HOLA Dual Language School in Hoboken Announces Admissions to the Following NY/NJ Metropolitan High Schools

HOBOKEN MIDDLE SCHOOL Among Lowest Performing Public Schools in Hoboken, Hudson County, and New Jersey on NJDOE Educational Quality Metrics

Middle school is critical to student success in high school and college. It is the transition period from "general" instruction to more "discipline specific" instruction. That being said, recent independent, third party evaluations of the Hoboken Middle School shows there is real damage being done to the educational future of the students attending this school. 

The Hoboken Middle School scores are once again among the lowest scores in the State of New Jersey (last year the NJDOE ranked the school in the 8th percentile-- this year the NJDOE ranked the school in the 5th percentile). 95% of New Jersey Public Schools do better than Hoboken Middle School on the NJDOE 0-100 scale score.

 The New Jersey Department of Education recently released the new scores, which are graded on a scale of 0-100 and consider standardized test results, graduation rates and other factors. For schools like Hoboken Middle School, the following criteria are used:

NJDOE Elementary and middle schools scoring criteria: English language arts growth (20 percent), math growth (20 percent), progress toward English language proficiency (20 percent), English language arts proficiency (15 percent), math proficiency (15 percent), chronic absenteeism (10 percent). A 50th percentile rating is considered average.

Last year the NJDOE ranked the school in the 8th percentile-- this year was even worse as the NJDOE ranked the school in the 5th percentile

CLICK TO ENLARGE

There are 182 students in Hoboken Middle School, 40% are NOT economically disadvantaged. Grades 7 and 8 are housed in the school. The student to teacher ratio is 8:1- generally this is an ideal ratio--only 8 students for every teacher! Moreover, the average teacher has 7.7 years of experience. These are NOT novice teachers. They should know how to teach students reading and mathematics. 

The New Jersey Department of Education has classified this school as "requiring targeted support."

Find out more about Hoboken Middle School by clicking HERE. 
What is worse is these percentile scores are lower than last year when the school fell into the 8 percentile range. 

Hoboken Middle School Statistics

NJDOE Graded its Public Schools from 0-100. The Hola Dual Language School Scored Tops Among All Public Charter Schools in Hoboken NJ and All Public Schools with Enrollment > 115

Picture: Success Last Year...and this year

Continuing on past achievements at the Hola Dual Language School like the "model program won last year (see Picture)--- the NJDOE announced that the Hola Dual Language School achieved the highest score among all public schools in Hoboken with enrollment greater than 115 students. 

New Jersey’s latest school grades are out, giving parents in every community a snapshot of what the state thinks of their local schools.

The state Department of Education released the new scores (2017-18), which are graded on a scale of 0-100 and consider standardized test results, graduation rates and other factors.

The scores, which critics have dismissed as oversimplified, are weighted to give the performance of minority and economically disadvantaged students equal importance as a school’s overall performance, making the grades somewhat less correlated to overall demographics.

Highest Score in Hoboken
CLICK TO ENLARGE

To be clear, I am an original founder and past Board Members of the Hola Dual Language School as well as the Assistant Superintendent of the Hoboken Public Schools when I wanted Hola in the Hoboken Public Schools but was rejected by the Kids First Legacy Hoboken Board of Education. 

Despite Claims to the Contrary, Hoboken Public School Enrollment Continues Downward Trend 2013-2018

Budget time is rolling around again and soon we will be hearing justifications for increases to the budget. One issue that seems to be coming up with some regularity is overall district enrollment. Is the enrollment in the Hoboken Public School rising? falling? or remaining stable? If you listen to some of the rhetoric coming from the district leaders you would hear that the district is experiencing notable growth. 
Opinions are often not founded upon data. Here is data from the New Jersey Department of Education documenting the total enrollment in the Hoboken Public Schools over the past 5 years. Decide for yourself whether you think the student enrollment in the district is on the rise or not. 

Data:

YEAR	Hoboken District ENROLLMENT (no charters)
2013-14	1970
2014-15	1888
2015-16	1943
2016-17	1724
2017-18	1884

CLICK TO ENLARGE

Pulled From Social Media- Hoboken School District and Black History Month

Peter Carter
Hoboken Superintendent
2009-2011

The following is a reflection on Black History Month (BHM) in the Hoboken Public School District. Some of the reflection centers on a video shown at a meeting. We will try to obtain the video soon. But in the meantime, this reflection by a concerned citizen of color and parent of a former Hoboken District student is presented for review.

