"Clerical error" or, more likely, something else.

The following was received from Dollars & Sense Education Advocacy (of which Ridgewood is a member), and they were passing it along from the Education Law Center. I definitely think there was more than a "clerical error" at play here, and the following potential explanation makes a lot of sense to me.

Media coverage of NJ's failure to secure a $400 million federal Race to the Top grant has focused on the "clerical error" that cost the state several critical points in a 500-point rubric used to evaluate RTTT grant applications.

While some reports noted that NJ lost many more points due to its poor data system and failure to secure more district and teacher union support for its plans, several other points have received little attention.

[For example,] When the Christie administration scrapped the compromise application worked out between NJEA and Education Commissioner Bret Schundler, and substituted a new proposal at the last minute, it replaced information about state education funding for 2008 and 2009 with data for 2010 and 2011. Instead of a simple "clerical error," this could have been an effort to disguise a $1.06 billion cut in state education aid. The original application noted that 2010 state education aid was decreased by 7.7% because one-time federal stimulus funds were not replaced by state funds (as required by the state's School Funding Reform Act). By substituting a 2010-11 comparison and playing with the numbers, the Governor's application tried to claim a 2.2% "increase in state revenue-based support for education" and give a grossly misleading answer to a question designed to gauge whether states were maintaining previous levels of support for their public schools.

There's plenty that smells fishy with this RTTT fiasco and I comment on it NOT because I was a proponent of RTTT, but rather as a commentary on the way the current administration seems to do business.

On the agenda for Monday’s meeting of the BOE.

Tomorrow night is our first BOE meeting since mid-July. There are several business items on the agenda, as well as our annual “Board Retreat” where we discuss our self-evaluation of the Board and discuss goals for the 2010-11 school year.

Please note: unlike what is stated in the agenda, we will begin at 6:00 with Board business FIRST, and then move on to the Board Retreat items after 7:30 p.m. (Our representative from the New Jersey School Boards Association will be facilitating the Retreat section, and he cannot be here until 7:30.)

Agenda highlights (click here for full agenda on RPS website):

Update on referendum projects, including status and estimated completion dates for the various projects currently underway.

Approval of new curriculum, which was worked on over the summer. Some of the new curriculum is for Math in grades K-2. (Remember, we previously started with grades 3-5 with EnVision Math. Now it’s time to phase in Grades 3-5.) There is also new curriculum for several new courses added at the high school. Whenever new textbooks are purchased, there is a need to review and make sure the curriculum guide matches up. You can see the list of new curriculum guides at the end of the agenda on the website.

Approval of several appointments of new staff, including our new Supervisor of Wellness/Athletic Director, several new teachers, many changes in staff assignment, co-curricular stipends, new substitutes, etc.

Acceptance of donations for the athletic field lighting.

Approval of change orders for various referendum projects. The agenda includes descriptions of each change, along with the status of the bid and what the change order means to the project’s total budget. All of the change orders are for unforeseen construction issues, such as discovering the wrong (not per current code) type of wiring inside the Ridge ceiling, discovering the water main under Stevens Field, discovering rotted wood inside Willard’s roof, etc. This is why there were contingency funds included in every project’s budget – because we knew that when we opened up some of these buildings, we would undoubtedly find things we didn’t expect, but that need to be fixed.

Discussion of the revised policy for School & Facility Naming Rights. The Board believes there is a potential for raising some funds with naming rights for facilities such as fields, etc. We have been approached by some interested parties. This new policy spells out how it would work. We’ll talk about it tomorrow night.

As always, you are invited to attend our Public Meeting, which begins tomorrow at 6:00 PM at the Ed Center, 3rd floor. It will also be broadcast on Channel 77 and webcast on our website (click here). You can also watch the archived webcast later.

Any questions, comment here or email me lauriegood@mac.com

National Educational Technology Plan: Wow.

I'm trying to catch up on various reading "assignments" I gave myself over the summer. One of them was to read the National Educational Technology Plan, which was released by the federal government last Spring. I've only just reviewed the Executive Summary so far, but it is quite interesting. The full plan (and executive summary -- plus comments from educators and the public) can be accessed by clicking here.

