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, June 29, 2009

Agenda for tonight's meeting

The full agenda for tonight's Board of Education meeting can found here.

A few highlights:

Recognition of volunteers from Jamboree, Dad's Night, Super Science Saturday and the HSAs.

Presentation on the referendum financing options and timeline.

Approval of the 2010-2011 school calendar.

Approval of some new textbooks and middle school program of studies.

The usual host of resignations, appointments, leaves of absence and changes of assignment.

Discussion items include revisions to our "use of facilities" policy, an update on our separation from the Village for landscaping and fields maintenance, hiring employees during the summer and out 09-10 Board "retreat."

Tune in online (webcast click here) or come on down to the Ed Center! Public comments on any school issue are welcome!

Thursday, June 25, 2009

Supreme Court says school strip search went too far

Well, duh. I can't even understand how this case made it all the way to the Supreme Court. How on earth could it NOT be unreasonable to do a strip search on a 13-year-old girl because school officials suspected she had Advil? Are you serious?

Read full article by clicking here.

I understand schools' need to eliminate drugs on campus. I even understand the zero-tolerance policy and have tried to make sure my kids understand it's not ok to carry Advil yourself, even if you are just taking it for cramps or because you injured yourself in a cross country meet the day before. But a strip search? This case of the girl in Arizona was beyond my comprehension. I'll admit, I never really looked into the arguments FOR the search. I guess I'm curious and I'll check it out, but I'm not holding out for it to make much sense.

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Awkward. And ineffective.

Last week a member of the Ramsey Board of Education wrote an Op-Ed piece in the Bergen Record, complaining about budget caps and teacher salaries. Today the NJEA rep for the Ramsey teachers' union wrote to contradict a lot of what the Board of Ed guy had to say. Both featured a lot of spin and nothing really helpful or informative for parents and citizens of Ramsey.

I'm all for freedom of speech and public discourse. I love letters to the editor as one of the most important tools in a democracy. But this kind of public bickering-by-column of school officials just rubs me the wrong way. There's something dysfunctional about it, no?

I don't know...maybe if I was in their position, I might want to do something similar. I do have a tendency to want the last word in an argument. Or to "clarify" the other party's "misstatements." But I can't help but think this little exercise on the editorial page was just a waste of time.

Now if they each had their own blog...
;)

still searching for online links to these two editorials...will post if I can track them down.

Friday, June 19, 2009

RHS on CBS news: high-tech cheating

Some Ridgewood High School students were featured in a story on CBS News yesterday. The topic was high tech cheating -- students using cell phones or the internet to cheat. A recent study was released that said half of all students reported they had cheated using electronic means -- copying from the internet, texting answers during tests, taking cell phone photos of tests.

I'm curious how much parents are talking to their kids about cheating. I'm all for technology and access to information, but along with this new power comes the responsibility to be very explicit about what is and is not OK. I think all kids should automatically know that texting the answers to a friend during a test is wrong, but they get a little confused when it comes to internet research. Back in the old days (remember when?), if you were going to copy something, it required a lot of writing, or photocopying (and then writing or typing). But with the internet and the ability to copy-and-paste, it's just too easy. The words -- exactly what I was going to say! -- are right there in front of me!

I think we parents can't assume that kids know when they are plagiarizing and when they are being lazy (and plagiarizing). We need to sit down at the computer and show them.

Any other thoughts out there?

To watch the short report from CBS News, click here.

Thursday, June 18, 2009

Tougher NJ high school graduation requirements approved

From today's Bergen Record:

New Jersey high school students will have to pass tougher classes to earn a diploma under new statewide graduation requirements unanimously approved Wednesday by the state Board of Education.

The new requirements focus on technology, communication and problem-solving skills, and were developed by educators, business leaders and university officials. They include more lab sciences and high-level math, a four-year sequence of English classes, and exams at the end of key courses to make sure students have mastered the skills they’ll need in college or on the job.

Click here for the full story.

Highlights of the NEW H.S. GRADUATION REQUIREMENTS:

MATH:
Three years of math: algebra I, geometry and a third year of math that includes some advanced algebra and statistics

ENGLISH:
English I-IV

SCIENCE:
Three years of lab science: biology, a choice of chemistry, physics or environmental science, and a third year of science

ECONOMICS:
One semester of economics or financial literacy

Click here for the full story.

