The Ridgewood Public Schools is a comprehensive community

public In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociology, sociological concept of the ''Öf ...

school district A school district is a special-purpose district that operates local public Primary school, primary or Secondary school, secondary schools or both in various countries. It is not to be confused with an attendance zone, which is within a school dis ...

serving students in

pre-kindergarten Pre-kindergarten (also called pre-K or PK) is a voluntary classroom-based preschool program for children below the age of five in the United States, Canada, Turkey and Greece (when kindergarten starts). It may be delivered through a preschool ...

through

twelfth grade Twelfth Grade (also known as Grade 12, Senior Year, Standard 12, 12th Standard, 12th Class, or Class 12th or Class 12) is the twelfth and final Educational stage, year of Formal education, formal or compulsory education. It is typically the final ...

from suburban Ridgewood, in

Bergen County Bergen County is the List of counties in New Jersey, most populous County (United States), county in the U.S. state of New Jersey.U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

. As of the 2020–21 school year, the district, comprised of 10 schools, had an enrollment of 5,613 students and 432.6 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a

student–teacher ratio The student–teacher ratio or student–faculty ratio refers to the number of students who attend a school or university divided by the number of teachers or staff in the institution. For example, a student–teacher ratio of 10:1 indicates that ...

of 13.0:1.District information for Ridgewood Public School District

National Center for Education Statistics The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) is the principal federal agency responsible for collecting, analyzing, and reporting data on education in the United States. Established under , it operates within the Institute of Education S ...

. Accessed February 15, 2022. The district is classified by the

New Jersey Department of Education The New Jersey Department of Education (NJ DOE) administers state and federal aid programs affecting more than 1.4 million public and non-public elementary and secondary school children in the state of New Jersey. The department is headquartered ...

as being in

District Factor Group {{refimprove, date=February 2013 Membership in a District Factor Group (DFG) is an indicator of the socioeconomic status of citizens in school districts of New Jersey. DFGs were first developed by the New Jersey Department of Education in 1975 for ...

"J", the highest of eight groupings. District Factor Groups organize districts statewide to allow comparison by common

socioeconomic Economics () is a behavioral science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interac ...

characteristics of the local districts. From lowest socioeconomic status to highest, the categories are A, B, CD, DE, FG, GH, I and J.

Awards, recognition and rankings

Benjamin Franklin Middle School was awarded the

Blue Ribbon School The National Blue Ribbon Schools Program is a United States Department of Education award program that recognizes exemplary public and non-public schools on a yearly basis. Using standards of excellence evidenced by student achievement measures, ...

Award of Excellence by the

United States Department of Education The United States Department of Education is a cabinet-level department of the United States government, originating in 1980. The department began operating on May 4, 1980, having been created after the Department of Health, Education, and ...

, the highest award an American school can receive, during the 1998-99 school year. For the 1993-94 school year, George Washington Middle School was named a "Star School" by the

, the highest honor that a New Jersey school can achieve. For the 1995-96 school year, Benjamin Franklin Middle School was named a "Star School". The district's high school was the 28th-ranked public high school in New Jersey out of 339 schools statewide in ''

New Jersey Monthly ''New Jersey Monthly'' is an American monthly magazine featuring issues of possible interest to residents of New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United St ...

'' magazine's September 2014 cover story on the state's "Top Public High Schools", using a new ranking methodology. The school had been ranked 28th in the state of 328 schools in 2012, after being ranked 20th in 2010 out of 322 schools listed.

Schools

Schools in the district (with 2020–21 enrollment data from the

) are: ;Pre-school *Glen School with 60 students in PreK and Private Day Care Center ;Elementary schools *Henrietta Hawes Elementary School with 593 students in grades K-5 **Shauna Stovell, principal *Orchard Elementary School with 299 students in grades K-5 **Mary K. Ferreri, principal *Ridge Elementary School with 443 students in grades K-5 **Jean H. Schoenlank, principal *Irwin B. Somerville Elementary School with 383 students in grades K-5 **Lorna Oates-Santos, principal *Ira W. Travell Elementary School with 377 students in grades K-5 **Brian Ross, principal *Willard Elementary School with 461 students in grades K-5 **Caroline Hoffman, principal ;Middle schools *Benjamin Franklin Middle School with 698 students in grades 6-8 **Anthony Orsini, principal *George Washington Middle School with 666 students in grades 6-8 **Katie Kashmanian, principal ;High school * Ridgewood High School with 1,775 students in grades 9-12 **Jeffrey M. Nyhuis, principal

