Stanford University Report Shows Hoboken School District Students Completing Grades 3 to 8 Are Now 1.27 Grade Levels LOWER than Students with Similar Socioeconomic Status

The Hoboken Public Schools are not improving substantively despite a long term coordinated effort on social media to communicate such a message. In fact, the current data indicates that an 8th grade student educated in the Hoboken Public Schools will be 1.27 grades behind an 8th grader from a similar socioeconomic level school. Put another way, 8th graders in the Hoboken Public Schools are leaving with an education equivalent of that of a 6th grader in the month of March from the same socioeconomic strata. 



The Educational Opportunity Project at Stanford University has built the first national database of academic performance. As the project states,  "the educational opportunities available in a community, both in and out of school, are reflected in students’ average test scores. They are influenced by opportunities to learn at home, in neighborhoods, in child-care, preschool, and after-school programs, from peers and friends, and at school." 

Recall, last year, the analysis by researchers at Stanford University showed Hoboken had the lowest growth rate in Hudson County and was among the lowest growth rather in the State of NJ and the nation. Simply put, for the 2018 report, in the 5 years between Grades 3 to 8, students in the Hoboken School district were advancing only 4.1 grade years. 

The 2019 report indicates that for the years between Grades 3 to 8, students in the Hoboken School district are now advancing 1.27 grades LOWER than districts with similar socioeconomic status. This indicates results have not improved over last year and, in fact have shown decline. 

  Hoboken Schools Stanford 2019 by Tony Petrosino on Scribd

Steven Van Zandt Honored at the First Annual Rock and Roll Forever Foundation Gala on Nov 23, 2019

St. Louis Meeting with Rock and
Roll Forever Foundation-2008

Guitarist Little Steven Van Zandt, a New Jersey native, will be honored for his commitment to arts education at the First Annual Rock and Roll Forever Foundation Gala on Saturday, Nov. 23, at the Hard Rock Cafe in New York. 

The award recognizes Van Zandt’s founding of TeachRock, which provides a free, interdisciplinary, arts-driven curriculum for students from kindergarten through 12th grade. The TeachRock lesson plans are used by more than 20,000 registered teachers in all 50 states, including in Middletown.

It was back in August of 2008 when I met with Steven Van Zandth in St. Louis about the Rock and Roll Forever organization. Read more about that meeting by clicking HERE. 

The initial hope that the Hoboken School District would be able to incorporate some of the foundation's curricula materials and course guides into the district's K-12 Arts/Music curriculum material was explored extensively but apparently was never followed up upon after I left the district. 

Bruce Springsteen at the Stone Pony 11/16/19 - Thunder Road

Hoboken Educator Elizabeth Allen Posthumously Named To NJ Hall Of Fame

Former Hoboken Teacher- Elizabeth Allen 

HOBOKEN, NJ — A leader of teacher's rights in the late 19th century was recently honored with an induction into the New Jersey Hall of Fame.

The NJHOF paid tribute to Elizabeth Allen, a longtime educator in Hoboken who rose to become the first woman president of the New Jersey Education Association, naming her posthumously to its ranks as a "Public Service" awardee.

"We are thrilled to see Elizabeth Allen, a fierce, lifelong advocate of public education, recognized for her part in shaping our history," NJEA president Marie Blistan said. "Thanks to her foresight and unrelenting insistence on providing educators with job protection and a pension plan that prevented poverty after retirement, New Jersey has been able to build the best public education system in this county. It is an honor to follow in her footsteps."

According to njwomenshistory.org:

"Allen began her 48-year-long teaching career in the Hoboken School District as principal of the elementary school; she held the same role at Hoboken High School. Eventually, Allen transitioned into a position as supervisor of the education of teachers at the Hoboken Normal and Training School. At the age of 28, Allen was named vice-president of the New Jersey Teachers' Association. In this role, she gained recognition as an advocate for the teachers' retirement fund and issues related to teacher tenure. As a result, Allen was often thrust into the public eye and attracted a great deal of controversy because of her persistent and outspoken views."