BOE testimony to Planning Board on zoning change

Here is the testimony that Sheila Brogan gave to the Planning Board hearing last night, on behalf of the Board of Education.

It's long, but I thought it was better to give the entire text here, rather than just a link. (If you want the full text on RPS letterhead, click here.)

Over the last year, the Board of Education has watched the proceedings before the Planning Board and is aware of Valley’s request for changes to the Village of Ridgewood’s Zoning Code, Chapter 190-117 H Hospital District. We understand that granting this request may lead Valley Hospital to move forward with their plans for Renewal.

Throughout the community, there are those who support Valley Hospital’s Renewal and those who do not. It is not our intention to become intertwined in this debate as to whether or not Valley Hospital should be allowed to modernize their facilities. We are not experts who can determine safe construction noise and dust levels or how to protect our students during any hospital expansion that may take place. However, speaking for the Ridgewood Board of Education I come before you tonight to give voice to the health, safety, and educational concerns that may arise should the Planning Board amend the Master Plan for the hospital zone and subsequently approve plans for construction at Valley Hospital as proposed in
their Renewal Plan.

The Board of Education has heard concerns from many parents about the proposed changes to the zoning code and the possible construction at Valley Hospital. The size, scope of work, and the duration of the construction project that is being discussed is unprecedented in our community. I am sharing the Board of Education’s concerns tonight and request that the Planning Board consider them in your deliberations and adopt procedural requirements for construction for inclusion in the Master Plan for the H Hospital district zone. We ask for this inclusion because of the size, scope and duration of the project proposed. If the Master Plan is amended as requested by Valley Hospital and construction approved, the following concerns exist and we hope these concerns are given consideration in your deliberations:

Air Quality and Noise Pollution: We are concerned about the air quality due to dust and dirt during demolition and construction. There are 691 students who currently attend Benjamin Franklin Middle School, 5.7% of these students have asthma. There are 417 students who attend Travell Elementary School, 8.2% of these students have asthma. The Board requests that an environmental baseline study be done at the hospital’s expense. This study would measure the air quality prior to construction and then during construction. We also request that there be a continuous monitoring system installed at the construction site that would monitor the air quality regularly and signal when the levels of dust, dirt, pollutants become higher than acceptable based on specific guidelines established by an independent expert. Should the air quality monitoring show an appreciable change for the worse in air quality, the Board would like to know what plans the hospital will have to deal with the adverse effects which may result, including the effects on children with asthma. It would be preferable to have any demolition of buildings done in the summer when students are on recess. In addition, truck and construction equipment idling should be prohibited so as to not contribute to air pollution. There is concern about the air pollution generated by diesel trucks.

We are concerned about dust and debris from the construction site finding its way to BF and to Travell, coating the windows, building exteriors, the surrounding grounds, playground equipment, and the athletic fields. Consideration to controlling dust in the air and cleaning the outside of BF and Travell should be part of any construction agreement.

We are concerned about excessive noise during construction that may negatively impact the learning environment at Benjamin Franklin Middle School. We recommend a continuous monitoring system be installed to alert the construction workers to noise levels above a certain decibel standard established by an independent expert knowledgeable about current and researched base guidelines.

We agree with the testimony of the Village Engineer provided on June 3, 2009. He advised and we concur that “noise abatement technology be installed as part of the construction process and post construction. Use of noise canceling technology, buffers and dampers should also be considered.” It is of great concern that construction will be ongoing for five years for phase one and that subsequent phases will prolong the construction period. This could seriously impact the learning environment for thousands of students at Benjamin Franklin unless efforts are made to monitor and control noise levels. For both noise and air pollution, consideration should be given by the Village to hire, at Valley's expense, an independent Environmental Safety Expert to monitor the construction and its impact on the environment.

Time of Construction Trucks Entering and Exiting the Site: We request that no trucks or shuttle buses be permitted to enter or exit the construction site or the hospital entrance nor travel near the school between the hours of 7:15 and 8:45 AM and 2:30 and 3:30 PM, when children are going to and from school. Alterations to this schedule should be accommodated on specific days when there may be planned early dismissals.

