Parent Questions to Dr. Varley on Cuts to Subscription Busing
Decision on cuts made by BOE Finance Committee –Margit Pedraza On August 3, 2023, I, along with other parents, received an email informing us that subscription busing is being cancelled for CMS, MKM and MP for the upcoming school year. I was truly disappointed and frustrated by this decision given the added hardship it places on parents especially me as...
Additional Thoughts on the 06/29/2023 BOE Meeting
BOE Candidate Sai Akiri Responds to Gale Bradford’s Speech -Sai Akiri At the special board meeting called on June 29, 2023, two key administrative positions were appointed with zero community input while the entire board was not present. This calls attention to the critical need for more regularly scheduled board meetings. According to state laws, bills cannot be approved at...
Parent Questions to Angela Penna on Busing Cuts
Email exchange between a parent and the BOE President on the controversial cuts to subscription busing. -Jessica Lesperance With the recent notice about subscription busing, I thought it would be helpful to share correspondence that I started with administration regarding courtesy busing back in March. As you will see, I eventually got one response but never any follow up after...
BHPSNJ BOE Committee Meeting Minutes: January 2023 through April 2023
Based on experience, residents should take the accuracy of these minutes with a large grain of salt.….multiple large salt chunks. Regardless, these are still useful for the public to see. One interesting note is that Dr. Varley is under the impression that BHPSNJ staff names can be redacted – we don’t believe this is true, and it is a practice that...
BHCW 08/07/2023 Newsletter
What’s Important to Know About Berkeley Heights This Week… Online Version PDF Version See All Newsletters
From Our Inbox: 08/06/2023
Will CMS no longer offer sewing or cooking classes? Recently a Community Member sent us the following message: I am wondering if the middle school parents have been informed that there will no longer be any sewing or cooking classes offered to students? I know Top Chef was a big hit in the past. Based on our sources this is...
Expanding World Language Programs Nearby Leaves Berkeley Heights’ Students Behind
An Educator in the Community Offers Insight into Our World Languages Program At this moment, a seventh grade student taking World Language (Spanish, French, Italian) at Columbia Middle School (CMS) only receives half-year of instruction. Whereas for the remaining half of the school year, CMS students take another elective or in many cases, an unstructured study hall in a noisy...
What it Would Look Like if We Put Students First
Words are cheap; lawyers and high-level administrators … not so much. -Ekin Najarian Yesterday Ms. Stanley went on a social media parade on behalf of the BOE majority, pretending to recruit new BOE members. As per usual, Ms. Stanley did not use a disclaimer that the thoughts, opinions, and inherent attacks on residents sharing their own personal thoughts, were her...
What We Can Do to Reverse The Berkeley Heights Declines in Math, Science, and ELA Part 1: The Budget
The First in a Series of Articles on How Berkeley Heights Can Repair the Damage under Dr. Varley’s Leadership Since BHCW’s analysis of the Berkeley Heights School District’s declines in Math, Science, and English came out, I have had many conversations with different parents, teachers, and other school staff in the community on how to reverse them. In the second...
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