Friday, April 19, 2013
State Chief Academic Officer talks to teachers and administrators about transitioning to the new Common Core State Standards.
If you have school-aged children, then you have heard the words 'common core standard' being the new educational guideline for schools, but what does that really mean and how will it affect your child's education? The Common Core is a New Jersey Department of Education initiative designed to provide a consistent, clear understanding of what students are expected to learn. The standards are designed to be relevant to the real world, reflecting the knowledge and skills that students need "for success in college and careers." Central to this model is the fusion of the ways in which the information is presented in class, how teachers can evaluate whether or not a child is learning the material and the process by which administrators can then …
Sunday, April 14, 2013
Take a look at Fort Lee's top stories for last week.
Mayor and Council unanimously approve 2013 Municipal Budget. In Fort Lee, 188 tax appeals were filed in 2012 and the town is facing $826,649.22 in rebates. As the district emerges from a period of instability, Acting Superintendant Dr. Sharon Amato sits down with Patch to talk about the district's goals. Police are seeking help from the public after Nycal Velasquez, 21, went missing. His abandoned car was found in Fort Lee. Page Aiello, 22, a student at The College of New Jersey, was last seen on Tuesday; her car was found a day later in a New Brunswick parking deck, authorities said. An agreement has been reached by Korean American groups on the language to be inscribed on Fort Lee's Comfort Women Memorial. Newly formed Atlantic City …
Monday, March 4, 2013
Fort Lee Board of Education accepts the resignation of Steven Engravalle as Superintendent of the Fort Lee School District.
The Fort Lee Board of Education accepted the resignation of School Superintendent Steven Engravalle during Monday's special work session. When asked for a reason for the Board's decision to accept Engravalle's resignation, Board Attorney Dennis McKeever said, "The relationship between the Board and Mr. Engravalle has been irretrievably severed and broken." The Board voted on three resolutions regarding the separation: In response to a question posed by Paula Colbath regarding the terms of Engravalle's separation from the district, McKeever said that he was not able to divulge the strategy or the negotiations regarding the separation of services agreement. McKeever did say that the terms were arrived through mutual compromise between the …
Friday, March 1, 2013
Bergen districts set to receive nearly $3 million more in funding over last year, Christie Administration says.
State aid to Fort Lee's public school district will increase, according to Department of Education figures released Thursday. Fort Lee is set to receive $1,968,914, an increase of $22,465 over the amount in funding it received last year. Bergen County districts would get nearly $3 million more in state funding than last year, officials announced. Governor Christie's proposed 2014 budget includes almost $9 billion in school aid. “Throughout my time in office I have continuously argued that in order to grow New Jersey’s economy we must invest in education, and my proposed budget is a reflection of my commitment to our educational system and communities in Bergen County and across the state," Christie said in a statement. For more local …
Thursday, February 21, 2013
In the wake of the Newtown massacre, schools coping with upgrading security without going over the 2 percent cap may get relief from pending legislation.
In the wake of Newtown, schools everywhere are performing security audits and collaborating with local law enforcement to implement new security intitiatives. At last week's Town Hall meeting, Fort Lee Police Chief Keith Bendul and the Board of Education talked about amped up security within the Fort Lee Schools and confirmed that they are in the process of reviewing security plans within each school with the intent of putting new measures into place. In addressing the concerns of parents who want a more visible police presence at the schools, Bendul said, "We are increasing our footprint within the district" by having a more visible police presence in and around the schools. However, the question being asked by many Superintendents is how…
Friday, February 15, 2013
Superintendent says that despite his absences, his focus is on the students, teachers and educational quality of Fort Lee's schools.
By all accounts, it would seem that Fort Lee School Superintendent Steven Engravalle is not having a good year, beginning this past summer when his wife, Samantha, died at the age of 40. In an effort to come to terms with that tragedy, he took a two month leave of absence in November. "Tragedy happened and I needed to get my life back in order," Engravalle said. However, Engravalle stressed that it was never his intention to be out of touch with the district during those two months. "It is my understanding that staff were 'threatened' not to have 'any' contact with me during my leave. As such, I had no idea what was going on for two months. Not a clue," Engravalle said. Shortly after his return on Jan. 2, there was another death of a …
Saturday, August 11, 2012
Member of the Board of Education since 2007, Levine announces his resignation.
School Board President Arthur Levine announced his resignation from the board of education today. "I will always be grateful to the people I served with," Levine told Patch. "We achieved many positive things for the children of Fort Lee." Levine, who has served on the Board since 2007 and was elected president in 2011, said that he was resigning from the board due to time constraints. "Serving on the board requires a large commitment of time," Levine said. "Being very committed to my work on the board, knowing I can no longer give that time completely, I have chosen to step down." During his tenure on the board, Levine was a strong proponent in lobbying the community for the passage of a bond referendum allowing for expansion to relieve…
William Mays
10:31 pm on Wednesday, April 24, 2013
I haven't seen in the Constitution where it says that you can own high-capacity ammo clips and assault rifles, but yet we have little kids getting shot down by lunatics using them, but you Republicans have no problem with allowing those kinds of weapons. more ›