Monday, April 22, 2013
School officials say the process is ongoing.
Steps towards improving security at Hasbrouck Heights schools are still underway, according to school officials. Board of Education President Joseph Rinke told parents last Thursday night the consultant firm, CDI, hired to assess school security measures continues with their work and some additional improvements have been made. "They have been dilligently working, meeting with staff and administrators, overseeing drills and procedures," Rinke reported. One recent change involves closing off the street in front of Lincoln School for the entire day where it used to be only during part of the day, he said. The Board decided in February to hire an outside consultant to review security procedures and would make improvements based on those …
Friday, April 19, 2013
One parent started a petition pushing for the installation of rubberized surface for the new playgrounds at Euclid and Lincoln schools.
Hasbrouck Heights parents are banding together in the hopes that the new playgrounds planned for both elementary schools will meet the safety needs of their children. Euclid School parent and PTA member Kristen Schaeffer told the Board of Education members Thursday night she started an online petition which had received five dozen signatures in a few hours in support of a rubberized surface which is said to be safer and would prevent injuries. By end of day Thursday the petition had 78 signatures. Schaeffer suggested that the Board had been advised and may have already made a decision to go with black top surface but Board of Education President Joseph Rinke said the board has yet to make any decision and is still weighing all options. …
Thursday, April 18, 2013
Twenty-five students at Euclid and Lincoln are on the path to becoming youth leaders for children with special needs.
Dozens of Hasbrouck Heights elementary school students have welcomed the chance to become peer mentors to other children with special needs. Twenty-five students at both Euclid and Lincoln School are taking part in the Pathways mentoring program training where they are getting an education in learning to understand differences of others and how to communicate with those with special needs. Last month students grades 3 to 5 at both schools took part in the empowering "Include Me" assembly which inspired these youngsters to become peer mentors. The schools received an overwhelming response of interest in the program said Nicole Fried, school counselor. She says the district plans to bring the program back again next year so more students …
Wednesday, April 17, 2013
State School Report Cards show how each Hasbrouck Heights school fares in academic performance, college and career preparedness and student growth.
Out of the four schools in the district, Hasbrouck Heights High School had the highest academic performance ranking compared with the rest of the state, according to figures released by the state Department of Education last week. Heights high school ranked 89 percent which according to the School Report Card rankings is considered at the very high scale. The middle school achieved a high rank in this area while Euclid ranked average and Lincoln showed a lag in academic performance. Above the 79th percentile is considered very high performance, between 40th and 59th is considered average, between 20th ad 39th is considered lagging and below that is considered significant lag in performance, according to the report card. The new School …
Thursday, March 28, 2013
Euclid and Lincoln students participated in the empowering "Include ME" assembly this week
No matter what one's limitations are there really isn't anything one can't do as long as he or she is given a chance to do it his or her own way. Students grades 3 to 5 at Euclid and Lincoln schools heard this empowering message and a whole lot more Tuesday as Melinda Jennis and her daughter Stefanie presented "Include ME" an assembly designed to inspire youngsters to make a difference and realize that no one is different because of a disability. Jennis started the interactive assembly by asking the kids if they like to feel included to which they responded by eagerly raising their hands. She then quickly reminded them how bad it can make one feel to not be included. She then proceeded to introduce them to a place, Pathways for Exceptional…
Tuesday, March 26, 2013
District awaits input from security experts before moving ahead
Money has been allocated towards security improvements, school officials say, but no decisions on how those funds would be used will be made until the recommendations are in from the outside consulting firm which is currently reviewing the district's current plans. While presenting the 2013-2014 budget to the public last week, Mark Porto, Hasbrouck Heights schools superintendent told parents planning to improve secrurity is something that was in the works long before the Connecticut tragedy. About $70,000 has been put aside for upgrades but the district won't determine how the money will be used until the assessment is complete, said Porto. A group of parents who have come together over the past few months, Hasbrouck Heights Parents for …
Take the poll and tell us what you think
If the Hasbrouck Heights Board of Education were to pursue the idea of stationing police officers, or school resource officers, at the district's public school buildings it would need the full support of the community, according to Superintendent Mark Porto. A group of parents say an officers in the schools would be the best form of protection for the children. See the most recent article on school security here. Patch asks all readers if they think having officers would be a good idea. Take our poll below or tell us what you think in the comments section.
Thursday, March 7, 2013
The board is expected to give a full presentation on the proposed budget later this month.
The Hasbrouck Heights Board of Education approved a $28.6 million tenative budget Wednesday night for 2013-2014 school year. The tentative budget would collect $25,980,566 from Hasbrouck Heights taxpayers and $135,731 from Teterboro. Compared with last year's figures the tax levy appears to have an increase of roughly 4 percent over the 2012-2013 tax levy. The Heights district received a small increase in state aid of $14,449 for a total of $1,101,186 for this upcoming school year as per figures released by the state last Thursday. The tentative budget has been submitted to the county for approval. From there the board will give a presentation on the proposed budget at an upcoming meeting later this month. An exact date has not been set, …
Monday, January 28, 2013
School district plans to use the class space to reduce class size of other grades at elementary schools.
Increased enrollment in the Hasbrouck Heights school district has forced the Board of Education to eliminate its pre-K program as of September in order to free up classrooms at both elementary schools to resolve class size issues. Plans are not set in stone yet, according to Dina Messery, business administrator who says the district will have to see if the budget for the coming school year will support it. It is also too soon to say how this will affect staff members, she said. Currently pre-K is conducted at both Euclid and Lincoln schools. Previously the program had only been conducted at Lincoln School until this past year when it was expanded to Euclid. The district hopes to be able to reduce class size for kindergarten and first and …
Thursday, November 1, 2012
Public schools remain closed Friday but will open next week with a half day on Election Day and full days on Thursday and Friday which were originally scheduled as no school for the NJEA convention.
Hasbrouck Heights public schools will remain closed Friday, Nov. 2 as power outages continue to affect the district. Schools will reopen on Monday and will remain open all next week, reported Josephine Ciocia, board of education president. School was originally to be closed on Election Day and Thursday, Nov. 8 and Friday, Nov. 9 for the NJEA teacher's convention. Now that the NJEA convention which was supposed to be in Atlantic City has been cancelled the Heights district has decided to hold school on both those days. Election Day on Tuesday, Nov. 6 will just be a half day session and the rest of the days will be full session, confirmed Ciocia. Schools have been closed since Monday as the district decided to close Monday and Tuesday due to…
Ricky
12:22 pm on Wednesday, March 27, 2013
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