#hobokenpublicschools
#blackhistorymonth

Three takeaways
1.) The entire BHM video was about celebrating why the district isn’t afraid to celebrate BHM instead of actually celebrating Black History Month
The main theme that kept repeating itself in the BHM video was, “We aren’t afraid to celebrate Black History Month” while showing video clips of the segregated elementary school. Huh? What is the district afraid of? What kind of message does that send to Black children and their families? Do they understand that Black History Month is celebrating American History too?

2.) They didn’t celebrate anyone Black beyond the most known Black leaders and issues to non- Black people. Basically, it was the cliff notes version of Black History. So they went from an “All Lives Matter” Black History Month sign from last year to a let’s do the minimal work. This is what happens when the district refuses to recruit, hire, and retain Black teachers.

3.) Clearly Dr. Johnson and many of the teaching staff have never ever acknowledged, taught, or considered Black history as American History or had to ever consider Black American students in their school communities. Some of these people have been in education close to 3 decades and this is the first time they’ve actually had to recognize Black Americans but they couldn’t help but to recognize themselves. This is 2019 in a district with a considerable number of Black children whom can’t go anywhere else but this public school!

Please Post Your Comments 

Pulled from Social Media: Black and Brown Parental Concern in the Hoboken Schools

Posted on Facebook today by a former parent in the Hoboken School District...

#hobokenpublicschools
Just had two parents call me on three way this morning asking me for my help on the following matters:

1.) A child was placed on “homeschool” because of the district’s failure to provide her anti- anxiety medication during the day causing the child to have a breakdown.

 The district demanded the child take anti-anxiety medication as a condition for the child to attend school. The Hoboken High School nurse is responsible for administering the medication during the school day. The child went to the nurse on numerous occasions to get her medication. It appears the district is requiring a disproportionate number of Black and Brown children to be on medication and the vast majority of students that attend Hoboken High School are Black and Brown children. As a result, the nurse has to administer an overwhelming number of medications to students during the day.  This child grew frustrated when the nurse failed to provide the child with her anti-anxiety medication several days in a row. The child claims the nurse kept snapping at her and turning her away because of the overload of cases. Now off her anti- anxiety medication for several days, this issue the child has a breakdown and is suspended indefinitely and now placed on homeschool.

The mother claims no one comes regularly to teach her child and she fears her child is falling into depression and further behind in schoolwork.

2.) Another child was suspended and arrested for trying to leave the classroom and defending herself against a school administrator. There was a disruption in the classroom. According to this parent, an administrator was called to the classroom. The child tried to leave the classroom but the administrator blocked the doorway. When the child got too close the administrator grabbed and shoved the child and then called the police. The child tried to leave the classroom again and the administrator again put her hands on the child. The administrator punched the child her chest and the child struck the administrator back.  The child was arrested and then suspended.

Now there are always three sides to a story. However, when these types of incidences are happening it’s time for a change in school  and district leadership.  Given my experience with the high school administrators and their continued underperformance, there is good reason to believe the parents.

The medication issue is simple. Does the district over medicated Black and Brown children? is there a disproportionate number of children being suspended and placed on homeschool as a result? Can the nurse keep up with administering medication throughout the day and if not what responsibility does the district have in setting these kids up for emotional distress and breakdowns as result of this systems failure?

The second issue, is more of a she said she said issue. However, the minute the administrator prevented the child from leaving the classroom and/or struck the child, is the minute the administrator escalated and already distressed situation. If that happened that should absolutely be considered in evaluating the child’s case and potentially borders on child endangerment. Either way the district needs to come up with better deescalation tactics that don’t exasperate mtters. Again this is a school leadership problem that continues to be plagues the high school culture. I guess it will take a Student to die on school grounds before the BOE takes meaningful action because plenty of kids are dying off of school grounds as result of this leadership problem.

