2015 US NEWS AND WORLD REPORT HIGH SCHOOL EDITION RELEASED - HHS College Readiness Scores 14.2 out of 100

"Proud of the Progress"- Kids First Members have been
in control of the Hoboken Public Schools since 2009

U.S. News and World Report recently announced the 2015 Best High Schools rankings, highlighting top-performing public schools on a state and national level. The 2015 rankings, available exclusively at usnews.com, include data on more than 21,150 public high schools. The School for the Talented and Gifted in Dallas, Texas, earns the No. 1 spot nationally for the fourth straight year, followed by BASIS Scottsdale in Arizona at No. 2 and Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Alexandria, Virginia, at No. 3. U.S. News differentiates high schools with gold, silver and bronze medals, using gold medals to indicate the greatest level of college readiness.

HHS was a Bronze Medal Winner in
2007-08 and 2008-09 (pre-Kids First)

It wasn't that long ago that Hoboken High School was a back to back winner of the US NEWS AND WORLD REPORT Bronze Medal Award (2007-2009). It occurred while I was the Assistant to the Superintendent of Schools, Mr. Jack Raslowsky (Harvard) was the Superintendent of Schools and Dr. Lorraine Cella (Columbia) was the principal of Hoboken High School.

1) While I was the Assistant to the Superintendent, in 2008 and 2009 Hoboken High School won the US NEWS AND WORLD REPORT BRONZE MEDAL AWARD: http://hobokencurriculumproject.blogspot.com/2008/12/hoboken-high-school-us-news-and-world.html

2) While I was the Assistant to the Superintendent, in 2008 Hoboken High School was named the 2nd Most Improved High School in the State of New Jersey:  http://njmonthly.com/articles/towns-schools/top-5-nj-schools-to-earn-as-for-improvement/

3) In May of 2009 the political group known as Kids First took majority control of the Hoboken Public Schools.

4) By September of 2009 both Superintendent Raslowsky and myself were no longer in the district (suffice to say "support our superintendent" was not yet an established practice of Kids First Board of Education members).

5) By February of 2010 Dr. Cella was no longer in the school district (a law suit was later settled involving the manner in which the situation was handled).

6) By May of 2010 the political group known as Kids First first achieved and have since retained super majority control of the Hoboken Board of Education and control of the city's traditional public school system.

7) Here is where things were by 2012 at Hoboken High School:http://hobokencurriculumproject.blogspot.com/2012/08/hoboken-high-drops-to-bottom-50-public.html  Among the bottom 50 high schools in the state. A perilous and needless drop in a few short years due in large part to Board leadership.

8) 2015 US NEWS AND WORLD REPORT RATING FOR HOBOKEN HIGH SCHOOL: http://www.usnews.com/education/best-high-schools/new-jersey/districts/hoboken-public-schools/hoboken-high-school-12584

"The maximum College Readiness Index value is 100 (range is 0-100), which means that every 12th-grade student in a particular school took and passed at least one AP or IB test before or during their senior year." -US NEWS AND WORLD REPORT  

The College Readiness Index for Hoboken Junior Senior High School for 2015 is 14.2 out of a possible score of 100. (Weehawken 23.3; Secaucus 20.1; Paramus HS 37.2 and Montclair High School  31.1). 

9) Under the Kids First Leadership of the Hoboken School District Hoboken High School has gone through 5 principals in the past 6 years while the district went through 7 interim and "permanent" superintendents in 6 years (Raslowsky, Carter, Rusak, Romano (never served), Toback, Brockel, and the current superintendent). In addition, Hoboken High School/Hoboken Junior Senior High School went though 3 different configurations (Grades 9-12; Grades 8-12; and Grades 7-12) since 2010. Little wonder that the school's graduate rate is below the state average and standardized test scores lag behind even what might be expected from the socio-economic demographic the school serves. And little wonder the school is no longer a US NEWS AND WORLD REPORT BRONZE MEDAL AWARD WINNER.

Summary: Board Leadership matters and Board of Education elections really matter. We can see how, in a few short years, Hoboken Junior Senior High School went from being the 2nd most improved high school in the State of New Jersey and a back to back national recognition award winner by US NEWS AND WORLD REPORT (2007-2009) to being ranked in the bottom 50 high schools in the state (2012) and a college readiness score of 14.2 out of 100 three years later (2015).

Kids First members Ruth Tyroler (McAllister),
Jean Marie Mitchell, and Thomas Kluepfel