With the recent worries brought about by the arrest of a grade school teacher on assault charges and the ever-burgeoning overcrowding woes, the North Bergen Board of Education needed a bit of good news.
That’s what the board got earlier this week when it was notified that Hudson County Superintendent of Schools Robert Osak recommended that the North Bergen school system receive its state certification from the New Jersey Commissioner of Education, after the state conducted its extensive two-week monitoring program last November.
Osak’s recommendation for certification still needs to be reviewed by the State Commissioner of Education before it is submitted to the State Board of Education. However, when it becomes official later this year, North Bergen’s schools will receive a seal of approval for the next seven years.
“I think the certification speaks to the majority of hard working staff we have within the school system here in North Bergen,” Superintendent of Schools Peter Fischbach said. “On every level, our staff is hard at work, from administrators to teachers to custodial. Everyone is doing an outstanding job on a daily basis.”
As part of the program, the town received commendations in several areas. First was the attendance rate in the six elementary schools, which had a three-year average of 95 percent.
“I think that shows that children really want to come to school,” Fischbach said. “That there’s something good happening in the classroom.”
The school district also received commendation for the scores of the students taking the High School Proficiency Tests. The 11th graders who took the tests scored an average of 90 percent or better in three tests, namely reading (90.4 percent), writing (93.3 percent) and mathematics (92.9 percent). The standard to be met was 85 percent, which the students were well above.
The program evaluates the district in several areas: Facilities, core curriculum, budget/audit procedures, attendance and standardized test scores. The North Bergen school district was the first pilot district in Hudson County to be judged on the new criteria.
“The state was looking for pilot districts,” Fischbach said. “We weren’t supposed to be up for evaluation until September of this year, but I told them if they needed a district from Hudson County, then we would volunteer to be the first one. I believed we were ready for the evaluation.”
Fischbach added, “In the past, evaluations would take place on a five-year cycle. This takes care of us for seven years. It definitely makes one feel that the job we do is worthwhile for the children of North Bergen.”
The evaluation covered all of the district’s schools and students. Nearly 7,000 students are taught in the district, with approximately 2,300 attending North Bergen High School, which is one of the top 10 high schools in New Jersey for enrollment.
“The state feels that all elements and all indicators are acceptable,” Fischbach said. “And that’s a good feeling for us.”