Teacher was honored guest of Japanese government
St. Dominic Academy French teacher Denise Scholz of Bayonne participated in the Japan Fulbright Memorial Fund Teacher Program in Japan this past June. The program allows distinguished secondary-school educators in the U.S. to travel to Japan for three weeks in an effort to promote greater intercultural understanding between the two nations. Scholz was selected from a national pool of nearly 2,300 applicants by a panel of educators.
Scholz’s visit included attending meetings with Japanese government officials and educators, touring Japanese primary and secondary schools as well as a teachers college, and attending a homestay with a Japanese family.
Scholz is the moderator of the Anime Club at St. Dominic Academy; members of this club watch Japanese animation and read cartoon-style novels. She is also the moderator of SDA’s Multicultural Club.
Scholz plans to engage in cross-disciplinary work with SDA’s history department as a result of her experiences.
Board of Ed makes plans to televise meetings
In recent months, the Jersey City Board of Education has taken steps toward televising their meetings. As of press time, plans were in place to begin showing the board’s general monthly meeting and various committee meetings on the city’s Channel 1, starting this fall.
In the past, only remarks by Schools Superintendent Charles Epps to open the school year were broadcast on Channel 1, along with programs produced through the Media Arts Center at Snyder High School.
The board has been debating this issue for over a year, prompted by members of the public including a local advocacy group, Parents In Action. That group, along with advocates on the board such as the Rev. Ron-Calvin Clark and Sue Mack, were in favor of the meetings being televised in order to educate parents on issues regarding Jersey City’s public schools.
But some board members such as Board President William DeRosa were hesitant to endorse televising the meetings, saying that the public would get a bad impression if they saw unruly attendees attacking board members and school employees. They said strict guidelines should be in place before meetings are televised.
However, the board made a commitment to initially televise a committee meeting in May at the request of Mack, to see how it will look after being taped. They also said they would air other meetings, tentatively starting in September. – Ricardo Kaulessar
Professor returns from Middle East trip
Dr. Nabil Marshood, a Sociology Professor at Hudson County Community College who was awarded a prestigious Fulbright Scholarship late last year, has returned from a six-month stay in Jordan, where he conducted research and presented some of his findings as part of his Fulbright scholarship work.
During his six-month stay at the University of Jordan, where he was afforded an office, Dr. Marshood interviewed Palestinians who reside in refugee camps so that he could learn more about the social structure of the camps as well as the families and individuals who reside in them.
“Unfortunately, the plight of these people does not have a human face in the United States, and their situation is not altogether different from the plight of people here who live in ghettos or on our Native American reservations,” Dr. Marshood said.
Born of Palestinian heritage in Israel, Dr. Marshood was educated at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem and Columbia University in New York. He is fluent in English, Arabic and Hebrew, and has been a professor at HCCC for 20 years.
Dr. Marshood was the first faculty member in HCCC’s history to receive the Fulbright Scholarship. Fulbright grantees are selected for their academic and professional excellence as well as their leadership potential, and they are considered cultural ambassadors to their host countries.
McNair Academic again tops high-school rankings
McNair Academic High School once again topped the list of New Jersey’s best high schools. The biennial list, which was prepared by New Jersey Monthly magazine, was released in their September 2006 issue.
McNair’s average class size of 15.9 was among the lowest in the state, according to the study. The school also boasted an impressive 99.2 percent of graduates who were accepted to a four-year college; the other 0.8 percent were accepted to two-year institutions, according to the study.
JCEA moves into new offices
New offices for the Jersey City Education Association were scheduled to be dedicated this September, and the organization’s staff moved into the new location at 1600 John F. Kennedy Blvd. over the summer. JCEA President Tom Favia said the new location was a “drastic improvement” over the old facility.
“We should have made the move years ago,” he said.
The JCEA advocates for teacher-related issues throughout Jersey City. The organization had occupied its old offices at 2300 John F. Kennedy Boulevard for 30 years, Favia said.
The new facility features a 200-seat conference room, a seminar room for workshops, and extra storage space. It is located on the first floor of a building that also contains offices for the New Jersey Education Association. Elsewhere in the building are the offices of the Hudson County Education Association and the headquarters of the Hudson County Retired Teachers Association.
Favia noted that the new facility’s parking lot will make it easier for parents to reach the organization.
“We’ve already seen the benefits of it,” he said. “People are coming in now.”
SPC introduces new programs for fall semester
St. Peter’s College was scheduled to introduce three new programs for the fall semester, according to Stephen Hudik, director of public information for the college.
A new Bachelor of Science in Nursing program for undergraduates has attracted a “tremendous” amount of attention and is the only four-year program at the undergraduate level of its kind in Hudson County, Hudik said.
A new biotechnology program was also set to begin in September, according to Hudik. Two recent federal grants allowed SPC to upgrade their lab facilities and purchase equipment for genetics and tissue culture research, including a top-line confocal laser-scanning microscope. The new greenhouse on top of Gannon Hall, the college’s science building, was scheduled to be completed prior to fall classes, Hudik said.
“Our students will be well-equipped to enter some of the fastest-growing careers in the pharmaceutical industry as a result of this new offering,” said Dr. Len Sciorra, the Schuh Professor of Health and Natural Sciences, in a statement.
A program in Women’s Studies was also set to begin this fall, Hudik said. The program is an 18-credit minor.
St. Dominic names first president and new principal
Saint Dominic Academy recently announced the appointment of a new principal and the school’s first president. Benjamin J. Dineen was named the school’s first president, and Deborah Egan was named its new principal, in July.
Dineen previously served as Vice President for Not-for-Profit and Municipal Banking at Independence Community Bank in Newark. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Business Management and Accounting from Catholic University in Washington, D.C.
Egan has been with St. Dominic Academy for 17 years as a Religion teacher. In 2003, she was appointed Assistant Principal for Academics, a position in which she was responsible for curriculum development, professional development and faculty supervision.