Failed Attempt to Host A Night of Celebration and Honor
Amid a Sea of Declining Proficiency & Teacher Resignations, the District Falls Short in Trying to Look Like it Cares The Following is an Email I sent to the Berkeley Heights Board of Education on the 06/05/2023 Educator of the Year Awards: I don’t expect a reply, indeed, not an apology, but for those of you who are unaware of...
Message to all 2023 Berkeley Heights, NJ Candidates
BHCW will seek to continue helping the community make effective decisions in local elections. This year we wanted to reaffirm some of our ground rules and also present some changes that will take place. (1) As always, every candidate for office can publish content on our mediums (text, video, etc). This content has to be more than a campaign commercial and...
Natasha’s Notes on the 06/05/2023 BOE Meeting
There is a lot to digest after the 06/05/2023 BOE meeting and much of it is not sitting well. Teacher of the Year Awards Congratulations to all the teachers for this recognition, and a huge thank you for all you do. As a community member pointed out, was the cafeteria setting the best the administration could do for the presentation?...
06/05/2023 BOE Meeting: John’s Notes
Ms. Stanley Continues to Help The Public Understand the Board Majority’s “Logic” I’m going to highlight what I feel is the most critical interaction of the BOE Meeting after the Educator of the Year Awards. If you recall, last month, the BOE Majority blocked Dr. Foregger and Ms. Khanna’s request to have Dr. Varley explain the decline in rankings (read...
06/05/2023 BOE Agenda : Laura’s Notes
Renewals and Big Salaries for the Usual Crew Top the List Dr. Greer, Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum, Instruction, and Student Achievement, is having his contract renewed at an annual salary of $164,800. Ms. Kot, Business Administrator and Board Secretary – and advocate against OPRA, is having her contract renewed at an annual salary of $177,366. Administrators salaries are being approved. ...
The Berkeley Heights BOE Lawyer Addiction
How Much Money is Being Taken Away from our Classrooms? The skeptics out there, and those who agree with Ms. Stanley that there is nothing alarming about the districts legal bills, might be interested to understand the role a district/board attorney serves. It is also worth noting that each call, each email or text incurs a fee. So when items...
Lawyers and Loss of Focus: Factors Likely Connected to the BHPSNJ Decline
My sixth and final email to the BOE exploring reasons connected to the Decline of Berkeley Heights Schools and How to Reverse It Last year the BOE Majority and Administration took strange and unprecedented steps in using District funding to ensure that a newly elected BOE Member and an agenda for change would fail. Before Sai’s term, concerns about the...
Culture, Data and Measurement: Possible Factors Connected to the BHPSNJ Declines
My Fifth Email to the BOE on Possible Causes for the Decline and Suggestions on How to Repair Them A disquieting aspect of the last BOE meeting was how unaware the BOE majority and Superintendent were of the declines in our proficiency. And then, more disturbing, was an attempt to make Dr. Foregger and Ms. Khanna look foolish or silly...
Possible Factors Connected to the Decline of Berkeley Heights Schools: Family Engagement
My Fourth Email to the BOE on Possible Causes for the Decline and Suggestion on How to Repair Them A tremendous body of evidence supports family engagement as necessary for successful outcomes in human services. Many studies have pointed to family engagement as leading to higher academic achievement, pro-social behaviors, and interpersonal effectiveness. In its review of 51 Studies on...
Impact of Reconfiguration & School Transitions on Students and the BHPSNJ Decline
My third email to the Berkeley Heights Board of Education on Possible Reasons Behind the BHPSNJ Decline What should have been a thoughtful and considered process on the reconfiguration of our schools turned into an obsessive, rushed campaign that sought to get FDK approved at all costs with no consideration for the future. There was already a predetermined path with...
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