Akiri and Joly: Please Vote For Both
It is so important to take some time and get to your local polling station and vote for the candidates you think will serve and represent you, your family, and the greater community. I am proud to continue my support of Sai Bhargavi Akiri and Natasha Joly for the Berkeley Heights Board of Education. Although both Akiri and Joly are...
10/12/2023 Berkeley Heights BOE Meeting – Laura’s Notes
The opinions, comments and questions below are my own, they are not on behalf of or a reflection of any community or organization in which I am a member. I did not watch the entire 10/12 Board meeting. But, I watched enough to pose the questions below to the Board of Education. My main takeaways from the meeting, in which...
Laura’s Notes on the 10/12/2023 BOE Agenda
The BOE Majority is Starting to Pour Concrete into the Pipes Before a New Board Takes Office ADMINISTRATION A: DISTRICT BYLAWS/POLICIES/REGULATIONS – FIRST READING How much of these policy changes are about the kids? My takeaway is that these policy changes are about self-preservation and keeping the power in the current BOE majority. Any organization that seeks to inhibit the...
Setting Up For Failure
How Many Weird Experiments Need To Go Wrong Before the Berkeley Heights School District Corrects Its Approach to Teaching Our Kids? During the pandemic, when our schools were shut down forcing our children to learn and educators to teach remotely, I became hyper-aware of the implementation of a new literacy program, “The Teachers College Reading and Writing Project.” This program,...
Laura’s Notes from the 09/14/2023 BOE Meeting
The BOE Majority and Attorney are now playing Thought Police Superintendent’s Report As we wrote on the night of the meeting, the Data Presentation did not present on the declines from the prior testing year to this year, and the comparisons are being made to State averages, not comparable schools. And, as John wrote in a prior article, the lack...
Laura’s Notes on the 09/14/2023 BOE Agenda
Yes….they are now screwing with the Elections (9/14/23) REPORT OF THE SUPERINTENDENT Among other items, we will receive a DISTRICT DATA UPDATE. Not sure what data we are getting, but it should be oodles of fun! ADMINISTRATION Resolution A. District Bylaws/Policies/Regulations – Study and First Reading P 0143 Board Member Election and Appointment. Remember when Robert Cianciulli made a mountain...
Some Important Loose Ends to Think About As We Begin the 2023 School Year
School Calendar, FDK, Lunch and Infrastructure I have some things on my mind – not enough content for an earth-shattering article, but significant enough. Without further adieu; 1. BHPS Calendar I am skeptical that the overwhelming vote from parents and staff to start school was BEFORE Labor Day. Please find two staff members and two parents (not part of central...
Berkeley Heights BOE Committee Meeting Minutes for 07/2023: The Decisions Being Discussed Behind Closed Doors During the Summer….
When Pam Stanley Believes parents “aren’t paying attention” The Turf Field at CMS was discussed but would need to include a land lease from the BOE to the Township. We don’t know why the Recreation Committee expects the School District to give away what is a valuable piece of land to the Town for free. With all the Affordable Housing units...
The District Continues to Tear Away at Family Engagement
At the 8/10 Board meeting Bradford, Cianciulli, Hyman, Stanley, Young, and Penna voted to abolish POLICY 9100. Per the agenda, the policy to be abolished was listed as “9100 Public Relations.” Per the BHPS Policy Manual, policy 9100 is “School-Community Relations Goals.” Policy 9120 is “Public Relations Program.” If they don’t sound similar, it’s because they are not. One is regarding communication...
08/10/2023 BOE Agenda: Laura’s Notes
What’s Important to Know About the Agenda for the 08/10/2023 Berkeley Heights BOE Meeting… To save you the trouble of reading through 25 total pages of agenda items in addition to 154 pages of attachments, here is what I believe you need to know to be prepared for the August 10 Board meeting: SUPERINTENDENTS REPORT Dr. Varley will present a...
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