Hoboken Public School District on NY Fox News

 

Hudson County Listed an "extremely high rise" for COVID Transmission

 

Swarming Worms- Maxwell Place

HUDSON COUNTY, NJ - Among the most densely populated areas in the nation, Hudson County has recently been listed as "an extremely high risk" for COVID transmission. According to a report in The New York Times, the rate of positive tests in Hudson County is high, which indicates that cases may be under-reported. Hospitalizations have also risen, while death rates have remained stable.

"Unfortunately, we continue to see an increase in cases both in Hoboken and throughout the State of New Jersey," said Hoboken Mayor Ravi Bhalla. "I got off the phone earlier with a resident who lost her mother, and was advised that according to ICU staff, certain new strains of the virus are very aggressive and virulent. Accordingly, I urge residents to stay the course and follow CDC guidelines for wearing a mask, maintaining social distancing, and for avoiding larger indoor gatherings."

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This news comes days after officials—including U.S. Senator Robert Menendez—have reached out to Governor Murphy asking for more equitable vaccination rollout here in this diverse, densely packed corner of the State. As of last Tuesday, Hudson County’s vaccination rate was dead last in the State of New Jersey, at just 16 doses administered per 1,000 residents, and ranked tenth overall in the total number of vaccines administered.

Celebrating Passover

 

COVID-19 Activity Level Index (CALI) Weekly Reports 3/20/21-3/26/21

Hoboken Food Pantry 

As of yesterday, the New Jersey Department of Health reports that our region (Northeast) remains at the High / Orange risk level (with Case Rate RED, Percent CLI ORANGE, and Positivity Rate YELLOW). You may access the NJ COVID Activity Level report here; this report is updated each Thursday by the NJ Department of Health, reflecting the prior week’s data.

This information comes about 10 days after the temporary closing of a number of schools in Hoboken which began on March 16th by the Hoboken Office of Emergency Management: 

"Due to the State of Emergency declared by the Hoboken Office of Emergency Management (OEM), the Hoboken Public School District and the Hoboken Charter Schools (Elysian, HoLa, and Hoboken Charter) will close starting Monday, March 16 for a period of two weeks. The decision to close was made by the Hoboken OEM, as authorized in a State of Emergency, in coordination with the leadership of the four school districts. Although there have been no confirmed positive cases of COVID-19 in Hoboken or among the student population, the decision to close the schools was done out of an abundance of caution. Each school has made preparations for remote learning programs, and will communicate those plans directly to parents."

COVID 19 Report Week 2021 11 by Anthony Petrosino on Scribd

Visualizations: NJ County Vaccinations of Adult Population; "In Person", "Hybrid", and Virtual - All 50 States; New Jersey In Person Schooling by District

Vaccine update for 3/22: Morris and Gloucester are closing in on Cape May as they approach 50% of adult pop with at least the first shot. Hudson continues to struggle, at nearly half the population with the 1st shot vs the top county.  

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How NJ stacks up against all the other states. Not good. In the bottom 10 of states offering full time instruction- amazing differences from across the country. 

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Here is a map of NJ indicating percentage of districts offering full in person schooling.

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Hoboken Board of Education Presents Preliminary Budget - Including Explanation of a "Fatal Error" and Initial Budgeting that was "below adequacy"

Hoboken Board of Ed Meeting 
March 18, 2021

At a virtual ZOOM meeting on Thursday, March 18, the Hoboken Board of Education introduced the preliminary budget for the 2021-22 school year. You can watch the meeting by clicking HERE. The meeting includes a number of Powerpoint slides and is about 20 minutes in duration.  

After last year's nearly 10% tax increase (justified by "rocketing enrollment") the intent for 2021-22 was evidently to go into this budget cycle with a 0% tax levy increase for the taxpayers of Hoboken. 

Unfortunately, that was not to be. It seems that the preliminary budget submitted to the county contained a "fatal error" (terminology used by the district at the board meeting) which supposedly confounded the county administrator. After some investigation it was found that the school district was proposing spending "below adequacy" as determined by the NJ Department of Education for the students of the district. Because of some NJDOE rules (explained in some detail at the meeting), the district was not allowed to present anything other than a 2% or more increase in the levy to the county for the preliminary 2021-22 budget. 

