Ridgewood Public Schools

The Ridgewood Public Schools is a comprehensive community public school district serving students in Kindergarten through twelfth grade from suburban Ridgewood, in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States.

As determined by the New Jersey Department of Education, Ridgewood is a socioeconomic "J" district, the highest level of the eight District Factor Group categories.

Awards and recognition

Benjamin Franklin Middle School was awarded the Blue Ribbon School Award of Excellence by the United States Department of Education, the highest award an American school can receive, during the 1998-99 school year. [ [http://www.ed.gov/programs/nclbbrs/list-1982.pdf Blue Ribbon Schools Program: Schools Recognized 1982-1983 through 1999-2002 (PDF)] , United States Department of Education. Accessed May 11, 2006.]

For the 1993-94 school year, George Washington Middle School was named a "Star School" by the New Jersey Department of Education, the highest honor that a New Jersey school can achieve. [ [http://www.state.nj.us/cgi-bin/education/ss/ss3.pl?string=id=003&maxhits=10000 Star School Award recipients] , New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed May 23, 2006.] For the 1995-96 school year, Benjamin Franklin Middle School was named a "Star School". [ [http://www.state.nj.us/cgi-bin/education/ss/ss3.pl?string=id=003&maxhits=10000 Star School Award recipients] , New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed May 23, 2006.]

Schools

The district consists of nine public schools and one additional school facility, which houses a BOE-run pre-school program and a private day care center. Schools in the district (with 2005-06 enrollment data from the National Center for Education Statistics [ [http://nces.ed.gov/ccd/schoolsearch/school_list.asp?Search=1&DistrictID=3413830 Data for the Ridgewood Public Schools] , National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed April 5, 2008.] ) are:

;Pre-School
*" [http://glen.school.ridgewood.k12.nj.us/ Glen School] " (Pre-School and Private Day Care Center, 39 students);Elementary Schools (Grades K-5)
* [http://hawes.school.ridgewood.k12.nj.us/ Henrietta Hawes Elementary School] (413)
* [http://orchard.school.ridgewood.k12.nj.us/ Orchard Elementary School] (314)
* [http://ridge.school.ridgewood.k12.nj.us/ Ridge Elementary School] (506)
* [http://somerville.school.ridgewood.k12.nj.us/ Irwin B. Somerville Elementary School] (463)
* [http://travell.school.ridgewood.k12.nj.us/ Ira W. Travell Elementary School] (397)
* [http://willard.school.ridgewood.k12.nj.us/ Willard Elementary School] (480);Middle Schools (Grades 6-8)
* [http://bf.school.ridgewood.k12.nj.us/ Benjamin Franklin Middle School] (646)
* [http://gw.school.ridgewood.k12.nj.us/ George Washington Middle School] (631);High School (9-12)
*Ridgewood High School (1,665 students). Ridgewood High School athletic teams are nicknamed the Ridgewood Maroons.

Athletics

Ridgewood High School's sports teams are nicknamed the Maroons. Ridgewood High School is one of twenty public and private high schools from Bergen, Essex and Passaic Counties that are members of the Northern New Jersey Interscholastic League.

Administration

Core members of the school district's administration include: [ [http://www.ridgewood.k12.nj.us/index.cfm?sid=3&nav_id=119 District Administration] , Ridgewood Public Schools. Accessed October 15, 2006.]
*Superintendent - Dr. Daniel Fishbein
*Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum, Instruction & Assessment - Mrs. Regina Lemerich Botsford
*Director of Human Resources and Quality Improvement - Dr. Brian Bulger (Though 8/1/08)
*Business Administrator - Angelo DeSimone

Superintendent search

The Ridgewood Board of Education had been searching for a new superintendent since July 1, 2006, with Paul Arlotta serving as an interim replacement during the year-long search. The Board hired Martin Brooks as Superintendent, effective July 1, 2007. However, in mid-June, Brooks declined the invitation for what the Board described as personal reasons, though there was community opposition to Brooks' appointment that was said to have made him "feel unwelcome". This has the led to the beginning of another search, and another year of the district hiring an interim superintendent, until a permanent replacement is hired and assumes the position. [Coutros, Evonne. [http://www.northjersey.com/page.php?qstr=eXJpcnk3ZjczN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXk1MyZmZ2JlbDdmN3ZxZWVFRXl5NzE1MDgzMSZ5cmlyeTdmNzE3Zjd2cWVlRUV5eTQ= "Ridgewood's new schools chief quits"] , "The Record (Bergen County)", June 13, 2007. Accessed June 18, 2007. "The district's new superintendent has backed out of the job two weeks before he was to begin work, a startling move that the school board blamed on a hostile reception by some residents to his hiring. Martin Brooks, the former superintendent of the Plainview-Old Bethpage Central School District on Long Island, cited "personal reasons" for his withdrawal from the post. But a statement by the board on the district's Web site said he had been made to "feel unwelcome."] The "New York Times" reported that this is the result of a dispute over the district's reform math program. [cite news|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/14/nyregion/14math.html?_r=2&adxnnl=1&oref=slogin&pagewanted=all&adxnnlx=1182205426-6AmG3O9vbYF1Rifu6IhAtg|title=Battle Over Math in New Jersey Drives Off a New Schools Chief|author=Winnie Hu|date=2007-06-14|accessdate=2007-06-18|publisher=The New York Times]

uperfund site

The area surrounding Orchard School (K-5) was utilized as a dump for coal ash (used for heating homes) from the late 1800s until the mid 1940s.Fact|date=September 2007 In September 2007, the school district notified parents of children in this school that polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and lead were found in soil on the school property at levels exceeding New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection standards. [ [http://schoolsite.capturepoint.com/assets/resources/OrchardSoilLetter.pdf Letter to Parents] , Ridgewood Public Schools, dated September 5, 2007.] Affected areas were fenced off until further notice. The soil has been disturbed over the years due to building an addition on the school and regrading the sports field. The area had been designated as a state superfund site since 1998. [ [http://www.nj.gov/dep/srp/kcs-nj/bergen/kcs0251.htm#G000008572 Known Contaminated Sites in Bergen County: Ridgewood Village: RIDGEWOOD ASH LANDFILL] , New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection Known Contaminated Sites in NJ Report 7th Edition (Spring 2006). Accessed September 17, 2007.]

References

External links

* [http://www.ridgewood.k12.nj.us/ Ridgewood Public Schools official website]
*NJReportCard|03|4390|0|Ridgewood Public Schools
* [http://nces.ed.gov/ccd/schoolsearch/school_list.asp?Search=1&DistrictID=3413830 Data for the Ridgewood Public Schools] , National Center for Education Statistics
* [http://www.vormath.info/ Village of Ridgewood Math -- concerned parent group]