As summarized on the blog weblogg-ed, some key elements called for in the NETP include:

* Personalized learning
* Learning that is “lifelong and life-wide and available on demand.”
* A device and "ubiquitous access" for every student and teacher.
* Professional development that focuses on “connected teaching” in “online learning communities”
* Professional learning that is “collaborative, coherent, and continuous" instead of "episodic and ineffective"
* Learning that is “always on”
* Learning that is no longer “one size fits all.”
* Student work on the cloud
* Student managed electronic learning portfolios
* Students as “networked learners”
* Broadband everywhere
* Open educational resources
* Creative Commons licenses
* Changes to CIPA and FERPA to open up access
* Rethinking the “basic assumptions” of schooling

Like any high-level government report, there is plenty of rhetoric and vagueness as to how these great things will come about, and in some cases the concepts seem to contradict Race to the Top strategies for standardization, etc. But I think it is encouraging that people at fairly high levels are having this conversation at all. This is a truly visionary document -- and visions are supposed to be "out there," giving something to aim for.

Anyway, as we are preparing to discuss Board and District goals, I thought I would share with you that one of my personal goals for this year is to instigate a thoughtful and inclusive discussion of our own technology practices and plans. The NETP will be one valuable resource for that discussion.

Breaking news: Governor Christie fires NJ Ed Commissioner Schundler

What a state we live in... No wonder the Federal government didn't trust New Jersey with millions of dollars in grants. Maybe if our state government could get its act together...

Published: Friday, August 27, 2010, 11:23 AM Updated: Friday, August 27, 2010, 11:28 AM

Josh Margolin/Statehouse Bureau

TRENTON - Gov. Chris Christie fired state education commissioner Bret Schundler this morning after Schundler refused to resign in the wake of the controversy over the state's loss of up to $400 million in federal school funding, two officials briefed on the situation said.

Christie's chief of staff, Richard Bagger, ordered Schundler to turn in his resignation Thursday night after federal officials released a video that appeared to contradict the commissioner's account of what transpired when the New Jersey delegation met with the federal officials to review funding application and review process.

By this morning Schundler had not quit, so Christie ordered his termination.

As education commissioner, Schundler was one of the highest profile members of the governor's cabinet. Governors can fire most cabinet members -- including the educational commissioner -- at will.

The controversy stemmed from the federal Race to the Top competitive grant program for education dollars. N.J. was seeking almost $400 million.

The Race to the Top application had asked for figures on state education funding from 2008 and 2009, but state officials provided figures for 2011. The oversight cost the state 4.8 critical points on a 500-point application. The state missed out on the grant by three points, placing 11th behind Ohio.

Christie originally blamed Washington bureaucrats at a Wednesday press conference, saying they refused to allow the state to fix a simple error in its application. But on Thursday, the U.S. Department of Education released video footage contradicting Christie's claim. The video shows state officials, headed by Schundler, struggling and failing to provide correct budget information during a 90-minute presentation.

In addition, a federal official said the state never provided the required information.

Back to School Nights are scheduled.

I love Back to School Night!

Here are the dates for Back to School Nights at all Ridgewood schools:

Hawes Elementary School
Grades K-2 September 15 @ 7 p.m.
Grades 3-5 September 22 @ 7 p.m.

Orchard Elementary School
All Grades September 22 @ 6:30 p.m.

Ridge Elementary School
Grades K-1 September 30 @ 7:30 p.m.
Grades 2-3 September 22 @ 7:30 p.m.
Grades 4-5 September 28 @ 7:30 p.m.

Somerville Elementary School
All Grades September 15 @ 7 p.m.

Travell Elementary School
Grades K-2 September 21 @ 7 p.m.
Grades 3-5 September 22 @ 7 p.m.

Willard Elementary School
Grades K-2 September 20 @ 7 p.m.
Grades 3-5 September 22 @ 7:30 p.m.

Benjamin Franklin Middle School
All Grades September 16 @ 7:30 p.m.

George Washington Middle School
All Grades September 21 @ 7:30 p.m.

Ridgewood High School
All Grades September 23 @ 7:30 p.m.

New tower clock at RHS!

For years, dropping off my daughter and then my son on Brookside, I would turn to pass RHS and look up at the clock in the tower...the clock whose time never changed...and now, I'm excited to see that the clock has been repaired! (Or, more accurately, replaced.) The original clock was made of wood and, as you can imagine, was rotting and not really salvageable after all those years in the elements. The new clock looks great!

There is so much site work being done at the high school. Stairs, railing, sidewalks, the arched entrance at Heermance which was a gift from the Class of 1923...all being repaired, made more safe and more secure. Glad the rain has stopped and it looks clear for the next week-plus (knock wood). This will help them get everything done in time for school to start.

