Hoboken Board of Education and Superintendent Justify 10% Tax Increase Expecting "Skyrocketing Enrollment" During National Pandemic Despite Recent Gallup Poll Results

Washington Street- Hoboken NJ 2020 

A recent Gallup poll finds that public school enrollment will drop from 83% to 76% in the coming year. That would be about 3.5 million students leaving public schools. How will that impact New Jersey? A 7% decline in enrollment in NJ would be ~94,000 students.

This will be watched very closely since Superintendent Johnson and the Hoboken Board of Education justified their recent 9.95% raise in taxes based on “exploding enrollment” in the Hoboken School District.

It will be interesting to see if Hoboken defies this national trend…or if the Board of Education and Superintendent simply said what they needed to say to quietly sneak a 10% increase in their budget during a national economic crisis and pandemic. 

Results of Face Mask Vote

The Hoboken City Council did not adopt an ordinance authorizing a potential fine for those who are not wearing face masks. The task force will continue to provide education and distribute face masks on our waterfront and other locations. Already, they’ve distributed thousands of face masks to those without one throughout the City. 

Hoboken Face Mask Survey

The City of Hoboken seeks input from residents regarding the use of face masks. The City is currently considering an ordinance that allows for a $250 fine for those who are not wearing face masks outdoors, only when social distancing is not possible. Fines would not be applicable in situations where social distancing is possible, such as sitting in a park with family members at least six feet from others, or other outdoor situations where social distancing can be maintained.

The ordinance will be considered on second reading at the regularly scheduled city council meeting on August 19, which will take place virtually- so vote today.

If you are a Hoboken resident, please take the survey by clicking HERE: 

https://survey123.arcgis.com/share/7f5b8dc0fef4439789b12ead8e2d431a

Agenda for the August 19 City Council Meeting:
http://hobokennj.iqm2.com/Citizens/Detail_Meeting.aspx?ID=1928

Memorial to Louis Taglieri- Kennedy Field
Hoboken, NJ 8/18/20

Hoboken Mourns the Sudden Loss of Lou Taglieri- War Veteran, Teacher, Coach, and Loving Husband and Father

Funeral Arrangements are as follows for Coach Louis Taglieri

Tuesday, August 18, 2020 Failla Memorial Home 533 Willow Ave. Hoboken, NJ 07030 Viewing 2pm - 8pm
Funeral Mass: Wednesday, August 19, 2020 10:30am St Thomas the Apostle 60 Byrd Ave. Bloomfield, NJ 07003



NJ.COM August 12, 2020: Long-time football coach Lou Taglieri, who guided Hoboken to four sectional championships and maintained one of New Jersey’s top public-school dynasties has died. Taglieri left Hoboken for a career in the Air Force after graduating in 1980 and returned home 10 years later to become a teacher and a coach.

Taglieri, 59, spent his life giving back as a educator and leader in his hometown. Taglieri was named head coach in 2005. In his 12 seasons as head coach, his teams racked up a 95-38 record following the same blue print that helped Hoboken cement its legacy as one of the state’s perennial powers. 

Mr. Taglieri was also a member of the Hoboken Curriculum Committee and I considered him a friend. We kept in touch over the years and I loved receiving his New Year's texts and an occasional shared meal at Leo's. My condolences to wife Gabby and his children. He touched and impacted many lives in positive and productive ways. His passing has left the entire Hoboken community stunned. 

Long time Hudson County resident and national sportswriter Jim Hague wrote an amazing and heartfelt tribute to Lou Taglieri. Click here to read his incredible tribute. 

A Walk Through Hoboken- PBS Program (2003)

Hoboken, NJ, the "Mile-Square City" on the Hudson, famous for native son Frank Sinatra and long the target of jokes, is the next stop in Thirteen/WNET New York's highly popular series of "video walking tours," which highlight fascinating neighborhoods throughout Thirteen's viewing area. 

A WALK THROUGH HOBOKEN WITH DAVID HARTMAN AND HISTORIAN BARRY LEWIS traces the story of Hoboken from the Dutch governor's acquisition of the commercially viable land the Lenni Lenape Indians through today. Along the way, Hartman and Lewis examine the legacy of Colonel John Stevens, a visionary inventor and entrepreneur who in 1820 turned this wild, marshy waterfront into a resort for New York weekenders. 

They trace its rise through World War I as a major hub of shipping and transportation and they glimpse at Hoboken's industrial heyday, when giants from Bethlehem Steel to Hostess Cakes set up shop in the thriving city.

Equity in Pandemic Schooling: An Action Guide for Families, Educators, and Communities

This is a living document, intended to help families, educators and community members make decisions in a complex and constantly changing environment. It reflects the current thinking as of August 4, 2020. Find this guide or the most recent version at https://tinyurl.com/EquityGuidePandemicSchooling. 

10 Actions for Equity in Pandemic Schooling

01 Contact Congress to demand additional school funding and family supports.

02 Advocate for measures to stop the spread of COVID-19 and find a vaccine.

03 Advocate for a district remote learning option and the resources and support necessary so that all students can access learning.

04 Demand all students have opportunities for learning that will stimulate their mind, and nurture their well-being.

05 Press for a moratorium on high-stakes testing, test-based accountability, and grades.

06 Keep your child enrolled in your local public school.

07 Work with families and educators in your school to identify needs and share resources.

08 Link your school efforts to district efforts.

09 Support groups already doing this advocacy, especially Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) groups.

10 Spread the word to others and invite them to take action with you.

Petrosino and Colleague pen Op-Ed to Houston Chronicle on State Testing

OPINION  // LETTERS 

Letters: STAAR should be canceled

July 27, 2020

Comments

David Torres, a sixth grade student at Houston Gateway Academy reviews material in preparation for the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR), Monday, May 1, 2017, in Houston. ( Marie D. De Jesus / Houston Chronicle )

Photo: Marie D. De Jesus, Staff / Houston Chronicle

Standardized testing

Regarding “Cancel STAAR,” (A18, July 22): We agree state-mandated standardized exams should be the “last thing” students and teachers need to worry about. A substantial body of research shows that current tests are indeed “invalid indicators of student progress.”

The next question is: If not STAAR, then what?

When it comes to testing, two kinds of growth can be assessed.

“Growth” can be evaluated relative to achievement — how much students have learned. Or “growth” can be evaluated on a scale similar to measurements of height. Just as children get taller with age, they also get generally better at certain kinds of problem-solving tasks.

The first kind of growth — in achievement — is the only kind for which schools can be held accountable. But current assessment methodologies give results that behave like measures of biological growth. Such results are of little use to teachers — the first responders of our school system.

Tests intended to address inequalities in our educational system end up having the opposite effect: keeping groups of students in the same relative position year after year.

The last time our legislators gathered in Austin, they passed a bill, HB-3906, directing the Texas Education Agency to “establish a pilot program” field-testing alternative measures of achievement. Let’s put that mandate into action and help schools and teachers do what they do best — educate our children.

Walter Stroup, chair of the department of STEM education and teacher development and an associate professor at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth; Anthony Petrosino, associate dean for research and outreach in Southern Methodist University’s Simmons School.

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