This NJDOE rule is to make sure local communities are spending enough money on the education of their children. An adequate level of funding is determined by the state using detailed formulas. The original budget submitted to the county was determined to be below adequacy and thus was rejected by the county (this is explained in the video from 11:00 to 13:30). 

                  Explanation of "Fatal Error" and "spending below adequacy" 

No doubt there will be more to discuss as the budget process goes from preliminary to final approval- a process that will take about a month. To be clear, it is good that these issues were resolved with the county ahead of the preliminary budget presentation and not at a later point. 

No Hoboken Board of Education budget meeting would be complete without some mention of the money sent to Hoboken's charter schools and the March 19th meeting was no exception. There will be an increase in the money sent to Hoboken's three charter schools-- Hoboken Charter, Elysian Charter, and the Hola Dual Language Charter School. 

The Board had no questions on the budget and there were no questions from the public. If there were any press watching, they did not ask any questions.

The Hoboken School budget will be financed from several sources, including a local property tax levy. We do not now the actual amount yet but last year it came to $53.1 million and the year before that it was $48.3 million. 

Sherard and Petrosino (2021): Language, modeling, and power: A methodology for analyzing discourse in interaction

The 2021 Annual Meeting of the International Society of the Learning Sciences (ISLS) is the first of its kind, the first of a new series of annual events that will bring together the international community of the Learning Sciences as a whole. This is a milestone in the evolution of our community and a good reason to reflect on and celebrate our achievements in the past, and to embrace and envision a bright future.

The International Society of the Learning Sciences (ISLS) is a professional and widely interdisciplinary society dedicated to the empirical investigation of learning as it exists in real-world settings and to how learning may be facilitated both with and without technology

The following is a paper that I will be presenting with doctoral student Max Sherard and centers on language, modeling, and power in an online modeling environment. 

Abstract: We present a new methodology for demonstrating the connection between reasoning in interaction and larger sociopolitical discourses. We demonstrate this methodology in the context of modeling activities with preservice teachers. First, we explain critical discourse analysis, a methodology which illuminates how talk or text in social events is related to larger social practices or structures. Second, we describe how using critical discourse analysis with interaction data allows researchers to understand how language choices reflect larger discourses that circulate society. Finally, we demonstrate this methodology on a transcript of preservice elementary teachers reasoning about residential segregation using agent-based models.

Sherard, M. K. and Petrosino, A. J. (2021, June 7-11). Language, modeling, and power: A methodology for analyzing discourse in interaction [Conference presentation]. ISLS 2021 Convention, Bochum, Germany. 

ISLS MS & AP 2020 0314 Edit Unblinded[2] by Tony Petrosino on Scribd

Hoboken to receive $27,201,022.91 from the American Rescue Plan

Observer Highway- Hoboken, NJ

Hudson County will receive $424,614,802.61 in federal aid from the American Rescue Plan, with $130.41 million allocated to the county government and $294,204,802.61 going towards the 12 municipalities, U.S. Senators Bob Menendez and Cory Booker (D-NJ) announced according to Hudson County View. Out of those allocations, Hoboken will receive $27,201,022.91. 

This allowed the Garden State to receive about $1 billion more than they would have if the money been distributed by population.

“With state and local governments across our country facing the painful decisions of potentially laying off thousands of police officers, firefighters, teachers, and other essential workers, and cutting essential services, the full support of our federal government has never been more important to fight this pandemic.”

The direct, flexible funding can be used by state and local governments to pay COVID-related expenses; cover lost revenues due to the pandemic to maintain critical services and avoid layoffs of essential workers; provide additional assistance to residents and small businesses; and invest in water, sewer and broadband infrastructure.

Hudson County Allocations 
American Rescue Plan 2021 

Hoboken Little League Coaches and Managers Upset Over Recent Decision on Maria Pepe Batting Cages

Marie Pepe Batting Cages
Hoboken, NJ

The following is a letter sent via social media to Hoboken Little League families and citizens of Hoboken by the Hoboken Little League Coaches and Managers Association. The letter encourages supporters to weigh in on the issue by contacting elected city officials via phone, text, or email. 

Tuesday March 9th 4PM EST Tapinto report a compromise has been reached. 

