Pamela Stanley’s Ethical Failings: A Costly Lesson for Berkeley Heights Schools
Edmund Tom Maciejewski is a resident of Berkeley Heights NJ On Tuesday, June 11, at roughly 1:50 PM, my routine visit to Starbucks took a disconcerting turn. While enjoying my daily tea and a game of online chess, I found myself unwittingly thrust into a situation that underscored the ethical quandaries plaguing the Berkeley Heights Board of Education. In a...
Response to Councilwoman’s Questions on the Library Liaison Position
Councilwoman Poage asked about the library liaison position during the most recent BOE Meeting. The Board President and Superintendent did not appear to provide a clear answer. The law requires the Superintendent to attend library board meetings and allows the Superintendent to designate someone to attend them –it is not a required position. Under the previous Superintendent, a central office...
My Concerns About HIB (Harassment Intimidation Bullying)
Matthew Behne is a resident of Berkeley Heights NJ, Veteran and Graduate of BHPSNJ During the last two BOE Meetings, Speakers publicly questioned Board Decisions on several HIB cases. One Speaker was an officer of the PTO who was later interviewed to become a Board Member. The other was a staff member. I have two concerns: (1) We all know...
Inclusion in Academics – Update on the Collaborative Consultative Model
In the past few years, Berkeley Heights Public Schools has been making an effort to be more inclusive of special education students. Perhaps the largest decision in the efforts that have been made was the move to the Collaborative Consultative Model. In fall of 2020, graduates of Columbia Middle School who attended Governor Livingston were all moved into this model....
Notes on the BHPSNJ 06/10/2024 BOE Meeting: Math Department Update
The District updated the website to include a presentation by the Mathematics Department. What is important here is that the District finally acknowledges parental concerns connected to Math without the dismissive condescension the community has experienced in years past. Much progress has been made in scaling BTC back, given the highly problematic lack of Empirical evidence supporting it and the...
Laura’s Notes on the 6/10/24 Berkeley Heights BOE Agenda
We expect that remote participation will again be allowed during this meeting and that the public can comment via Zoom, which can be found here. The meeting will start in the GL Cafeteria, whereupon the Board will adjourn into Executive session. Following the Executive session, the Board will reconvene in the GL Auditorium for a public session, where the night...
Academic Goals: Shauna’s Notes on the 05/30/2024 BOE Meeting
Academic Goals -this is what is at the heart of every district, and there has been a lot of recent discussion about the Berkeley Heights Public School rankings. Data given at the May 30th Board of Education meeting shows that we have made modest-to-significant improvements during the last period for which we have reports. The tools and exams used to...
Parent Expresses Concerns on Activity Fees
Context: We’ve received reports from parents of graduating students on emails/letters they’ve received in May concerning Activities Fees. We understand that these collection letters, arriving just two weeks before graduation and summer break, have caused significant concern and anxiety among students and their parents, as we’ve heard from the feedback we’ve received. When students and parents contacted the CMS principal,...
A Response to Town Council Member Poage’s Letter to the Editor
Unity Means More Listening and Less Labeling Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) is important when it comes to our schools. There’s no arguing that. And yet… argument is exactly what we’re seeing. I’m troubled that Ms. Susan Poage seems to be purposely misrepresenting new BOE member Kelly Hufnagel’s views on DEI to further the narrative of ‘certain group bad’. Ms....
Update on Efforts to Bring the CMS Tiger Back
Helen Gabara I would like to provide an update on efforts to reinstate the CMS Tiger Mascot. Since my last article, I have received documents as a result of an OPRA request. I sent the OPRA request to help my daughter with her advocacy efforts. Not surprisingly, a Candidate for Town Council accused me of “weaponizing OPRA”. The information I...
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