Lack of Math Supervisor Leaves Berkeley Heights Public Schools Leaderless in a Key Content Area
Berkeley Heights is the only school district in the area with no administrative oversight for mathematics students, teachers, courses, and curriculum. -Written by an Educator in the Community Berkeley Heights Public Schools (BHPS) no longer has a math supervisor. The role of a math supervisor, particularly at Governor Livingston High School (GLHS) and Columbia Middle School (CMS), was essential to...
Dr. Varley’s “School is Opening in One Week!” Email
Oh man.. where do we even start with this? Dr. Varley sent an email today that residents should pay attention to carefully. The item we want to focus on right now connects to goals. On a positive note (depending on how you look at it), there are finally numbers and percentages people can look at in evaluating how well our...
What We Can Do To Reverse The Berkeley Heights Declines In Math, Science, And ELA Part 2: Evidence-Based Decision Making
The Second in a Series of Articles on How Berkeley Heights Can Repair the Damage under Dr. Varley’s Leadership Since BHCW’s analysis of the Berkeley Heights School District’s declines in Math, Science, and English came out, I have had many conversations with different parents, teachers, and other school staff in the community on how to reverse them. In the second...
Shauna’s Notes on Italian
World Languages Faces Another Setback… We previously reported that regular Italian 4 classes at GL were not being offered due to low enrollment and that students who would have been in the class had the option to join a combined Honors Italian 4/AP Italian mega-class with about 28 students and no support. We are now hearing reports from Columbia Middle...
08/10/2023 BOE MEETING: 2023 BOE Candidate Questions & Remarks
Sai Akiri & Natasha Joly 08/10/2023 There are two seats open in the upcoming 2023 Berkeley Heights BOE Election. Two BOE Candidates were present for the 08/10/2023 Meeting. Topics discussed included: -The secretive process surrounding the hiring of the New Assistant Superintendent -The $300,000 Busing Controversy -Ms. Stanley’s denial of a District Proficiency Report Follow Us on YouTube
Thoughts on Thinking Classroom and Proficiency Scores
It’s a late-summer tradition, not only for us, but for many in town: finding out which teachers (or team, for CMS) your students will have for the upcoming year, and texting friends and neighbors to compare. This year has been no different in that respect, but this time it led to some concerns and a look back at last year....
Berkeley Heights Public Schools Lacks a World Language Program in Chinese (or Asian) Studies
Where is the “inclusion” and “diversity”? – An Educator in the Community Shares A Second Article on our World Languages Program Berkeley Heights Public Schools (BHPS) is the only surrounding district that does not have – nor considers – a Chinese/Asian World Language program for high school students. Following up on the first article where Columbia Middle School (CMS) students...
John’s Notes on the 08/10/2023 BOE Meeting Part III
On the NJGPA Portion of the 08/10/2023 BOE Meeting At the last BOE meeting, residents might have gotten a different impression of the District’s proficiencies than reality. That may be because the District was required to present on the NJGPA, which only tracks rising seniors. BHCW has been reporting on data on all grades in all schools within the District. The reason I bring this...
From Our Inbox: 08/06/2023
Will CMS no longer offer sewing or cooking classes? Recently a Community Member sent us the following message: I am wondering if the middle school parents have been informed that there will no longer be any sewing or cooking classes offered to students? I know Top Chef was a big hit in the past. Based on our sources this is...
Expanding World Language Programs Nearby Leaves Berkeley Heights’ Students Behind
An Educator in the Community Offers Insight into Our World Languages Program At this moment, a seventh grade student taking World Language (Spanish, French, Italian) at Columbia Middle School (CMS) only receives half-year of instruction. Whereas for the remaining half of the school year, CMS students take another elective or in many cases, an unstructured study hall in a noisy...
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