The website continues:

"In 1896, Allen's hard work reached a pivotal climax when Senator John B. Vreeland of Morristown introduced a bill that provided half-pay annuity to teachers with 20 years of service who were no longer able to fulfill their roles as educators. The fund was to be financed by a one percent pay stoppage from the monthly salary of all those who elected to be considered under the law. Although the bill passed to become the first statewide teacher retirement law, there was more work to be done. Membership for the bill was voluntary, and consequently Allen set out through flyers, speeches and newspaper campaigns to recruit as many members as possible. Ultimately, at the end of three months, Allen and her dedicated team managed to enroll more than half of the state's teachers. She served as secretary of the Teachers' Retirement Fund."

2019 Hoboken Board of Education Results

Proposed PSE&G Substation- Hoboken, NJ 

HOBOKEN, NJ — Hoboken residents headed to the polls for the 2019 general election on Tuesday, Nov. 5. In addition to statehouse and county races, voters chose representatives on the local board of education.
There were five candidates competing for three seats on the Hoboken Board of Education in 2019. Each term last for three years.
With 98 percent of the districts reported, it appears that - pending official certification - Sheillah Dallara, Alex De La Torre and Joyce Simons have emerged victorious.
According to the Hudson County Clerk's Office, the unofficial results are:

2019 Hoboken Board of Ed Results (99.34% reporting)

303 Willow Avenue- Nov 8, 2019

The terms of current school board members Dallara, De La Torre and Jennifer Evans are expiring. Evans withdrew from the 2019 race after previously filing a petition to run.

De La Torre, Simons and Dallara ran together on the "3-4-5 For Hoboken School Board" slate, which gained the endorsement of Mayor Ravi Bhalla.

Gursahani ran as an independent candidate, aligning her campaign with Bautista's.
Waiters previously competed for a seat on the Hoboken Board of Education, running with the slogan "Education Before Politics" in 2018.

Hoboken Middle School Falls to Lowest 5% of All Public Schools in New Jersey - Lowest NJ Department of Education Rated School in Hoboken

Hoboken Middle School, Hoboken NJ 

How low can Hoboken Middle School NJDOE ratings plummet until they are discussed openly and publicly ? Is this what the community receives for $27,899 per student? Is this what is meant by "continued improvement" or in "moving the public schools forward"? 

Numerous administrative turnover, inept district leadership, and failed instructional strategies have led to the Hoboken Middle School not only scoring the lowest in Hoboken but scoring among the lowest NJDOE rated schools in the State of New Jersey (including charter schools- see list below). 

Is there a plan for Hoboken Middle School other than making Brandt a second middle school for Hoboken and making it the "white" middle school? Why does Hoboken Middle School continue to fail to adequately educate Hoboken's poor, minority, and black and brown populations? (see Chart 1 and Chart 2 below)

Here are NJDOE scores (0-100) that were reported in March of 2019. The NJDOE ratings were established to comply with the federal Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). 

How the NJDOE Ratings are calculated: Elementary and middle schools: 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)

NJDOE Rating for Hoboken Middle School- March 2019 

NJDOE Ratings for all of Hoboken Public Schools: 

• HOBOKEN DUAL LANGUAGE CHARTER SCHOOL, HOLA HOBOKEN DUAL LANG CS, CHARTERS 70.63
• HOBOKEN CHARTER SCHOOL, HOBOKEN CS, CHARTERS 64.25
• ELYSIAN CHARTER SCHOOL OF HOBOKEN, ELYSIAN CS OF HOBOKEN, CHARTERS 61.86
• THOMAS G. CONNORS, HOBOKEN CITY, HUDSON 41.85
• HOBOKEN HIGH SCHOOL, HOBOKEN CITY, HUDSON 38.78
• WALLACE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, HOBOKEN CITY, HUDSON 35.79
• HOBOKEN MIDDLE SCHOOL, HOBOKEN CITY, HUDSON 15.89

Chart 1: 2018-19 Percentage of White Students- Hoboken Public Schools 

Chart 2: 2018-19 Percentage of FRL Students- Hoboken Public Schools