There are days and times when the field is heavily used by student athletes. The Board has been discussing the possibility of making improvements to the BF field and constructing a new 400 meter track there. If this improvement is made, we will relocate our track and field competitions to BF and, at times, we will host track and field meets. At such time, there would have to be alterations to the construction schedule. There needs to be ongoing communication with the hospital about these athletic competitions which may require construction to halt to ensure that our student athletes, coaches and visitors are safe.
Route of Construction Trucks: We ask that no trucks be allowed to travel along the perimeter of the Benjamin Franklin Middle School building on East Glen and Van Dien Avenues during school hours to protect the integrity of the learning environment from excessive noise and for the safety of our students. As mentioned above, there may also be the need to curtail trucks traveling the perimeter of BF after school due to athletic events being hosted there.

Securing the Construction Site: The construction site might be attractive to students and we request that a plan be in place to secure the construction site against curious students. We also support the idea of having an independent construction engineer appointed by the Village to monitor construction and ensure compliance with the provisions in the developer’s agreement. We also request that security guards be posted at the construction site 24 hours a day.

We ask that all construction employees be subject to criminal history background checks and if a worker does not pass the criminal history background check, he or she not be permitted to work on the hospital construction site.

Crossing Guards: We have heard the recommendation that students walking along Van Dien during construction be requested to walk on the west side of the street. Although we understand the intent, it is
unrealistic to think that this request will be enforceable unless pedestrian access in front of the hospital is completely blocked. We believe that hiring additional security and crossing guards and keeping the existing crossing guards at the hospital entrances is a more realistic plan. The additional guards should be in place for the duration of the construction project, and should there be changes to the hospital entrance or to the construction entrance location that the Board of Education be notified so that our school communities can be alerted to the change. We would also recommend that the crossing guards be in place during the hours of construction thereby creating a safer pedestrian area for all pedestrians walking along
Van Dien by the hospital. The presence of crossing guards at the Valley entrance should continue after the construction is completed as it appears that there will be an increase in the number of cars entering and leaving the hospital grounds.

Pedestrian Safety and Traffic Congestion: We are concerned that the proposed Renewal Plan will lead to increased traffic congestion and that this may lead to pedestrian safety issues. Students attending Travell, Benjamin Franklin, and Ridgewood High School cross at Van Dien and Linwood Avenues. Should this intersection be widened to allow for turning lanes, pedestrians will be in the street for a longer period of time while crossing the intersection. We agree with the Village Engineer’s recommendation that if the intersection is widened a pedestrian refuge island be installed for pedestrians crossing Linwood Avenue along the east side of Van Dien Avenue. We further concur with the Village Engineer’s recommendation for new pedestrian traffic control signals with a countdown feature. We also agree with the Village Engineer in recommendations to improve traffic and pedestrian safety at John Street and Linwood Avenue. Installation of a traffic light at East Glen and Van Dien Avenues would assist with safer crossing for students and slowing traffic on East Glen Avenue. Should the intersection at Linwood and Van Dien be improved and the current traffic backups eliminated, more cars may travel on Glen to Van Dien on route to the hospital. We further recommend that these traffic and pedestrian safety improvements be made prior to the start of any construction at the hospital.

Parking: We request that there be continuation of parking restrictions and enforcement of these restrictions on streets surrounding the hospital to eliminate the possibility of hospital and construction
company employees parking on these streets. We would request that all construction and hospital employees park off-site during the construction and that buses bringing employees to and from the hospital follow the same route as construction trucks thereby avoiding traveling the perimeter of Benjamin Franklin Middle School during school hours.

In printed materials that Valley Hospital distributed regarding the Renewal Plan, they compiled two pages of items to be included in a Developer’s Agreement. All of these items should be carefully studied and addressed as they pertain to the safety and health concerns of the students and staff at BF. There are many concerns that would arise from approval of the proposed changes to the Master Plan. With this testimony, we have attempted to highlight the most significant concerns pertaining to our
students’ safety, health, and education.

Thank you for the opportunity to testify this evening.

Tuesday, June 16, 2009

Ridgewood High School moves up on Newsweek's list.

Updated at 7:25 p.m.
In case you missed it, Newsweek's new rankings of the top 1500 high schools in the country have come out, and Ridgewood's ranking is #498.

See the rankings and read the article by clicking here.

