uh-oh, some of you may be too young!). Well he's back and his National Crime Prevention Council has a big campaign to stop cyberbullying, which is defined as teens using the Internet, cell phones, or other devices to send or post text or images intended to hurt or embarrass another person. It's estimated that HALF of all teens have been affected by cyberbullying. You can read more about it, and how to help your teens prevent cyberbullying, at this link.
Here's one of their new online ads in the public service campaign called "Delete Cyberbullying:"






Sunday, September 28, 2008

Measuring Student Potential/Goodbye to SATs?

The New York Times and other media recently reported on a commission report calling for less emphasis on SATs. Read the article by clicking here. What do you think?

I'm sort of mixed on this. I'm all for less focus on the SATs. But the commission's suggestion -- that colleges instead require admissions exams more closely tied to high school curriculum and achievement -- seems to miss the point. It just replaces the one big SAT (which in this day and age is basically a huge moneymaking business) with several subject tests. It doesn't address the problem of relying on standardized tests to make predictions about students' future potential. You can read the letters on both sides by clicking here. I'm curious how Ridgewood parents feel about this...and how do you feel about RHS attempting to more "authentically" assess student achievement. Any thoughts?

Friday, September 26, 2008

Back to School Night!

OK, I've got to come clean...I'm a back-to-school-night junkie. I admit it. I just love back to school night! It's kind of dorky, right? I'd probably go to other schools' back to school nights if I wasn't afraid I'd scare the other parents (and probably the teachers, too). I love the energy. Now that my daughter is in college and my son is at the high school, I'm down to my last few legit back to school nights. I'll be sad when they're all done...but until then, I'll enjoy walking the hallways, marveling at the crowds, sitting in the desks, checking out the artwork on the walls, chitchatting with friends and asking "how do they do this every day?" while fighting through the infamous intersection, and listening to the teachers explain how much they love our kids and how everything should go smoothly as long as we all (kids and parents) understand the "expectations." Honestly, tonight was one of the best night's I've had in a while! (no comments on the dull social life).

Some highlights from RHS tonight: the school looked pretty good overall...there were a lot of helpful student "ambassadors" to give directions...every class seemed full, which meant parent turnout was good...oh, this is a good one: almost every one of my son's teachers said they're using Blackboard regularly this year! I'm so glad! It's probably not the best program out there (the more I check it out, the more I realize it's probably better suited to the college environment), but it's what we've got and I'm glad to see it used as much as possible. I can't wait for the first time my son says "I need you to drive me back to school to get ___" and I'll say, "Well, Mr. Cook said it's on Blackboard so you can just download it now!"

One more thing I noticed tonight: the number of parents who walked out of classrooms and immediately called (or texted) their kids at home: "Did you know you have a test tomorrow? Did you know you have a project next week?" Another example of technology in the school!

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

Board Meeting Highlight: Willard Expansion/Renovation

At the Board of Ed meeting on 9/22, Angelo DeSimone gave a presentation of the proposed Willard renovation/expansion on behalf of the Facilities Committee. Basically, the proposal for Willard addresses four main issues:
1) Extremely small existing classrooms in the 1926 portion of the building. (Some of the classrooms are approx. 600 sq. ft (or less!), compared to the 850 sq. ft. recommended by the state). Students at Willard are squeezed into too-small classrooms.
2) The need for small group instruction space, primarily for special education. This is a district-wide issue. In addition to needs for SGI, OT/PT, etc., we would like to find a permanent home for our growing PARRCA program, which services our district’s autistic children. In recent years, PARRCA has moved among different elementary school locations, which is disruptive for everyone concerned.
3) Undersized library – approx. half the size recommended by the state
4) Need for storage, especially for the lunch chairs & tables, which are kept in the auditorium during PE classes. Not the safest solution, but there currently is nowhere else to put them.

The plan presented Monday night adds a second floor above the current 1st and 2nd grade classroom wing. This will hold five new classrooms, a new (larger) media center/library, and computer lab. An elevator would be added for accessibility. The current older/smaller classrooms would be converted for small-group instruction and self-contained classrooms for PARRCA (plus storage space adjacent to the auditorium). The existing library would become two new classrooms.

These plans will be presented again at the Willard HSA meeting on October 20 at 1:30. I hope you will attend if you’d like to get more details or ask questions.

One more note, which Sheila Brogan mentioned at Monday’s meeting: if it seems like the Board is moving quickly, it’s because the state has specific deadlines by which we must submit plans in order to apply for grant money and/or debt service aid. We are carefully working, school by school, to meet those deadlines. Prior to any referendum vote, we will have more detailed plans, with side elevations, etc., to illustrate what any additions, such as Willard’s, will look like. Right now we are focusing on floor layouts, classroom counts, etc.

From today's Record re: new HS standards...

The following op-ed piece appeared in today's Bergen Record. (And yes I did notice that on the website, they spelled 'academics' wrong. Ha!)

What caught my eye was the statement that schools are not simply for job-training. I've said that for years. I believe it applies to college, too, but definitely high school.

With that said, however, while I do generally applaud the desire to educate our kids better, I have serious administrative concerns about some of these mandates which are so blithely handed down by Commissioner Davy. One example: She wants every single child to have some sort of individual academic plan created and, I assume, maintained and updated. Lovely idea. But realize it will take some sort of administration to make that happen...and this in the face of pressure to reduce administrative costs.