Details: https://www.tapinto.net/towns/hoboken/sections/government/articles/after-crying-foul-hoboken-little-league-strikes-a-deal-with-city-over-shared-use-of-batting-cages

Dear Hoboken Little League Families:

We are writing to you today after receiving news last night from the City of Hoboken that was both disturbing and disappointing. As you may or not be aware, the City has decided the Maria Pepe Batting Cages will not be accessible to the baseball community for this season, and that a privately owned business will be granted priority over the needs of the children of our City.

By way of background, since built the Maria Pepe Batting Cages have been used to prepare our kids for each upcoming season, and as a training facility within the season. At the outset of Covid, the facilities were closed along with other exercise venues. As the weather warmed, the City decided that a business based in town could use the facilities for cycling classes for adults, since they deemed it could be done safely. Our Little League Board was supportive of this use at the outset—businesses in town are important members of our community, and we were all affected in some way by Covid. Many families wondered why it was so much safer for adults to use the facilities than kids, but the City was “following the science”, and many supported the decision.

In a series of conference calls with the City beginning in January 2021 (dates available), members of the Little League Board were told that the cages would be off limits to the Little League community until March 15th, at which time the safety of their use would be re-evaluated. If they were deemed unsafe, then April 15th was the next date for evaluation. One of the major points of safety mentioned by the City was the ability to open the windows and the doors of the facility. As we did with our successful program last spring and summer, we offered to work with the City to develop a set of protocols for the cages, and even went as far as to offer our help developing protocols for other programs in town.

Our purpose in writing to you today is twofold, to inform you of this action by the City and to ask for your help. If you believe as we do that the Maria Pepe Batting Cages are an important facility for the Little League Community, and you believe that they can be operated in a way that is safe for your children, please reach out to the Mayor’s office and the City Council to voice your concerns along with ours. Our kids are worth fighting for. Thank you for your time, and…

Let’s play ball!
Hoboken Little League Coaches and Managers Association

Mayor's Office: 

Phone
(201) 420-2000 ext 1001

Mail
Mayor's Office
94 Washington St.
Hoboken, NJ 07030

Hoboken City Council 

(Mobile phone numbers provided from Council's website)

US Mail Address: City Clerks Office 94 Washington St. Hoboken, NJ 07030

Phil Cohen: Telephone: (862) 234-9053  Email: pcohen@hobokennj.gov

Michael DeFusco: Telephone: (201) 420-2000 ext. 2104 Email: mike4hoboken@yahoo.com; Mobile: (646) 372-4341

James Doyle: Telephone: (201) 420-2000 ext. 2103; Email: jimdoylehoboken@gmail.com; Mobile: 201-452-1761

Vanessa Falco: Telephone: (201) 420-2000 ext. 2102; Email: councilfalco@gmail.com; Mobile: 410-949-4311

Tiffanie Fischer: Telephone: (201) 420-2000 ext. 2015; Email: hoboken2nd@gmail.com; Mobile: (201) 208-1674

Jennifer Giattino: Telephone: (201) 420-2000 ext. 2100; Email: jengiattino6@gmail.com; Mobile: (201) 780-6779

Emily Jabbour: Telephone: (201) 420-2000 ext. 2101; Email: hobokenemily@gmail.com; Mobile: 781-724-6258

Ruben Ramos Jr.: Telephone: (201) 420-2000 ext. 2107; Email: councilmanramos4@gmail.com; Mobile: 201-401-7947

Michael Russo: Telephone: (201) 420-2000 ext. 2106; Email: councilmanrusso@gmail.com; Mobile: 201-401-9687 (text is best)

Dear Council Person __LAST NAME________, 

This is to inform you that I support the position of the Hoboken Little League Coaches and Managers Association and believe that the Marie Pepe Batting Cages facility can, and should, be operated in a manner that is safe and readily available for the children of Hoboken as soon as possible. 

Sincerely, 

NAME

New Jersey: First and Second Vaccinations by County- March 4, 2021 - Hudson County Lagging

 The following is data from March 4, 2021 on first and second vaccinations by county in the State of New Jersey. It should be noted for at least the third week in a row, Hudson County lags behind the entire state in both first and second COVID-19 vaccinations. 

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