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...
Push-back from Boards Around the State at Today’s NJ School Board Association Delegate Assembly
The New Jersey School Board Association (NJSBA) is holding its delegate assembly as this article is being written. If you recall, the NJSBA is a tax-funded lobbying group that has supported the current legislation that seeks to destroy the Open Public Records Act and advocates for anti-transparency practices such as Boards by Committees – where policies are deliberated behind closed doors. The NJSBA has faced increasing criticism from...
NJ Proficiency Reports – Berkeley Heights Public Schools Climate Indicators
Two climate indicators we decided to examine this year were HIB and Chronic Absenteeism compared to the other schools on the BHCW 7-District Dashboard. Chronic Absenteeism Berkeley Heights was in the higher middle in the percentage of students identified as chronically absent but experienced the second-highest jump from 2018 to 2019. HIB We demonstrated some improvement in connection to...
How Did Berkeley Heights Schools Compare on Student Growth for Math and ELA?
Student Growth is defined in the NJ Performance Report as: …..a measure of how much students are learning each year. New Jersey’s ESSA state plan outlines that academic progress will be measured with school’s median student growth percentile (mSGP) on statewide ELA and mathematics assessments. Each individual student receives a Student Growth Percentile (SGP) for English Language Arts (ELA) in...
NJ Proficiency Reports – How Did Each Berkeley Heights School Do on Math, Science and ELA?
Earlier this year we published preliminary results on each school, based on NJ DOE data with a caution that folks should wait on the NJ Performance Reports to come out before arriving at any conclusions. The final result lined up pretty closely with our original analysis. Here is the updated data. Math CMS is the only school at/above where it...
2024 U.S. News and World Report High School Rankings Released
Governor Livingston High School in top quarter of N.J. High Schools but last in seven-district dashboard -Written by an Educator in the Community Earlier this week, U.S. News and World Report released their public high school rankings. The specific link to New Jersey public high school rankings can be found here. Now, it is time to see how Governor Livingston...
2022-2023 7-District Dashboard District Wide Comparisons- Better But Not Good Enough
Background In 2022, BHCW, residents and three BOE Members (Khanna, Joly, Akiri) raised concerns about 2018-2019 Berkeley Heights Math, Science, and ELA proficiencies. In 2023, BHCW published extensively on the 2021-2022 results, demonstrating significant drops in all three areas. During this time, BHCW developed a 7-district dashboard of comparable schools that had Berkeley Heights last in ELA, Math, and Science...
2022-23 N.J. School Performance Reports Released- Berkeley Heights is Back?
Berkeley Heights Public Schools has one of the largest increases in proficiency ratings among all districts listed, consistent with surrounding districts -Written by an Educator in the Community Each year, the New Jersey Department of Education releases its School Performance Report. According to its release on Patch.com, “school districts are scored from 0 to 100 based on factors like standardized...
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