Fields were inundated last night...drained quickly today!

This is an unofficial and unscientific assessment, but my initial reaction to what I saw yesterday and today is that the new -- and as of now incomplete -- athletic fields at RHS and Stevens performed extremely well in the rain yesterday and last night. Yahoo!

Last night, the Stadium field was a giant lake...you could see the streetlights reflecting off the surface. (I'm trying to get a photo to post -- I forgot my camera last night when I just went to look.) Water was gushing over the bridge between the Stadium and Stevens. It was way too dark to see Stevens last night.

This morning...the water is drained! There is still standing water around the perimeter of the Stadium field, in the locations where it's just dirt and grass. But the actual playing field with its new drainage system is quite dry! (See photo) I don' think I've ever seen the Stadium that clear of water so soon after flooding.

That's not to say this rain isn't causing problems. I heard an unofficial report that every building that is currently undergoing a roofing project was leaking this morning. What a mess. Crews are currently assessing and coping with the rain, which is supposed to fall off-and-on for the next couple of days. It's never easy when you undergo major construction and the weather doesn't cooperate, so the contractors will certainly have their work cut out for them to get things in order before school starts in two weeks.

The week ahead: the natives are getting restless.

Some random thoughts for a Sunday night:

Things are starting to pick up a little speed this week. Tomorrow the District's new teachers will begin their three-day orientation process at the Ed Center. Board members will meet them over coffee and such before their program begins. I always think how exciting it must be to begin teaching in Ridgewood. The mood is always so upbeat and positive. Great way to start my week! (I can't remember how many new teachers will be starting tomorrow...I'll report back with that info later.)

Work on the athletic fields will get back underway tomorrow and I'll be interested to see how the under-construction fields look after today's ridiculous amount of rain. I drove by late tonight and Stevens appeared to be free of standing water. (It was dark, so visibility wasn't great.) The Stadium field was a big lake earlier in the evening, and still had quite a bit of water all around the perimeter by 11 p.m. Of course, we've known all along that there will continue to be flooding at the fields. Flooding is inevitable. What's important -- and what's supposed to be improved -- is the drainage after the floods. So...tomorrow will be interesting.

Also this week, I'll be accompanying my daughter back to New Hampshire to help her move in for her senior year at UNH. Pretty speechless on that one -- cannot believe she is a senior. And she submitted her application for Graduate School today...if she gets accepted into the program, she'll be able to get her Master's in 2012 and begin teaching. She still wants to be a teacher, but the future looks a little scary to students currently in teacher education programs. I just tell her to keep her head down and work hard on becoming the best teacher she can be...the economics and politics and such will work themselves out (I hope) while she's studying. I've also told her to keep an open mind...she may want to start her teaching career somewhere other than New Jersey.

Interesting story in the New York Times today about "redshirting" kindergartners. Redshirting is the practice of starting kids later so that they will be among the older children in their class, throughout their entire K-12 education. I've heard of some super sports-minded parents doing this now and then (honestly, how do you know your son will want to play football 10 years from now?), but apparently now it is becoming much more common with girls and boys. Read the full article here.

Have a great week!

28 lessons in 28 months.

Getting ready for the new school year to start. Very exciting...I’ve always loved the first day of school. This year...still lovin it (even though this appears to be a tough one). This is my third start of school as a member of the Board of Education, and as I mentioned recently, that means I’ve been on the BOE for 28 months. Earlier this summer I said I had mainly spent these months learning things. I’ve done a little thinking about what those things are. Some lessons are “big.” Most are small. Without further explanation, here (in random order) are 28 lessons I've learned in 28 months.

