Longitudinal QSAC Scores in Instruction and Program DPR Under Kids First/Carter-Rusak-Toback Leadership

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On September 9, 2014 the Hoboken Board of Education officially released their 2013-14 QSAC Initial Placement letter to the public. The score on INSTRUCTION AND PROGRAM was a 45 out of 100. This is a 20+ point drop from last year (the single biggest drop in district history in terms of points and percentage) and 35 points away from a passing score of 80.  Here is a look at the QSAC data in INSTRUCTION AND PROGRAM beginning with when the curriculum I headed up was formally approved by the Board of Education in December of 2009 and since the political group known as Kids First have had a super majority of the Hoboken Board of Education (see chart). 

During the entire time of this decline in Instruction and Program, Trustee McAllister was not only a Hoboken Board of Education member but was also chair of the district's Curriculum Committee. The curriculum committee is the committee with oversight and responsibility for many of the benchmarks on the QSAC Instruction and Program DPR. Trustee McAllister is a board member fond of saying that the district was in dire straits when she was elected in Spring of 2009 and that it is doing so much better now. She is entitled to her opinion, but this data indicates differently. 

In my opinion, the task at hand seems beyond the competency level of those overseeing the education of the children in the Hoboken School District. In addition to the failing QSAC score in Instruction and Program, the district has a lower than average HS graduation rate, for the first time in history the district is classified as a DISTRICT IN NEED OF IMPROVEMENT by the NJ Dept of Education (Nov. 2011), the district is ranked 9th worst in the state in violence, vandalism and bullying (Patch.com), and is one of the lowest ranking districts in NJ (New Jersey Monthly- September 2014). The high school received a grade of "D" (lowest ranking) from the Newark Star-Ledger in 2013. These are not my opinions. These are the findings of independent, objective, and impartial third party evaluators and self reported data by the district. Some may disagree with one or two of these--- but there is overwhelming consensus. And.... It wasn't like this in 2009 when Kids First took over the district. The Board majority DID NOT inherit a district in decline as they want everyone to believe. Rather, these disturbing facts are the result of the past 5+ years of board/district "leadership" and the entire community is now suffering for their incompetence, arrogance, and unwillingness to accept responsibility and provide a plan of action to remediate the damage they have done. The Board majority rose to power pointing fingers and pontificating about costs per student, test scores, and ineptitude-- now they want everyone to be silent on these issues for fear the downward spiral they've set in place for the district might be blamed on them instead of those who came before.