WALLACE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL Drops - Now Among the Lowest Performing Public Schools in Hoboken, Hudson County, and New Jersey on NJDOE Educational Quality Metrics- "requiring targeted support"

Wallace School Drops in NJDOE Scores and Percentiles for 2017-18

Elementary school is critical to student success in middle school and high school. Research shows conclusively that 3rd grade reading scores correlate with later school success. It is the period where the basic foundation of reading and mathematics are first established. That being said, recent independent, third party evaluations of the Wallace Elementary School shows there is cause for concern for the educational future of the students attending this school.

Wallace Elementary School in Hoboken, NJ scores are once again among the lowest scores in the State of New Jersey (last year the NJDOE ranked the school in the 37th percentile-- this year the NJDOE ranked the school below the 27th percentile). 73% of New Jersey Public Schools do better than Wallace Elementary School on the NJDOE 0-100 scale score. 

 The New Jersey Department of Education scores are graded on a scale of 0-100 and consider standardized test results, graduation rates and other factors. For elementary and middle schools like Wallace School, the following criteria are used for score calculation:

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.

The NJDOE has ranked Wallace Elementary in the 27th percentile-- 10 percentile points below last year's incredibly low 37th percentile score. This with an 8:1 teacher ratio, 64% of students that are NOT economically disadvantaged, an average of 9.5 years of experience for a teacher, and around $30,000 per pupil spending. 

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2016-17 Cost per Pupil- Hoboken City District

The NJDOE reports that there are approximately 687 students in Wallace Elementary School, 64% of which are NOT economically disadvantaged. Wallace is a majority non-poverty school. PK-06 grades are housed in the school. 

The Wallace Elementary School student to teacher ratio is 8:1 according to the NJDOE - while the average class size for a New Jersey elementary school is around 19 to 1 according to the US Department of Education. 

2018-19 Great Schools Rating- Wallace Elementary

Moreover, according to the NJDOE the average Wallace teacher has 9.5 years of experience and the district's per pupil spending is around $30,000 per pupil. To be clear, these are not novice instructors teaching economically disadvantaged students in an underfunded school. Rather, these are experienced, well paid tenured teachers teaching in high resourced classrooms with low student-teacher ratios in a school that is majority non-poverty.

One would think that the instructional and administrative staff would have better results in reading and mathematics. These results are inconsistent with what we expect from well funded, medium/high socioeconomic status (SES) schools.  

Unfortunately, the Wallace results as well as similar results from the Hoboken Middle School should come as no surprise. It was about 1 year ago when I posted that an analysis by researchers at Stanford University showed Hoboken has the lowest growth rate in Hudson County and among the lowest growth rates in NJ and the entire nation (see Figure 1). 

Figure 1- Effective School Districts (Stanford University)

The result is that the New Jersey Department of Education has currently classified Wallace Elementary School as "requiring targeted support."

Find out more about Wallace Middle School by clicking HERE.  

Contact the Wallace PTO at: wallaceschoolpto@gmail.com

2018 Performance Report- Wallace School

Commentary: Perhaps Board Members, administrators and instructional staff involved with Wallace Elementary School in Hoboken should consider concentrating their efforts more on student achievement in reading and mathematics rather than obsessively posting on social media with students as props about participation "accomplishments."

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Dual Language School of the Month: Hoboken Dual Language Charter School (HoLA)

The Hola Dual Language School in Hoboken, NJ is recognized this month by "Dual Language Schools.org" for its ground breaking work in dual language instruction. What follows in information from the DUALLANGUAGESCHOOLS.ORG website.  I am a founding member of the Hola Dual Language School and the school continues to be a regional and national leader in dual language instruction. -Dr. Anthony Petrosino 

This month, we are honoring the Hoboken Dual Language Charter School, for their excellence, perseverance, and dedication to bilingual education. They began their dual language school as a result of their conviction that bilingualism is both a critical 21st century skill, and a means of cultivating empathy and building bridges across cultures. 

Their planning process began with the formation of a founding team that included a range of skill sets in order to tackle the enormous task of building a school from scratch most effectively and efficiently. They each took on a different piece of the process according to experience and expertise. One important element of their planning process was reaching out to successful existing schools for feedback on established best practices, as well as what they had learned along the way—or even wished they had done differently. 

It was incredibly helpful to have a full year dedicated to planning before opening our doors. This allowed us to think through and plan every aspect of the program and, importantly, to put together a team of experts currently working in the field, along with local community leaders, to provide input every step of the way. We learned quickly to work nimbly to learn from both research data and from history to weave together effective aspects of successful programs, and really make them our own.