Other New Jersey J District high schools were ranked as follows:
Millburn -- 170
Ridge -- 175
West Morris Mendham -- 474
Cranford -- 568
West Windsor Plainsboro -- 678
Haddonfield -- 713
Chatham -- 735
Mountain Lakes -- 1,074
Rumson Fair-Haven -- 1,111

Ridgewood's ranking in the past few years:

2008...541
2007...576
2006...480
2005...321

As you may know, I'm not a huge fan of magazine rankings in general, but at least the Newsweek article is very clear and up front about how the rankings are calculated: it's all about AP tests and the number of students taking them. The reporter explains quite coherently and persuasively why this is a good measure (click here), albeit just one measure. I strongly urge you to read the methodology (as well as the reasons for this particular measure, and why private schools are not included -- it's because private schools won't share their info with the magazine).

As long as we all don't live and die by a single magazine's ranking, I think it's perfectly fine to at least celebrate our achievement in this one piece of the big picture.

Monday, June 15, 2009

Agenda for tonight's meeting

Good morning! On the agenda for tonight's Board of Ed meeting:
• Review of projects for the proposed referendum
• Discussion of Valley Hospital proposed zoning change and impact on students
• Various other approvals of staff appointments, field trips
• Rescinding of approval of resignation of Angelo DeSimone, Business Administrator

Watch the meeting online by clicking here or come on down to the Ed Center. We start at 7:30.

Thursday, June 11, 2009

BOE Public Meeting added for 6/15

The Board of Ed has added a meeting to our schedule, for this Monday 6/15 at 7:30 p.m. The primary purpose of the meeting is to review the plans for the upcoming proposed bond referendum. We presented all the various projects in detail last Fall, and all the plans are on the district website (click here). But we thought it would be a good idea to walk through everything again, so that the Board can decide what we want to put on the ballot, and what election date we want to use. The choices are Sept. 29 or Dec. 8. On the one hand, it would be good to do it sooner, so if it is successful then the much-needed projects can get underway sooner. On the other hand, with much of the community in a "summer state of mind" until school starts in September, will we be able to get everyone's attention and get the maximum of participation by voters for a September election? Also, perhaps waiting a couple months will give the economy that much more time to settle down. We will be discussing this question -- along with details of plans for expansion and renovation of our school buildings -- on Monday night.

(There may be some other items added to the agenda...the agenda will be posted tomorrow sometime and I'll post a link here.

Tuesday, June 9, 2009

Ridgewood parent involvement: the EARLY years

Live from the RHS HSA:
At tonight's meeting of the RHS HSA, incoming president Rola Baddoura just told a great story from Ridgewood's past.

In 1894, when the town decided to build a central school, there were two options under consideration by the three-member (three-MAN) board of education: an all-wood building for $35,000 or a brick building for $47,000. The board decided on the wood option, and a special meeting of voters approved the money-saving plan.

When the women of the town (who, by the way, did not have the right to vote) found out what the men had decided, they were outraged. How could their husbands agree to build a fire-prone wooden school, endangering their children? The mothers wanted the safer brick school. They organized, they argued and they made their case -- until the school board called a special meeting and the voters authorized the brick building. The brick school was built, and today is the Ed Center at Cottage Place. (An interesting footnote, after this victory, the women tried to get the voters to allow women to vote in school elections only. Not sure if that was successful.

(Another footnote, according to the Celebrating a Centennial history of Ridgewood): the controversy was enough to cause some of the outlying residents to withdraw from Ridgewood, rather than send their children all the way to the Beech Street school. Apparently this is why the southern boundary of Ridgewood is irregular.)

Rola described the brick school story as an early example of Ridgewood's tradition of parent involvement!

Sunday, June 7, 2009

A good investment?

I saw an article in the Record last week about Teaneck installing solar panels on some of its municipal buildings. I find it astonishing that this project is moving forward in this economy. Here's the interesting math from the article: the solar panels will cost a total of $615,000 to install. And the annual cost savings will be $9,200. So the panels will have paid for themselves in just over 66 years. (Will those panels even still be there in 66 years? I highly doubt it!)

Yes, yes, Teaneck also says it plans to sell energy credits back to public utilities, to generate income. This is pretty speculative. They think they'll be able to generate $30,000 a year, but there are no guarantees of that. But let's give them the benefit of the doubt and assume they can realize $39,200 per year in either income or savings. That still means over 15 years to pay for the solar panels, which probably will need to be replaced before then!