1. Not everyone agrees on some pretty important things. They're not evil. They just honestly see things differently.
2. There are not enough hours in the day.
3. Every school in Ridgewood has a distinct personality.
4. It is, indeed, difficult to teach an old dog new tricks.
5. Some people just do not listen. Period. (And I'm not talking about teenagers here. I'm talking grown adults who seemingly function in society.)
6. “Education World” doesn’t always operate the same as “real business world.”
7. Starbucks is perfectly located in relation to the Ed Center.
8. Individual BOE members have no status or official standing, accept when acting as the full Board.
9. Too few people say “thank you” to each other – both inside and outside the schools
10. New Jersey schools are in better shape than those in much of the country.
11. Not everything is as it seems
12. It’s possible to survive a stressful time without consuming thousands of calories after 10 PM
13. For every parent (staff, taxpayer) with an opinion, there is another parent (staff, taxpayer) with the exact opposite opinion.
14. The student body in our schools is more varied than I previously thought.
15. Trenton requires the District to pay for a lot of things that don't make sense (for example, transportation for students to other schools they choose, such as Bosco, IHA, Bergen Academies, etc.)
16. There’s more than one way to teach pretty much everything.
17. Education “experts” don’t agree on almost anything.
18. What most teachers do, day in and day out, is really remarkable. When they do it well for 30+ years, it’s mind-boggling.
19. Like many of the old homes in Ridgewood, most our district’s beautiful old buildings are vast money pits. Something always needs fixing.
20. The quality of Ridgewood’s art and music programs is miles above most in New Jersey.
21. For the most part, the Village leadership doesn't look at the BOE as being part of the same team.
22. The Math Wars will eventually be replaced by the potentially more contentious Science Wars.
23. Web 2.0 and social media technologies such as blogs, online videos, Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, Nings, etc., are changing education faster, and better, than most people realize.
24. Students come into our schools with an amazing (and increasing) array of personal problems, family challenges, hardships, emotional issues, etc.
25. The “union mentality” among education bargaining units is more entrenched and more confounding than I expected.
26. Our principals are amazing. Whew, what a job!
27. In addition to budgeted expenditures and activity fees, parents contribute staggering amounts of money to some extracurricular programs.
28. Public education funding in New Jersey is basically broken. Places like Ridgewood have had the wherewithal and the tenacity to make it work so far.

Ridgewood schools provide foundation for indie rock bands

Really cool story on the NPR "The Record" website yesterday. The story is first in a series that looks at various places around the country and explores why music scenes grow where they do. Apparently, there are several indie bands with members who came up through the Ridgewood schools and who credit their early music education in our schools with giving them a jump on creating music. I'll be honest -- I have not heard of the bands and I feel a little older now because of it. Check out the full story by clicking here.

Goal-setting.

The Board of Education next meets on August 30. Aside from some regular BOE business, this is slated to be the Board's annual "Retreat." If you've been reading my blog from the beginning, you'll know that for the previous two years, I have bristled a little at that characterization. In the normal definition of a corporate retreat, a company's management goes off-site to take a big picture view of operations and discuss things like the mission and goals for the coming year. The retreat format allows for deeper, more philosophical discussions -- and participants are removed from the day-to-day minutia that normally interferes with this type of conceptual thinking.

The Board of Education "retreat" is substantially different.
#1 We don't go anywhere. We're required to meet in public, so we need to stay here in Ridgewood for public access.
#2 We can't spend any money, so we can't pay to use any other facility like a hotel conference room or something like that.
#3 We hold it as part of a regularly scheduled meeting, so the time we can spend is limited.
#4 The meeting is public, which does have an impact on the "frankness" of the discussions. Participants may be hesitant to discuss certain feelings or be critical of one's self or others, in a public forum. That's human nature.
#5 A representative from the New Jersey School Boards Association comes to "facilitate" our self-evaluation and goal-setting session.

I complain about this every year. I'm going to do so again this year.

I think the idea of a Board retreat is good one. I think we could benefit from some soul-searching and conceptual thinking about what we do and how we do it. I think removing ourselves physically from the Ed Center would help re-focus the conversation. Isn't there some way we could get more from the Retreat process? Isn't there anyplace else in Ridgewood or vicinity where we could meet? What about Village Hall? The Library? Maybe at one of our schools? Maybe there's some empty office space that a local landlord would loan for a day? And when I say "a day" I mean an entire day. Sure, the meeting could still be public...if anyone wants to sit around and watch us talk for a day, they would be welcome to do so...

These are my thoughts, once again, as we approach our annual retreat/meeting. In the meantime, I'm thinking about goals for the 2010 school year. The format is usually for the Board and administration to come up with a list of goals for the District, and a list of goals for the Board.

What do you think our goals should be for this new school year?

Village Council scraps idea to charge students for parking.

Hallelujah, the Village Council apparently got their heads screwed on straight and last night withdrew their plan to charge students for parking at the Vets Field/Graydon parking lot. Seems they heard from a few residents/taxpayers -- and got the facts regarding parking at First Pres church. Good news!

Maybe what we need are a few more 19th century skills.

