Tuesday, February 12, 2013
From changes in teacher evaluations to student assessments and new curriculum standards, the regional district will be facing several major changes in a very short period of time
Facing an upcoming complex web of new education reforms, the Regional School District is hoping to get a jump start during the remaining school year and work towards crafting a three-year plan. The plan, which has yet to be drafted, would include how the district will handle the many reforms that are expected within the next two years. Among the upcoming education reforms are a change in teacher evaluations, new student achievement requirements in standardized testing and a switch to the Common Core Curriculum. "These things will consume an enormous amount of time and district resources and may be pitfalls along the way," Superintendent Patrick Fletcher said. "There are whole other issues with the two percent cap with the budget and the …
Wednesday, January 9, 2013
The Regional Board of Education welcomed three appointees Monday night to the vacant seats
With three open seats on the Regional Board of Education, current sitting members unanimously appointed a trio of candidates to fill the vacancies on Monday night. Anthony Barbary of River Edge will fill the seat left by Vito Acquafredda who was voted onto the River Edge Council during the November election. Alan Feigenson and Lori Locastro, both of Oradell were chosen to fill the the voids left when Michael Chakansky and Dorothea Durand resigned prior to the holidays. "This school district did a lot to help my daughter succeed and I feel I have the time and knowledge to help make this an even better district," Feigenson said. "I believe you can accomplish more if you work together rather than have a hidden agenda to further a cause." …
Tuesday, January 8, 2013
River Edge trustees Joe Manzelli and Claudia O'Neill also rejoined the board of ed
By a 200-point margin, first time candidate Patrick Gallagher of Oradell won a seat on the River Dell Regional Board of Education in November. Along with uncontested River Edge incumbents Joe Manzelli and Claudia O'Neill, Gallagher officially joined the Board of Ed on Monday night. The Bergenfield school district special education teacher defeated fellow resident Michael Gardner by earning 1,310 votes over Gardner's 1,079. A lifelong Oradell resident, Gallagher is a volunteer coach with the River Dell Blackhawks, Oradell Little League and St. Joe's Track. O'Neill, a New York hospital charge nurse for a transplant unit and Green Team member, garnered the highest number of votes with 1,717 in her reelection bid. Manzelli, the Director of …
Thursday, December 13, 2012
In early January, either Anthony Barbary or Chris Ilg will be sworn in to the open River Edge seat on the Regional Board of Education to replace Vito Acquafredda
When Patrick Gallagher takes the oath of office as the newest River Dell Board of Education trustee for Oradell on January 7, one of two long-time River Edge residents will be chosen to fill the seat left vacant by Vito Acquafredda. Acquafredda successfully won his November campaign for the River Edge Council and will be sworn in January 1 to his new post. This week, the Regional Board interviewed Anthony Barbary and Chris Ilg to fill one-year of Acquafredda's remaining two-year term. The second year of the term would have to be won during the November 2013 election. Barbary is a 36-year resident of River Edge, a US Army veteran and spent over 30 years in the education field beginning as a teacher and working his way through a variety of …
Wednesday, December 12, 2012
The Regional Board of Ed wished outgoing members Vito Acquafredda and Roger Tashjian farewell Monday night
On the same night that the River Dell Board of Education watched two members resign, the district also had to say farewell to retiring trustees Vito Acquafredda and Roger Tashjian. Acquafredda will join the River Edge borough council on January 1 2013 while Tashjian opted to not run for reelection this past November. "We have two board members retiring," board president Joseph Manzelli said. "One who is leaving us after a four-year run on the board and has taught me a lot; and another who has been on the board for 10 years and am glad to call my friend." Tashjian, a 1984 alum of River Dell and Marketing Director for 201 Marketing and Media, was elected to the regional board of education in 2008 and during his term fought for a four-year …
Monday, December 10, 2012
With an hour of one another, both Michael Chakansky and Dorothea Durand resigned from the Regional Board of Education
With one year remaining in their three-year terms, River Dell Board of Education members Michael Chakansky and Dorothea Durand, both of Oradell, resigned from their respective posts on Monday evening within an hour of one another. Both trustees were elected in 2010. “I think the River Dell Regional district has been great and I’m happy to have my children attend,” Chakansky said. “I do have a new job and it is taking up more time and would make it more difficult for me to get here. I’m sad to not be able to stay, but on the other hand I will have a bit more flexibility by not being on the board.” Chakansky, a patent attorney spent the last eight years in private practice as an intellectual property law attorney practicing in New York City…
Monday, November 26, 2012
The Bergen County Clerk's Office has released the official Nov. 6 election results
Official election results from the Bergen County Clerk's Office show no change in the outcome of the Nov. 6 local election where voters ousted Council President Paul Cordts for council and voted in a newcomer to the Regional Board of Education. River Edge also approved the Open Space Referendum by a small margin. According to official results Vito Acquafredda remained at the top in River Edge taking in 36 percent of the vote with incumbent Anthony Cappola picking up 32 percent. Cordts followed in with 31 percent. Official results are: Anthony Cappola - Republican - 2,250 Paul Cordts - Republican - 2,229 Vito Acquafredda - Democrat - 2,529 In Oradell, James Koth (2,460) and Donna Alonso (2,309) were reelected to the council in an …
Wednesday, October 17, 2012
The Regional Board of Education voted down hiring an academic coach to tutor students after school along town lines Monday night
With gaps in test scores between River Dell students and their District Factor Group (DFG) counterparts and results from the most recent survey showing that parents would want their students to have mathematics tutoring once a week, the River Dell Board of Education voted along town lines, 5-3, with Paul Barnes (Oradell) crossing the border to decline investigating the creation of an academic coach position. The academic coach position, proposed by Board member Michael Chakansky, would have called for the district to hire a teacher that would be available for high school students for several hours after the school day who needed extra assistance in mathematics. "This was brought out by my personal experience of looking at tutors," …
Wednesday, September 26, 2012
Mindful of the loss of a River Dell student this week, the Board of Education postponed its major presentations and discussions
With the River Dell community still processing the loss of 17-year-old Rafael Acosta, the regional Board of Education opted to postpone several major presentations and discussions until the Oct. 15 meeting. Instead board members quickly approved several agenda items before concluding until next month. As part of the consent agenda, the district approved the resignation of Physics teacher Bryan Shaw and middle school basketball coach Breanne Depken. Former head soccer coach Kevin Sabella was approved as an assistant softball coach for the spring while AJ Letizia will join the Hawks football coaching staff as an assistant. Both Ashley Engel and John Mauthe were appointed as volunteer assistant coaches to the field hockey and soccer teams, …
Tuesday, September 11, 2012
For the 2012-13 school year, Thomas Bonfiglio will serve as the district's Assistant Superintendent/Board Secretary so as to complete his school administrator's certification
Since July 2011, River Dell Board Adminstrator Thomas Bonfiglio has been wearing a second hat of Assistant Superintendent of Business and for the next year, his title will change slightly. During Monday evening's Regional Board of Education, he was appointed as the district's Assistant Superintendent/Board Secretary for the 2012-13 year and after which point he would revert back to a Business Administrator's position only. The one-year change in title and duties is to allow Bonfiglio, who has been the district's Board Administrator since 1996, the opportunity to undergo a one-year mentorship with an out-of-district program to receive his school administrator's certification. But the approval did not come without controversy. "I think …
lucky
1:20 pm on Wednesday, January 9, 2013
yes, let's not forget how the RDEA came out in such support for changes to Mr. Fletcher's contract. He'll be sure to return the favor when the time comes. Who loses in this arrangement - our kids. The more funding that goes to salaries and benefits, the less for our kids. Shame! more ›