Anyway, just wanted to share the below teacher's opinion with you...and ask what you think?

Tougher academcis (sic) will develop better citizens

The purpose of education is not simply to gain employment.

LAST WEEK state Commissioner of Education Lucille Davy outlined a bold new plan for our secondary schools. It would require all New Jersey students to successfully complete a broader and deeper range of subjects in the areas |of science, language (both English and foreign) |and math.

Such an expansion is welcome, although I expect our students may feel differently.

Essentially her plan would give all our students the equivalent of a liberal arts education at the secondary school level. It means that our students will need to work harder to succeed in this enhanced curriculum, but there has never been anything wrong with requiring students to work harder.

Many will view some of these new requirements as impositions; students between the ages of 12 and 18 are not likely to see the value of these courses, although Davy clearly does.

What used to be acceptable requirements for graduation are no longer adequate, and Davy's initiative goes a long way toward rectifying that deficiency. Few would understand the controversy over stem cell research without having taken a course in biology. Similarly the opening of the new Large Hadron Collider in Europe has little significance to anyone lacking even a rudimentary course in chemistry or physics. In short many of the developments we read about cannot be understood without the basic knowledge that these newly required courses will provide.

Too many students have the idea that school's sole purpose is to provide an education that will enable them |to gain employment. I do not minimize that goal. But education should also serve the purpose of providing the tools to make intelligible the science articles in newspapers, those simple communications of basic information that we come across each day.

Such articles are clearly not interesting to everyone. But the ability to read and understand them is essential. There can be no intelligent public debate about stem cell research, for example, if the general population lacks a basic understanding of biology. Without a similar understanding of chemistry the news that North Korea or Iran has acquired more high-speed centrifuges has little significance.

Math is the underpinning of science, and as such mandating Algebra I and II is appropriate. Such courses provide a framework for problem-solving within the sciences. In the absence of mastering basic algebra skills, students find science courses substantially more problematic.

I was disappointed that geometry was not part of Davy's expanded curriculum as that course develops a skill that has applications everywhere: logic. Over the past two decades fewer and fewer students have been exposed to this course, and their education is diminished by its absence.

Nonetheless, I am happy to read of New Jersey's effort to offer a public education that will produce more well-rounded citizens.

Roy Landis, a math teacher, lives in Cresskill.

Detailed Budget Online

There is now a complete "line item" budget posted on the District website. You can find it by going to the District website (click here) and clicking on Board of Ed and then click Budget on the left side. There is also something the state calls a "user friendly" budget (that's their term, not ours!), which is a summary version of the same information.

OK, I'll make it even easier: CLICK HERE for a direct link to the budget page.

Monday, September 22, 2008

NJ's new high school requirements

Did you see the article last week about the new requirements the state of New Jersey is setting for students to graduate from high school? Here's a paste from the article in the Bergen Record 9/17/08:

The state education commissioner today outlined a broad “vision for transforming secondary education” for the next eight to 10 years. Specific plans call for a host of new tests and courses designed to better prepare students for college. The plans also call for districts to develop individual learning plans for all students in grades 6-12 beginning next school year.

New testing requirements were unveiled in April, and today Commissioner Lucille Davy presented some additions that include requirements for high school students to have completed coursework in personal finance and world history.

The state also plans to require high school students take at least five credits each in laboratory science and world language and be tested for proficiency in a language other than English. In addition, the state wants high school students to have completed at least one course online.

In order to graduate high school, students will have to pass tests in a host of individual subject areas, including biology, chemistry, language arts, foreign language and Algebra II by the year 2016. The tests are being phased in over the next eight years – starting with biology last year and Algebra I at the end of this school year.

I'm interested to hear what you think about these new requirements? How do you think this will affect our kids? Does it sound like too much testing? Or do we need to test more to ensure that our kids are actually prepared for their 21st century adult lives?

Thursday, September 18, 2008

Interesting news from the high school

There are quite a few exciting things happening at RHS. A sampling:

Thirty RHS students will be attending the 12th biennial Dodge Poetry Festival at historic Waterloo Village in Stanhope, New Jersey Sept. 25-28. The students will have an amazing opportunity to spend time in workshops and other activities with dozens of accomplished poets and storytellers, including state and U.S. Poets Laureate, Pulitzer Prize winners, and an array of poets from diverse cultures and subcultures here and abroad.

According to Principal Jack Lorenz, RHS has nine National Merit Semifinalists this year. Apparently that’s a lot for a New Jersey high school. New Jersey’s cutoff scores (PSATs) are higher than for most other states. I didn’t know that the cutoffs differ from state to state and from year to year. Interesting. Let’s not forget, the National Merit Scholarship Corporation is a private group that can set the requirements for its awards however it sees fit. And it seems to think that different states should have different levels of achievement. Hmmm…I didn’t intend to go off on a NMSC tangent…I really just wanted to celebrate our nine semifinalists…congratulations!

Over the summer, 56 teachers received laptops so now every teacher at the HS has a laptop and can therefore check and respond to their own email, work on lessons and plans, etc., most efficiently.

Mr, Lorenz also announced that he would soon be sending out a letter to parents regarding academic honesty and ethical behavior in school. I actually got the letter last night…maybe I’ll post it here later. I think a reminder about honesty, doing your own work, etc., is not a bad idea for our high school students.