Following is a reprint from Diane Ravitch's Common Core blog. I like the reminder of skills we need today, lest we focus too much on 21st century skills. Any thoughts? (Click here to read the original post from 7/6/09)

The Partnership for 19th Century Skills

I for one have heard quite enough about the 21st century skills that are sweeping the nation. Now, for the first time, children will be taught to think critically (never heard a word about that in the 20th century, did you?), to work in groups (I remember getting a grade on that very skill when I was in third grade a century ago), to solve problems (a brand new idea in education), and so on.Let me suggest that it is time to be done with this unnecessary conflict about 21st century skills. Let us agree that we need all those forenamed skills, plus lots others, in addition to a deep understanding of history, literature, the arts, geography, civics, the sciences, and foreign languages.

But allow me also to propose a new entity that will advance a different set of skills and understandings that are just as important as what are now called 21st century skills. I propose a Partnership for 19th Century Skills. This partnership will advocate for such skills, values, and understandings as:

The love of learning

The pursuit of knowledge

The ability to think for oneself (individualism)

The ability to work alone (initiative)

The ability to stand alone against the crowd (courage)

The ability to work persistently at a difficult task until it is finished (industriousness) (self-discipline)

The ability to think through the consequences of one’s actions on others (respect for others)

The ability to consider the consequences of one’s actions on one’s well-being (self-respect)

The recognition of higher ends than self-interest (honor)

The ability to comport oneself appropriately in all situations (dignity)

The recognition that civilized society requires certain kinds of behavior by individuals and groups (good manners) (civility)

The ability to believe in principles larger than one’s own self-interest (idealism)

The willingness to ask questions when puzzled (curiosity)

The readiness to dream about other worlds, other ways of doing things (imagination)

The ability to believe that one can improve one’s life and the lives of others (optimism)

The ability to speak well and write grammatically, using standard English (communication)

I invite readers to submit other 19th century skills that we should cultivate assiduously among the rising generation, on the belief that doing so will lead to happier lives and a better world.

Diane Ravitch

In another wrong-headed (and ill-informed) move, the Village wants to charge students to park at Vets?

Gee, I was hoping this idea, which was floated a few months ago, had died, but apparently it's still alive. What got my attention today was the story on Ridgewood Patch that said that Councilmembers Killion, Walsh and Riche "agreed to impose a parking pass in line with what the Board of Education charges for student parking."

"If it's the practice of the Board of Ed. to charge students for parking on public property, I'm inclined to think we can do it," Killion said.

WHAT THE HECK?

Someone might want to inform Mr. Killion et al that the BOE does NOT charge students for parking at First Presbyterian Church or Heermance. First Pres is private property, and the church charges for parking on its private property. In an arrangement worked out many years ago, RHS has coordinated the collection of those parking fees, and then turned them over to the church. It was done as a service to students, to make it easier for them. But the District is not charging (or keeping) the fees.

As for Heermance, there is no charge for parking there. My daughter used to park there sometimes, when she could get up early enough. It was always first come, first served.

I like this quote from the Ridgewood Patch story: "Council ...wanted the pass to be comparable to the school district's rate, which as of last night they did not know specifics." You can say that again! Who needs to check on silly "specifics" before approving new fees to charge our children?

And, for the record, even if Council had their facts straight, I think this is a terrible idea. What's next, charging 6-year-olds to play on the playground at Vets? Start saving those quarters, kids!

Why the police at RHS field?

Someone asked me today why there has been a police officer standing at the Heermance entrance to RHS for the past few days. This was a requirement by the Village for the work on the Stadium field. They said it would be mandatory that a police officer be stationed there for "safety" reasons, due to the trucks entering and exiting. The cost is being paid by the District. And if you think this is a waste of money, you're right. But it was a requirement in order to get our permits.

Aside from that, the fields are looking great. I haven't been by yet today, but yesterday the gravel on Stevens was so flat and level and smooth. What a great improvement that is going to be for the kids playing on that field. Maybe I'll post a picture or two later.

The rest of the construction projects are rolling along. It's truly amazing to go through town and see all the activity. I think at this point I'm most excited about the RHS roof finally being complete and the field improvements. Speaking of roofs, several are being repaired throughout the District, but one that's not -- and which really, really needs it -- is the Ed Center roof. There are so many leaks, birds getting into the attic, other critters...I believe estimates are being prepared, and research is being done to learn what repairs can and cannot be done on a building that's on the National Register of Historic Places. There's a (probably slim) possibility of grant money that is being explored as well. The slate roof on the beautiful landmark building is probably the most durable, long-lasting roof they could have installed. I'm sure the builders were impressed with the projected 100-year lifespan. But it's been 115 years, so...