Parents concerned about plan to move Hoboken’s kindergarten classrooms
HOBOKEN – In order to alleviate crowding at Wallace School – an elementary school at Clinton and Eleventh streets in Hoboken — the district is exploring a plan to move some, and possibly all, of the Wallace kindergarten classrooms to the Brandt School on Ninth Street next year, according to a letter from Superintendent Mark Toback to Pre-K and kindergarten parents.
“Wallace School has faced issues with crowding for a number of years and in addition to the crowding problem, a number of students and teachers are housed in trailers outside of the building,” Toback said in the letter, sent out a week ago. “The trailers were meant to be temporary structures and were not intended to be permanent additions to the district facilities. The district would like to alleviate some of the crowding in Wallace and eliminate the need for the trailers.”
The district is working on a plan that would also move some preschool classes to the Demarest School first floor, according to the letter.
The office of the superintendent and business administrator (both currently in Wallace School) will move to the second floor of Demarest, according to the letter.
Toback said the plan is “not set in stone” and he is hoping for input from parents as they move ahead.
One parent left a comment on our online version of this story at hudsonreporter.com, saying, “Clearly, this move is not in the best interest of most children already familiar with the Wallace School. My son, for example, attends the preschool at Wallace but under Toback’s policy would not be allowed to attend as a kindergartner next year and would be reassigned to another school. My daughter, however, already in kindergarten at Wallace, would be able to continue to attend as a first grader next year. As such, his policy certainly does not take into consideration the fact that kindergarten and preschool students with older siblings already at Wallace will now need to attend different schools.”
For more of the parent’s comment, and to leave comments of your own, go to hudsonreporter.com.
Jersey City mayor to hold public meeting on crime
JERSEY CITY – Mayor Jerramiah T. Healy and Jersey City Police Chief Thomas Comey will this Thursday hold the first in a series of public town hall meetings on crime and public safety. The meeting will take place at City Hall, 280 Grove Street, at 6 p.m.
Two weeks ago the mayor promised to hold several town hall meetings throughout the city on public safety after hundreds of residents began speaking out about their fears about crime.
Overall statistics show that crime in the city is down. However, residents argue that in some communities crime is still unacceptably too high and they believe that some nonviolent crimes go unreported. Since the beginning of the year residents have complained to city officials about the problem and have asked for more cops on the streets.
In addition to these meetings the mayor and Chief Comey also appointed 17 officers to the position of detective. These detectives will serve as part of a Community Response Team that will address public safety and quality of life concerns. The detectives will be in uniform, but as detectives will have the added ability to conduct criminal investigations and take statements, thus expediting the investigation process.
In addition to creating the Community Response Team, Healy has vowed to hire more police officers. The JCPD currently has about 802 uniformed officers, approximately 98 fewer cops than two years ago. Nearly 100 officers are eligible to retire by November, with another 85 eligible for retirement by July 2013.
“As I said in my State of the City address, and as I have stated publicly since then, my administration is working closely with the chief of police to hire additional officers,” Healy said in a statement released Monday. “We are actively pursuing the hiring of officers through the Rice Bill and through lateral transfers, and we have also asked the state to certify officers from the current list so that we can begin the process of sending a new class to the academy.”
Under the Rice Bill – which was sponsored by State Sen. Ronald Rice (D-Essex) and signed into law in 2010 – police officers who were laid off due to the economy are given first priority when police department vacancies are available around the state. Also, officers who were laid off within their first year of employment are not be required to go through the police academy again or retake the civil service exam. – E. Assata Wright
Hudson County CASA seeks volunteers
HUDSON COUNTY – Hudson County Court Appointed Special Advocate group (CASA) is seeking volunteers to advocate for the best interests of abused and neglected children. Hudson County has nearly 700 children in foster care; most have been removed from their homes because of abuse or neglect.
CASA uses trained community volunteers to provide assistance to children while helping to move them toward safe and permanent homes. CASA and its volunteers speak for children in court, serve as fact-finders for judges, and safeguard the interests of children in the foster care system.
An information session will be held Tuesday, Mar. 6 from 6 to 7 p.m. in Room 400 of the Hudson County Administration Building at 595 Newark Ave. in Jersey City.
For more information, call (201) 795-9855, e-mail mgarcia@hudsoncountycasa.org, or visit www.hudsoncountycasa.org.
Essay contest held for New Jersey Students
STATEWIDE – PNC Bank and the Quick Chek New Jersey Festival of Ballooning are sponsoring a patriotic essay contest for New Jersey students grades 2 through 12.
The ninth annual PNC Bank American Patriot Essay Contest asks students to write a short essay on the topic, “What the American Flag Means to Me.”
Every teacher in the state who submits a group of 15 essays or more on behalf of their students will receive two free general admission tickets to the festival regardless of whether one of their students submits the winning essay.
Entries should be submitted by May 1, 2012 to Essay Judges, Quick Chek New Jersey Festival of Ballooning, 363 Route 46 West, Suite 200, Fairfield, NJ, 07004. Students can also enter the contest through the Festival web site at www.balloonfestival.com or by emailing their essays to information@balloonfestival.com. Entries should include the student’s name, home or school address, home or school telephone number, grade, age, school name and the name of their teacher.