Math scores: NJ up slightly, nation is flat.

(Revised 9:42 AM)

A news release from Governor Corzine today proudly proclaimed:

NEW JERSEY'S FOURTH AND EIGHTH GRADERS AMONG NATION'S LEADERS IN MATH
Fourth grade scores surpass national average by eight points; Eighth grade scores eleven points higher than national average

Isn't that great news? Sure it is, if you define "great" as "not bad" or "better than it could have been."

Another story (New York Times), states that, for the first time in 19 years, U.S. math scores nationwide are "flat." No increase whatsoever.

According to the Times story, "The latest results on the most important nationwide math test show that student achievement grew faster during the years before the Bush-era No Child Left Behind law, when states were dominant in education policy, than over the years since, when the federal law has become a powerful force in classrooms."

NCLB requires schools to bring 100 percent of students to reading and math proficiency by 2014. Guess what, as a nation, we're not going to make it.

Sure, New Jersey's numbers are encouraging, in an inching-forward kind of way. According to the press release from the NJDOE: "New Jersey fourth graders continue to score higher on the NAEP math test than students in all but three other states, the report noted. The average math score of fourth graders in New Jersey was 247, while the average score for public school students across the nation was 239."

"This is good news for our kids, our families and our future," said Governor Corzine. "The average scale score for the grade eight students at 293 is four points higher that it was in 2007 and eleven points higher than the national average of 282. While there is still much more work to be done, the eighth grade results in particular show that the investments this administration is making in education is paying off, and that the efforts of our educators are yielding positive results."

Those are just a few excerpts from the press release. Click here to read the entire thing.

And click here to review the complete NAEP report card.

Dog Show Time Change: Sunday Noon-2:00 PM

The time for this Sunday's Dog Show, a fundraiser for the Ridgewood Education Foundation, has changed to Noon-2:00 p.m. This is going to be a fun event, people. Bring your dogs!

Families! Dogs! Fun! And raising money for a good cause, too!

The first annual Community Dog Show, presented by the Ridgewood Education Foundation and the Ridgewood Chamber of Commerce, will be held this Sunday, October 18, from 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM at the Graydon Pool parking lot. Grab your pooch and come on down! Contests include: Best Costume (on a dog, haha), Dog-Owner Look-a-Like, Best Dog Trick, Smallest Dog, Biggest (Lap?) Dog and more! Proceeds will benefit the REF's classroom grants and Arts Fund programs. Pre-registration us required. Fetch your form at www.ridgewoodedfoundation.org. See you there!

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Everybody Loves Elwood Day October 18

Students and others in our community have come out year after year to show support and raise funds for former Ridgewood High School teacher Jack Elwood. This year the annual 5K run/walk in honor of Mr. Elwood will take place Sunday 10/18. This event is both a fundraiser and a way to bring attention to ALS (Lou Gehrig's Disease). Registration for the 5K is at 8:00 AM and is $20 (includes t-shirt). The run/walk steps off at 9:00 AM at the RHS Stadium/Track.

Click here for the RPS website, for info and registration form.

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Do the folks in Washington ever connect the dots between funding and education?

Times columnist Paul Krugman today says, "Until now, the results of educational neglect have been gradual — a slow-motion erosion of America’s relative position. But things are about to get much worse, as the economic crisis — its effects exacerbated by the penny-wise, pound-foolish behavior that passes for “fiscal responsibility” in Washington — deals a severe blow to education across the board."

He goes on..."There’s no mystery about what’s going on: education is mainly the responsibility of state and local governments, which are in dire fiscal straits. Adequate federal aid could have made a big difference. But while some aid has been provided, it has made up only a fraction of the shortfall. In part, that’s because back in February centrist senators insisted on stripping much of that aid from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, a k a the stimulus bill."

He goes on to suggest that the Federal government should approve another big round of aid to state governments, as a solution. Can't they skip Trenton and just send the funds to the districts? The state of NJ has a poor track record for passing along funds to Ridgewood.

Click here to read the full column.