The beauty of a charter school in New Jersey is that the New Jersey Department of Education holds the schools to high standards, but then, also, allows them to innovate, which in turn allows them to be more effective in their mission. The flexibility they had in their implementation phase allowed them to choose the dual-language program that, through their research, they found most effective—the 90/10 model of immersion. They became the first school in New Jersey to run a dual-language program that way, then began to pave the way for other dual language programs in New Jersey 

We became the first and only charter school to be designated a “Model Program” by the New Jersey Department of Education, a distinction that we’ve enjoyed for 6 years in a row now, and that has led to other dual language schools from all over the country to visit us and learn from us. We are also very proud to have become the first charter school in New Jersey to implement a low-income preference in the lottery, and then the first to create a preference for English language learners. Now, 30% of charters in New Jersey have implemented a lottery preference, following our lead. 

Because successful immersion programs require a very specialized set of skills among teachers, HoLa has found it challenging to ensure that they have a pipeline of excellent teachers with both strong bilingual skills and academic content skills, as well as a passion for immersion. They have learned that it is critical to seek out teachers with a growth mindset and to develop skills internally. They invest a great deal of time and energy into developing their teachers, and then working to retain them. They insist on cultivating a deep knowledge of immersion practices and strategies, as well as expertise in current best practices in general education, such as data driven instruction.

Their coaching system is critical to supporting their school’s success. Each teacher has a designated instructional coach who works with him or her to provide targeted feedback and support in ongoing skills development. This relationship is intrinsic to their model, and therefore, to their academic and linguistic outcomes.

Our best advice is to seek out excellence in teaching and learning from those who have achieved the best outcomes for students. Our greatest success has come from understanding the best practices that are leading to great achievement results for kids across the country and ensuring that we are implementing those practices at our school. Among those best practices is a focus on data-driven instruction and giving teachers the resources and tools they need to carry out lessons that are rigorous and language-rich in a multitude of subjects.

They use writers and readers workshops in the early elementary grades, and implement it in both English and Spanish, so that students have authentic experiences reading and writing in both languages. The one period per day that students in grades K-2 spend learning in English is English Language Arts, and there is also a separate Spanish Language Arts class daily. In each of these classes, students develop strong literacy skills in the designated language through guided reading, phonics and grammar instruction, context-based vocabulary development, and a cross-curricular approach to reading analysis and purpose-driven writing.

Of all their successes, they are most proud of HoLa’s emphasis on multiculturalism. They tell students that “bilingualism is their superpower”, and believe this superpower transcends just by being able to speak another language. Because their staff is over 84% Latinx and hail from over a dozen countries, their students are constantly learning about different cultures and learning about a larger, interconnected world.

At HoLa, they are always thinking about innovative learning opportunities. Earlier in the year, they visited with the Education Office of Spain to look at potential partnerships in curriculum, activities as well as teaching partnerships. They were delighted when the Education Office of Spain toured their school and decided HoLa was a great fit for their visiting teachers’ program.

This program allows highly qualified and experienced teachers to teach in classrooms in partnership between the Spanish government and the local American school. They were the first school in New Jersey to form this partnership with the Education Office of Spain and are excited for future collaborations.

Bilingualism isn’t an extra for HoLa, it’s the core of our mission. Our school was created around a mission of dual language education and that mission shapes everything we do. From our executive director, to our teaching staff to our board of directors, everyone is mission aligned and focused on growing the next generation of global citizens in Hoboken.

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All Schools Open House- Thursday October 3 5-8PM - Hoboken HS

Over 30 schools attending All Schools Open House!

Over 20 elementary schools, 17 middle schools, and 4 high schools. Come check them all out tonight!!

Body of Woman Believed to be 35 to 50 Found in Hudson River in Hoboken

Hoboken Train Station- Hoboken, NJ 

A woman’s body was pulled from the Hudson River near the Hoboken train station, authorities said on Wednesday, October 2, 2019.

The body of the unidentified woman, who is believed to be 35 to 50 years old, was spotted in the water by a citizen on Tuesday around 3 p.m. near the Lackawanna Terminal, authorities said.

The Regional Medical Examiner’s Office is investigating the cause of death, and the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Homicide Unit is looking into how the woman ended up in the water.

Although a medical examination is still pending, the prosecutor's office believes the woman to be between 35 and 50 years old. Anyone with information about a missing person within the last 30 days should contact authorities, the statement says.

Anyone with information is asked to call the prosecutor's office at 201-915-1345 or to leave an anonymous tip at hudsoncountyprosecutorsofficenj.org/homicide-tip.

Full Story: Click Here 

Hoboken Train Station- Bird's Eye View, Hoboken, NJ