Stevens grant may help Weehawken schools
The Center for Innovation in Engineering and Science Education (CIESE) at the Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken has been awarded a three-year, $1.7 million Mathematics and Science Partnership grant from the New Jersey Department of Education’s Office of Mathematics and Science Education.
The program prepares K-12 teachers in math and science to enhance students’ interest in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics fields.
The Bayonne, Jersey City, Secaucus, and Weehawken school districts are all included among the partner school districts that will benefit, as well as private schools like All Saints Academy and Marist High in Bayonne, St. Nicholas in Jersey City, and St. Augustine’s School and St. Francis Academy in Union City.
“This project blends the unique talents and strengths of elementary, middle, and high school teachers with university faculty and staff to explore science and mathematics topics in great depth, so that classrooms from elementary grades through high school will be enriched,” said Dr. Philip Leopold, a professor and director of the chemistry, chemical biology and biomedical engineering department at Stevens.
Schools superintendents may face pay cap
As part of his 33-bill “tool kit,” Gov. Chris Christie is proposing a cap on salaries for superintendents of schools in New Jersey based on enrollment, which could affect almost every superintendent in Hudson County.
The proposal would establish a $175,000 cap for superintendents in districts with 3,001 to 10,000 students and a $150,000 cap for fewer. There would be no cap for superintendents of districts with more than 10,000 pupils.
The move would not affect Jersey City and Union City because Union City has just over 10,000 students and Jersey City has more than double that amount.
The move also would not immediately affect West New York, because new Superintendent John Fauta just received a five-year contract, and Christie’s proposal will affect any future contracts received, not current ones. Fauta’s contract is for $219,000 per year.
The superintendents of Guttenberg, Weehawken, and the Hudson County Schools of Technology would be held to the $150,000 cap, as those districts have fewer than 1,500 students.
Volunteers sought to help foster care children
Hudson County CASA is currently recruiting volunteers to advocate for the best interests of abused and neglected children. CASA (court appointed special advocate) works through trained community volunteers to insure that needed services and assistance are made available 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 the judges and safeguard the interests of the children while they are in the foster care system.
Information sessions regarding the program and the role of its volunteers will be held on Aug. 10 from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. in Room 901 of the Hudson County Administration Building at 595 Newark Ave. in Jersey City.
Hudson County has over 750 children in foster care; most have been removed from their homes for abuse or neglect. For further information, please call (201) 795-9855, e-mail mveenhof@hudsoncountycasa.org or visit our website at www.hudsoncountycasa.org.