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Bergen Record mistake: no safety grant for Ridgewood

You may have seen the article in the Bergen Record last week -- saying that Ridgewood and Fair Lawn would be sharing a $100,000 grant for school safety. Well, that was a mistake. It's RIDGEFIELD that got the grant -- which is intended for things like metal detectors, locks and security lighting. I thought it was odd when I first read about the grant (do we need metal detectors?)...and no one at the District knew anything about it. Turns out, reporting mistake.

Am I the only one who thinks the Record is not the paper it used to be?

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Board of Ed meeting tonight 7:30

The Ridgewood Board of Education will hold its meeting tonight at 7:30 p.m. (preceded by a closed Executive Session at 7:00 p.m.), at the Ed Center, 3rd floor. Highlights from tonight's agenda include

• Discussion of Board and District goals for the 2009-2010 school year (a continuation of our discussion from July 20).
• Various appointments, resignations, changes of assignment...
• Recognition of National Merit and AP Scholars
• Time for public comment -- got any comments or questions? Come on down!

You are invited to watch the Board meeting on Cablevision channel 77 or click here for the webcast (watch it live or watch it archived later -- the sound is better on the recording, rather than live, FYI)

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New Jersey now has medical amnesty law for minors who report a drinking emergency

Last week Governor Corzine signed a law that grants legal immunity to persons under the age of 21 who have been consuming alcohol and call 911 for medical assistance. The bill previously passed the Senate and Assembly unanimously. This is a major step forward in getting realistic about youth drinking and the safety of our youth.

Please let your high school and college age kids know about this law.

Studies have consistently shown that young people are afraid to contact authorities in a medical emergency if alcohol has been present and the people involved are not 21. On college campuses, especially,  thousands of serious, alcohol-related medical emergencies are unreported as young people try to deal with the problem without help from authorities. Students will leave their friends to "sleep it off", which can lead to the drunken teen slipping into a coma in their sleep or asphyxiating on their vomit. There are approximately 1,700 alcohol-related deaths per  year among college students -- almost all of them completely preventable.

Many colleges have medical amnesty policies (also called good Samaritan or non-retaliation agreements) including Harvard, Yale, Stanford, Cornell, Tulane, UPenn, William & Mary, Fordham, Duke, UVA, Smith and Hampshire College. These policies have one goal: ensuring that no matter the circumstances, students will get help when they or their friends need it.

Not many states have enacted medical amnesty laws -- but several are currently in the process.

I am glad to see New Jersey in the forefront on this. But -- in order for the law to truly save lives, young people need to be aware. So let them know.

"When the going gets tough, the tough support our schools."

Oh boy, do I wish I had written that. I discovered that great line on a website called YourSFPublicSchools.org -- it's a new website from the San Francisco Unified School District, designed to educate San Franciscans about their public schools and engage the city's residents in a conversation about the relationship between strong public schools and a strong city. It's part of a promotion and advertising campaign, at the heart of which are 16 "new rules for our public schools." The headline on today's post is actually San Francisco's New Rule #1. And I'd like to borrow it here in Ridgewood.

I have not had time to explore much of the YourSFPublicSchools.org website, but I like the tone and flavor of the whole thing. As they say, "It's the 21st century. The rules have changed. And with your support, our schools can change for the better."

I wonder what "new rules" we could use here in Ridgewood? I wonder if we have the capability to look at our schools and identify what should be changed...to have a real dialogue...to work together. Quite honestly, I do believe we have the capability. Do we have the energy?

Will you forgive me if I tie this "when the going gets tough" rule to our referendum? How could I resist?

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Schools' Toughest Test: Cooking

Interesting story in today's NY Times about efforts to serve "real" food in New York City schools. And by "real," the article means food cooked from scratch, with fresh ingredients, and that doesn't rhyme with "ackaroni and ease" or "rench ries."

I wish we could do more of this in Ridgewood, but most of our schools don't have kitchens and all our lunches are provided by the Pomptonian Food Service. Our lunches are not terrible, but...I do believe there is MUCH that could be done to improve school lunches and I'm just sorry I don't have time to spend on this issue right now...still, wanted to share this article.

Click here for NY Times story.

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