I bring this up because occasionally someone will ask why the Ridgewood schools aren't looking into solar panels at our schools. Actually, the Facilities Committee has looked into it and, as Teaneck has proven, the return on investment is ridiculously low. Our district has focused, instead, on energy conservation. Thanks to programs like our relationship with Energy for America, which monitors our buildings and regulates boilers for maximum efficiency, the district has reduced energy usage by 30% over the past 10 years or so. I think that makes a lot more sense than spending cash (which we don't have, by the way) for minimal savings.

Saturday, June 6, 2009

Flu Update

For those of you wondering what's the latest on Swine Flu in the Ridgewood schools...Dr. Fishbein and our District Physician have been in frequent contact with the Health Department and the Department of Education, and Dr. Fishbein has been updating the members of the Board of Ed as well as parents. We are following all the protocols specified by the Health Department. Currently there are several Ridgewood students with Type A flu, but so far none of them has tested positive for H1N1 (Swine Flu). A diagnosis of Swine Flu/H1N1 can only be made by the Health Dept and it takes several days. There have been reports of local doctors giving diagnosis of Swine Flu based on a single doctor visit, and this is wrong.

Dr. Fishbein will provide an update early next week on the district website, and I'll include a link here. For now, here's a link to the homepage where you'll find his most recent letter on 6/1.

The most important advice is: if your child is not well, please keep him/her home. (And, of course, the other most important thing: keep washing your hands!)

Friday, June 5, 2009

Reader question re: BOE and Valley

A reader wrote this morning:

Sorry to go off topic here, but what is the Board's position on the Valley expansion? At the planning board meeting the other night it was revealed that 20 trucks and 40 buses an hour are expected to travel through the local streets during the 6 year construction time frame. That, and the noise, dust, and distraction are going to inevitably hurt the learning environments at BF and Travell, not to mention potential safety issues for the students. Has the BOE been involved in any of these discussions?

My response later in the afternoon was:

I cannot speak for the Board, but I can report that we have not publicly taken a position on the issue before the planning board. The Board has not been involved in the planning board discussions, but the administration has had discussions with Valley, and some individual Board members have attended information sessions and planning board meetings and hearings.

With that being said, I can report that Dr. Fishbein has stated publicly that should a project be approved, the District will work with the Village and the hospital to ensure that our students are safe, and their learning is not compromised, at all times.

As for my personal opinion, I can say that I will be looking for the establishment of any and all necessary practices, policies, plans and procedures to keep our students safe. If the project goes forward, I will want/expect full and thorough input from the district and especially the closest schools, to create a very clear and detailed developer's agreement (I think that's what it's called) in advance of any work. I've seen past agreements with Valley and they were quite specific as to testing, monitoring, acceptable levels, corrections required, timeframes, etc.

Thursday, June 4, 2009

U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan visiting NJ tomorrow

I received a press release that said U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan is visiting New Jersey tomorrow following the release of new statistics showing that New Jersey's public schools are among the best in the nation. That's cool. Unfortunately, he's only visiting a charter school -- the North Star Academy Charter School in Newark. There is some talk of trying to get him to visit a traditional public school as well, considering that the vast majority of NJ students are in regular public schools -- I vote for Ridgewood!

(FYI -- A recent study by the Rand Corporation showed that charter schools do not perform better than traditional public schools. The report found that in the school systems studied, charter attendance had either no significant impact on students' reading and math performance, or actually had a small negative effect. That being said, the point of this post was not to bash charter schools -- if you want to read the full study, click here -- but since the Education Secretary is visiting one, I thought I'd point it out.)

Hey, Mr. Duncam, come to Ridgewood! We'll show you some great NJ public schools!

Tuesday, June 2, 2009

Afternoon enVision Math Session Added

There will be two parent information sessions on enVision Math today:

4:00-6:00 p.m.
7:00-9:00 p.m.

Both sessions will take place at the Ed Center, third floor, and will include a presentation on the books, materials and program, a chance to look at the materials, and questions-and-answers with one of the textbook's authors.

No need to RSVP or sign up -- just show up if you want to get first-hand information about how math will be taught in our elementary schools beginning in the Fall.

I understand there will also be "math nights" at individual schools in the Fall.