BHCW 12/17/2023 Newsletter
What’s Important to Know About Berkeley Heights This Week… This week’s newsletter starts with a snapshot of raw data on this year’s NJSLA, which became available this week. The results are not great – we are still below where we were before Dr. Varley took over as superintendent. It then moves to our coverage of the 12/14/2023 BOE meeting, where...
Board Games: Not What We Had on our Holiday Wish List
Questions surround recent board decisions and superintendent recommendations… The Berkeley Heights BOE may be taking advantage of having a new Business Administrator in place, who has not yet had time to review past BOE actions, or they may merely be doing what they do, which is ignoring any and all policy, law, guidance and public comment with which they disagree....
Preliminary Results on 2023 Proficiency for the Berkeley Heights Public School District- Math, Science, ELA and Algebra I
Results on the NJSLA have become recently available. Here is the text of the email I sent to the Board of Education on this data. I looked at the raw data on the NJSLA results for Spring this year and completed a year-to-year comparison. A few notes: This is a preliminary report of the data – I am not aware...
90 Thousand Reasons the Berkeley Heights Public School District Needs to Hire a New Law Firm Next Year
And Why Other NJ Districts Should Reconsider Hiring “Mega-Firms” Our favorite law firm, Cleary, Giacobbe, Alfieri, and Jacobs, hit the 90K mark this month, taking in 50% of the District’s spending, which totaled ~180.000 according to Bill Lists from 1/2023 Through 12/2023. The firm surpassed the entirety of the District’s legal expenditure for the fiscal year before Dr. Varley’s tenure...
What It’s Like to Ask For Basic Documents from the Berkeley Heights School District
A recent example Illustrating why OPRA Laws Cannot be Weakened I am posting this conversation to illustrate how the District responds to basic requests for information. My email starts with a request I have made regularly after every BOE Meeting over the past few months. Here is my original email: Ms. Bradford forwarded the email to Mr. Cianculli (I...
The Wheels on the Bus Go Round and Round
Questions on the District’s Data Collection Processes Involving Students Remain Surveys have long been used as a vehicle for collecting information for good. But surveys have, in recent years, become a hot-button issue in our District. During redistricting, stakeholders were promised a voice and to be included in a process that ultimately marginalized families in the name of full-day kindergarten....
Role of BOE Members and the Current Race Against Change
The current majority can embrace the benefits of a split Board instead of working feverishly to maintain control. During a recent Berkeley Heights Board of Education meeting, board member Robert Cianciulli appeared rather concerned about having a “4-4 board”. The implication here is that board members would no longer vote in a bloc, but would instead have differing opinions that...
Latest Elementary and Middle School Rankings Not Encouraging For Berkeley Heights
The decline in rankings continues under Dr. Melissa Varley as Superintendent -Written by an Educator in the Community The following rankings are using the Berkeley Heights Community Watch (BHCW) seven-district data dashboard. These seven districts include Berkeley Heights, New Providence, Summit, Chatham, Madison, Millburn, and Westfield. The methodology from US News & World Report states: “State assessment data determines how...
Cleary, Giacobbe, Alfieri, and Jacobs Has Over 86,000 Reasons to Be Thankful for Berkeley Heights
I should start out by acknowledging that our District has taken a small step in the right direction by publishing the Bill List and Transfer Report with this month’s Board Meeting Packet. However, considering all the claw-backs over the past three years, we are far from where we need to be. So yes – it is a good step- but...
11/16/2023 Berkeley Heights BOE Meeting Agenda – Laura & Shauna’s Notes
A. District ByLaws – Study and First Reading 0155 Board Committees The President shall appoint members to any committee and require monthly reporting to Board President. Committees are not authorized to take action on behalf of the Board. The selection and interview process relating to the hiring of a new Superintendent or Interim Superintendent shall be at all times conducted...
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