When North Bergen Mayor Nicholas Sacco was appointed as an assistant superintendent of schools earlier this year, one of the first items he wanted to address was the overall performance of the township’s high school students in the Scholastic Aptitude Test. “We identified that our overall average in the SAT tests needed improvement,” Sacco said. “We have a class to help the students, but it’s after school and it’s crowded. I felt that we weren’t doing everything we could. We wanted to make our students more competitive when it came to their SAT scores.” So Sacco, along with Superintendent of Schools Peter Fischbach, formed a committee to try to combat the issue of the SAT scores. And they’ve come up with a pilot program that will teach students the proper way how to take the test, as well as special tips that will be helpful when taking the test. Nearly 100 North Bergen High School juniors have enrolled in the program. The students will meet during their study periods twice a week – once for the math portion and once for the verbal. They have voluntarily relinquished their study hall periods to partake in the classes. Eight different high school teachers will instruct the classes, following the guidelines of the highly successful Princeton Review program, which helps students prepare to take the SATs. The students will meet in the classes beginning next week and will continue to meet twice a week through May, when they will take the test. The participating students had to meet a host of necessary requirements, including taking the necessary allotment of college preparatory classes while in high school. “The students will learn test taking skills and work with SAT sample questions,” Sacco said. “They’ll learn what to look for and they will learn skills in all kinds of test taking.” Added Sacco, “After we receive the test scores, we will compare the scores of those who took the class to those who didn’t. Assuming we get positive results, it can become a full-time program that every student will be able to take in the future, as long as they meet the criteria.” The pilot program will cost the Board of Education a nominal $6,000 in order to pay for the Princeton Review program as well as the stipend to the teachers, who were giving up their classroom preparation periods in order to instruct the class. “Obviously, it will cost more when it becomes full-time,” Sacco said. “But it’s something that is well worth it, because of the rewards down the road for the students.” Sacco said that the students were very enthusiastic about participating in the program. “We asked the students if they wanted to participate,” Sacco said. “It wasn’t required.” Alpesh Patel is one of the juniors who has enrolled for the classes. He hopes to study pre-med in college, preferably at Penn State University, so getting high SAT scores is a high priority in his life. “Instead of having to learn on my own and practice on my own, I can learn from a teacher that I’m familiar with,” Patel said. “It’s going to be better for me, because I find the verbal sections hard. And these classes are going to help me with strategies in taking all tests, not just the SATs.” Theresa Belluardo agrees. “I think it’s definitely well worth the time,” Belluardo said. “I think it’s a good sacrifice to make because it’s going to mean so much for us in the future. When I heard about the classes, I signed up right away. I think it’s going to be good for other students as well. Once they see how successful we are, others will follow. They’re going to think, ‘If it helped them, it’s going to help me.'” Belluardo plans to study elementary education, perhaps at New Jersey City University. North Bergen Principal Paschal Tennaro is pleased with the way the program is developing. “We’re very fortunate to have a program like this,” Tennaro said. “We all recognize the value of the SAT and what it means to have good scores. I know from personal experience with my own sons that the Princeton Review is helpful, but it’s also expensive. A lot of our students can’t afford it. And the Princeton Review has a phenomenal track record. We’re offering something that is invaluable.” According to Tennaro, students who take the Princeton Review course generally improve their SAT scores by an average of 100 points. That’s enough reason for Sacco. “It helps us bring our test scores up,” Sacco said. “But it will help our students to become competitive for better colleges. We want them to attain the highest level they can achieve. Plus, with better scores, they will be available for more scholarship money. It’s a great thing for our kids.” Sacco wanted to stress that the after-school SAT classes will continue during the pilot program, for those students whose study periods did not coincide with the schedule of the new SAT classes.
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