Drilling Down on The Special Needs/Proficiency Question
Given the recent articles on proficiency, I decided to clear the cobwebs out of my stats brain and run a few numbers to add context to the discussion. I took the last three periods of proficiency and percentages on special needs across the 7 district dashboards, ran Pearsons, converted it to a T-Stat, and determined a probability value (I welcome...
The BHPSNJ Proficiency Problem Timeline in Two Minutes
Given the tendency of politically funded and backed Berkeley BOE candidates and their operatives to misrepresent or simply not understand the issue of Academic proficiency when presenting to the public, NJ21st developed this short video to educate the families of Berkeley Heights, NJ. Dr, Foregger Questions Dr. Varley on Math Proficiency in 2023 Dipti Khanna on Building Thinking Classroom 2022...
The “Context” Argument on Proficiency is Problematic, Lazy, and a Throw-Back to Four Years We Don’t Want to Live Through Again
John Migueis is a Parent of Two Children in the District Let me start by saying I strongly considered voting for Dr. Moore. That ended yesterday when I read his article on Rankings. How can Moore argue from a context perspective when he neglects to include proficiency in his article on rankings when that is the primary variable that drives...
The EIC Ticket Is Harming the Important Discussion We Need to Have on Academic Achievement in Berkeley Heights
Arik Samson – 2024 Berkeley Heights BOE Candidate I plan on responding to the question NJ21st provided to me in detail; however, a recent candidate statement from the EIC ticket compelled me to respond to what I felt was a spin on our District’s academic health reminiscent of Dr. Varley. The first point parents should understand is that the article...
Comparing All Recent School Rankings on the 7 District Dashboard
Exploring how Berkeley Heights ranks sixth out of seventh in summary of school rankings…and how to improve them -Written by a non-politically connected Educator in the Community Earlier this week, Niche released its 2025 school rankings. Berkeley Heights Public Schools (BHPS) rankings took a nosedive while already being ranked under neighboring, comparable districts such as New Providence, Chatham, and Madison...
Niche releases 2025 School Rankings
Berkeley Heights Public Schools declines, moves behind neighboring districts in rankings. -Written by a non-politically connected Educator in the Community Niche has released its “2025 Best School Districts in New Jersey” rankings. A total of 388 school districts were ranked. The full list for New Jersey can be found here. During Dr. Melissa Varley’s last year as Superintendent, the rankings...
No, BHPS Does Not Need An Assistant Superintendent…
But it should be Mrs. Nardi if we insist on having one. In reality, we don’t need an assistant Superintendent. But if we are to hire people for these positions, the logical choice would be to select an internal candidate. Someone who knows our District inside out, wants to be here (for the right reasons) and has proven successful. For...
Does BHPS need an Assistant Superintendent?
Given A Bloated Budget and a Need to Repair Math & Science, is there a need to employ a full time Assistant Superintendent? -Written by a non-politically connected Educator in the Community The past three years, Berkeley Heights Public Schools (BHPS) has been through four Assistant Superintendents. Two of these candidates were only in the role for one year each....
My Thoughts on NJ Department of Education Changes to District Evaluations
Statement from BOE Representative Dr. Thomas Foregger On September 4 the New Jersey State Board of Education proposed changes to the way the instruction and program component of the New Jersey Quality Single Accountability Continuum (NJQSAC) score is computed. A school needs to score 80 points in each component of the NJQSAC in order to be deemed a high performing...
Potato, Potahto: The “New” Math Program
Will the “New”, New Approach to Math Improve Proficiency or Increase Frustration? The Berkeley Heights School District held a parent information session on our new math program last Thursday, August 29th, in the Columbia Middle School cafeteria. As with the presentation that was held at Governor Livingston High School a few years back, the room held a surprising number of...
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