Monday, April 15, 2013
View the interactive map of SAT scores and Median Household Income for the 47 public high schools in Bergen County.
In Bergen County, income and SAT scores go hand in hand. All but five of the public high schools in Bergen County where students met the state's average combined SAT benchmark of 1550 live in communities with a median household income greater than $100,000, according to data from the state's recently released New Jersey School Performance Report. On the flip side, 23 of the 24 public high schools in the county where students failed to meet the state's benchmark came from communities with a median household income below $100,000. Mahwah, Fort Lee, Leonia, Fair Lawn and Midland Park are the only high schools in towns with median household incomes below $100,000 that met the goal. Waldwick is the only high school in a town with a median …
Saturday, April 13, 2013
The Prosecutor's Office is offering free assessments of safety equipment and procedures
The county Prosecutor’s Office is offering schools a free safety assessment, and according to Mahwah’s Director of Curriculum Christine Zimmermann, the township’s school district is planning to take advantage of that. According to Zimmermann, the schools requested the review of its safety procedures in January, and has yet to hear back with any results. “We decided to participate in the county program because we felt that additional feedback would be a benefit for the district,” she told Patch. The district already works with the Mahwah Police Department on a regular basis to review and update its safety plans, observe school security drills in action, conduct security walkthroughs with building principals, and more, she said. She called …
Friday, April 12, 2013
Most schools were ranked in the high performing category when compared to their new 'peer groups'
New Jersey’s annual school report cards are now a thing of the past. This Wednesday, the state Department of Education released the results of its new “School Performance Reports,” for every school in the state for the 2011-12 school year. According to a release from Gov. Chris Christie's office, the new reports use some of the same metrics as the old Report Cards, but also add in some new components, like data meant to track college and career readiness, student growth, and comparisons to a “peer group” of 30 schools from across the state. Schools are matched to their new “peers” based on demographics, percentage of low-income students, percentage of special needs students and percentage of limited English-speaking students. The schools’ …
Wednesday, April 10, 2013
High school junior says she hopes the event will become an annual fair
A Mahwah High School Girl Scout looking to inspire younger students in the township to love science has created an event that she says will hopefully be an annual addition to Mahwah schools. Ariel Murphy, an MHS junior, has been working for several months to run a Science Fair at Ramapo Ridge Middle School. “Science fairs are things you see on TV all the time, but they didn’t actually exist in real life here,” Murphy said. “I always really wanted to do one, and I think it’s a great way to get kids more into science.” So, for her Gold Award, which requires Girl Scouts to dedicate at least 80 hours to a community service project, Murphy decided to create a science fair. She opened applications to the entire Middle School, and had 26 students…
Friday, April 5, 2013
And, they need your online votes to help them win!
Two Mahwah High School sophomores are finalists in the County Prosecutor’s anti-Bullying video contest, and they need help from the community to make it to the next step of the competition. According to High School Principal John Pascale, the school is excited to support Marisa Ganley and Olivia Marelic, who created an anti-bullying video to enter into the BCPO’s third annual “Don’t Stand by for Bullying” educational contest. Their video is one of two tenth grade finalist entries now posted on the Prosecutor’s website. The public can vote for their favorite videos through April 12, and then the winner of the contest will be announced at the county SNAP Conference at the end of the month. Winning entries will be displayed on the Prosecutor’…
Thursday, April 4, 2013
Group's goal is to raise $10K for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society
A group of Mahwah teachers is setting an example for their students that goes beyond the classroom. Ramapo Ridge teacher George Kayal said he got an idea this year to combine two of his passions – running and raising money to fight cancer. Two years ago, Kayal’s son was diagnosed with Leukemia. “Thank God, he has gone through treatment and is doing well now, but [we became very involved with the] Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, and it was so helpful,” he said. “Every year, I try to donate as much as I can to them.” This year, the teacher set a big goal for himself – a $10,000 donation. By tapping into the Ramapo Ridge running community, Kayal said he knew he could come much closer to reaching his goal. “A few years ago, a group of teachers …
Monday, April 1, 2013
Officials say the newly-hired Superintendent will play a role in hiring a permanent replacement next year
An interim principal who started at one of Mahwah’s elementary schools last year will stay in the township for one more school year before the district looks to hire a permanent replacement, district officials announced at a Board of Education meeting last week. Roger Bayersdorfer will remain principal of the Betsy Ross School for one more year, Assistant Superintendent Janet Donohue said last Wednesday. “We are very happy to have [Bayersdorfer] for another year,” she said. “He is a pro, has been an instructional leader, and is so gentile with the kids. He’s really great.” Donohue said the district decided not to look for a permanent replacement this year for a few reasons. First, she said the district is looking to provide stability at …
Wednesday, March 27, 2013
The total student population is expected to drop below 3,000 by 2015
There are fewer Mahwah students this year than there were five years ago. And, according to district officials, that trend is going to continue. Enrollment projections for next year are “down from what they were at our peak, about five years ago,” district Business Administrator Ed Deptula said at a recent budget hearing. The projected numbers, “can change, but they have been accurate [in past years],” he said. According to Deptula’s budget presentation, the number of total Mahwah students will drop from about 3,162 next year to 2,738 in the 2017-18 school year. Enrollment levels at all schools are expected to continue to go down. The trend, Deptula said, is in line with the aging population in Mahwah. Year Grades Pre K – 5 Grades 6-8 …
Thursday, March 21, 2013
Joyce Kilmer students competed against kids from Ramsey and St. Paul's in the Bee
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Thursday, March 21
Mahwah students have out-spelled their neighbors. Fifth graders at the Joyce Kilmer School recently competed in a Spelling Bee. The Bee’s finalists won the opportunity to compete in the Ramsey Junior Women's Club Spelling Bee at the Dater School in Ramsey on Feb. 6. Students from Joyce Kilmer, Ramsey and St. Paul's competed against each other. JK Student Juliet Corless won the local Bee, and went on to compete in the Regional Bee. Submit your questions or news tips to jessica.mazzola@patch.com. And, remember to sign up for Patch's daily newsletter, and get updates on Facebook and Twitter.
Board will vote on the $64.8M budget next week
Next week, the Mahwah Board of Education will host a formal public hearing and vote on its proposed $64.8M school budget. According to a budget presentation Wednesday night, the budget, which calls for a 1.8% tax increase, will mean a $113 increase in school taxes for the average homeowner in Mahwah with a house valued at about $470,000, district Business Administrator Ed Deptula said. Residents can calculate what their school tax increase by estimating an about $24 increase per $100,000 of home value, Deptula said. According to district officials, changes in the 2013-14 budget over last year’s are minor, but do include some staff additions. For the next school year, Mahwah will look to hire a full-time social studies supervisor. Currently…
Bob Rama
12:10 pm on Wednesday, April 17, 2013
Hank,that is Bergen Tech Teterboro which is an engineering school. Different than the one in Hackensack more ›