Please Post Your Comments  

Why the New QSAC Score on INSTRUCTION AND PROGRAM in the Hoboken School District Really Is Not an Improvement- Facts You Need to Know

Water Main Break- 7th and Jefferson St Hoboken 3/19

So, how did the Hoboken School District score an 81% on QSAC INSTRUCTION AND PROGRAM even though student testing scores are very low? How did the Hoboken School District score an 81% on QSAC INSTRUCTION AND PROGRAM even though the district dropped 48 places on New Jersey Monthly's annual district ratings? How did the Hoboken School District score an 81% on QSAC INSTRUCTION AND PROGRAM even though recent research by Stanford researchers indicate the district actually has an adverse impact on student success as predicted by social economic status and has the lowest growth rate in Hudson County and among the lowest growth rates in NJ and the entire nation (bottom 13%)? 

See Where Hoboken Ranks on Effective District Measurement

The answer is fairly simple and straight forward and is two fold. First, the QSAC system in New Jersey basically went over a major revision. Revision is a natural process and perhaps the New Jersey Department of Education (NJDOE) was being responsive to adjustments and/or overhauls to the existing system. Second, and related to the first, is that the new QSAC system allows for partial scores. Before, a district received "all or nothing" for a particular indicator. With the revised system, "partial credit" is now allowed. To see this clearly, please look at the official NJDOE documents below where you can view the new District Performance Review (2017-18) and the previous District Performance Review (2016-17).

2018 NJ Monthly Rankings
CLICK TO ENLARGE

Reporting Recent QSAC Scores- Hoboken, NJ
CLICK O ENLARGE 

Does the 81% indicate improvement from the previous failing score of 77%? Certainly not if the NJDOE was using the old scoring system. With the new system and with partial credit for failing scores, the district now has a score of 81%. But district administrators, Board members, district teachers, and others should be forthcoming and clear when explaining the new QSAC score to the general public. 



Hopefully, this post will assist in a more informed conversation about the Hoboken district's failing test scores, plummeting rankings, and negative effects of the district on its students and not promote too aggressively the notion that the increase in the DPR for INSTRUCTION AND PROGRAM this year is attributed to a major change in the status quo but simply is attributal primarily to awarding partial credit. 

Under the board and district leadership of the Kids First-Hoboken Proud regime- in one form or another-  the Hoboken School District failed every QSAC DPR for INSTRUCTION AND PROGRAM since 2010. 

Frequently Asked Questions: 

1. What are some of the major changes to the NJQSAC indicators as a result of the 2017 revisions? 
   1. The indicators use  PARCC, the state's current standardized assessment program, to measure student growth and achievement;
   2. District scores are based on proficiency for both total student population and subgroups of students;
   3. Median Student Growth Percentile (mSGP) is used  to measure growth for both the total student population and student subgroups;
   4. Graduation rate is based on a school district's 4- and 5-year cohort graduation rate of total student population and student subgroups; and
   5. Implementation of staff evaluations is monitored in accordance with AchieveNJ and ensures districts provide high-quality professional development for its educators.
2. What other changes will take place in NJQSAC starting in the 2018-19 school year?
   1. Partial monitoring of school districts will be discontinued beginning with 2018-19, and no districts will be given an extension of their required three-year monitoring cycle; 
   2. The Statement of Assurance will no longer be part of the NJQSAC monitoring process beginning in the 2018-19 school year;
   3. The monitoring process (desk audit) will be remote whenever possible in an effort to reduce the burden on school districts; and
   4. The NJDOE will provide a NJQSAC User Manual to clarify what evidence districts may use to validate their self-assessment, creating a more transparent monitoring process. A draft of the manual is expected to be available to districts in February, 2018. 
3. Will there be training on the updated NJQSAC indicators and corresponding process?
   1. Training has already begun for the county office teams that will conduct NJQSAC monitoring.   
   2. There will be multiple opportunities for districts undergoing NJQSAC monitoring in 2018-19 to receive training.  The NJDOE will schedule regional training dates spanning late spring to late summer 2018 and will include them on the NJDOE Calendar of Events.
   3. County Teams will continue to provide cohort-specific training to prepare districts being monitored in 2018-19. 
4. Where can I find the NJQSAC indicators (revised and current)?
   1. Appendix A (District Performance Review) 
   2. Appendix B (County Special Services District Performance Review)

 (Reader Comments Allowed)

  Hoboken Placement Letter 2018-19 by Tony Petrosino on Scribd

  Interim Hoboken DPR Spreadsheet 2018-2019-3 by Tony Petrosino on Scribd

  Final DPR 2016-2017 Hoboken School District by Tony Petrosino on Scribd