How Berkeley Heights Elementary Schools Fared on the US News & World Report 2025 Rankings
Spoiler Alert: Not Great It’s important to note that these rankings are based on 2021-2022 proficiency scores—a period marked by upheaval due to the previous Board of Education (BOE) and administration’s decision to push through a chaotic reconfiguration of our schools. While US News & World Report relies on year-old data, we have already reported updated proficiency scores for 2022-2023,...
Columbia Middle School Pulls Ahead in U.S. News & World Report Rankings
And there’s even better news for Berkeley Heights on the horizon. Columbia Middle School has shown resilience amid the proficiency declines reported two years ago. While the latest U.S. News & World Report rankings reflect data from the 2021-2022 school year, our internal proficiency reporting is more current—and it tells a promising story. Let’s start with the US News and...
BOE Representative Natasha Joly Responds to Inaccurate TapInto Article
Statement from BOE Representative Natasha Joly The recent article in TapInto regarding unpaid bills by the Berkeley Heights Board of Education has a number of inaccuracies. In the subtext of the title, it states that, “Board of Education Faces Over $80,000 in Unpaid Bills”. Further in the article it states, “At the Board’s August 15 meeting, it was reported that...
Regarding TapInto’s Coverage of “Unpaid Bills”
Statement from BOE Representative Sai Akiri In a recent article by a for-profit information outlet, Ms. Bradford commented on some outstanding bills. This information was inaccurate, related to Board Business, and did not have the consent of the full Board of Education. Additionally, TapInto did not reach out to me or other BOE Members for their perspective. Some of the...
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...
The New BOE Majority is Turning Things Around, and the Party Machines Are Getting Nervous
I am writing a lot this week but have more to say than usual. If all you’ve been paying attention to is the noise on the forums and theatre in Council meetings, you would have missed a few significant developments. With a new majority in place within the BOE, some significant changes that will benefit families have arisen: (1) Budget : For...
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...
Ho, Ho, Ho: Laughing All the Way
The Rules Surrounding Transparency Continue to Not Matter…. I recently wrote about an exchange involving my own OPRA request, and I have received more information about how OPRA requests have been handled by our District from other residents. In short, residents are at the mercy of the Custodian of Records and/or the Business Administrator, and they have little recourse with...
BHCW NightWatch Episode 22: Berkeley Heights Town Council Candidates Edmund Tom Maciejewski and Steve Mondragon
Town Council Candidates Edmund Tom Maciejewski and Steve Mondragon discuss campaigning during the home stretch, overdevelopment, affordable housing, township committees, and the township audit on NightWatch. There are four candidates running for two seats on the Berkeley Heights Town Council. Visit Our 2023 Berkeley Heights Candidates Page to Read More From the Candidates
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