Athletics

Ridgewood High School's sports teams are nicknamed the Maroons. Ridgewood High School is one of 41 public and private high schools from Bergen,

Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...

and

Passaic Passaic ( or ) is a city in Passaic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the city was the state's 16th-most-populous municipality,Big North Conference.

Administration

Core members of the school district's administration include: *Thomas A. Gorman, superintendent *Scott T. Bisig, business administrator and board secretary

Superintendent search

The Ridgewood Board of Education had been searching for a new superintendent since July 1, 2006, with Paul Arilotta, previously Principal of Travell School, serving as an interim replacement during the year-long search. The Board hired Martin Brooks as superintendent, effective July 1, 2007. However, in mid-June, Brooks declined the invitation for what the board described as personal reasons, though there was community opposition to Brooks' appointment that was said to have made him "feel unwelcome". This has led to the beginning of another search, and another year of the district hiring an interim superintendent, until a permanent replacement is hired and assumes the position. ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' reported that this is the result of a dispute over the district's

reform math Reform refers to the improvement or amendment of what is wrong, corrupt, unsatisfactory, etc. The modern usage of the word emerged in the late 18th century and is believed to have originated from Christopher Wyvill's Association movement, which i ...

program. Daniel Fishbein, a Ridgewood parent and previous superintendent of the

Glen Ridge Public Schools The Glen Ridge Public Schools is a comprehensive Public school (government funded), public school district serving students in kindergarten through twelfth grade in Glen Ridge, New Jersey, Glen Ridge, in Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County ...

, served as superintendent from 2008 to 2020. In December 2020, Thomas Gorman, then principal of Ridgewood High school stepped in as interim superintendent. In March 2021, he was formally appointed to the position of superintendent of schools.

Board of education

The district's

board of education A board of education, school committee or school board is the board of directors or board of trustees of a school, local school district or an equivalent institution. The elected council determines the educational policy in a small regional area, ...

, is comprised of five elected trustees, currently President Michael Lembo, Vice President HyunJu Kwak, Sheila Brogan, Saurabh Dani, and Cristopher Kaufman. The board sets policy and oversees the fiscal and educational operation of the district through its administration. As a Type II school district, the board's trustees are elected directly by voters to serve three-year terms of office on a staggered basis, with either one or two seats up for election each year held (since 2021) as part of the November general election. The board appoints a superintendent to oversee the district's day-to-day operations and a business administrator to supervise the business functions of the district. In a November 2020 referendum, voters supported by a nearly 3-2 margin an initiative that moved both Ridgewood's school elections (from April) and municipal elections (from May) to November .

Global learning

Ridgewood Public Schools participated in the "Rural School Project". The goal of the project is to build a school for children in Cambodia to overcome the challenges their people have faced from the genocide at the hands of the Khmer Rouge, the communist political party, in the 1970s. George Washington Middle School, Benjamin Franklin Middle School, Orchard Elementary School, and Travell Elementary School participated in the student-centered fundraising effort. Ridgewood focused on having students tap into their strengths and talents to make a difference on a global level. Ridgewood Public Schools began the fundraising effort in the summer of 2007, in collaboration with parents, to participate in the Rural School Project. The Rural School Project is funded through a nonprofit organization, The American Assistance for Cambodia/Japan Relief for Cambodia (AAfC). The project was initiated by two Ridgewood parents, Lisa Summers and Liz Louizedes. Students, parents, teachers, and administrators convened regularly to provide support for students and articulating the effort across the entire district. The goal of the program was to initially raise $21,500 for the school construction. Nominal fundraising efforts would take place after the school's inception to sustain its progress. Ridgewood Schools is raising funds in collaboration with American Assistance for Cambodia/Japan Relief for Cambodia (AAfC). AAfC is a nonprofit organization and has established a proven program. It has led the effort to construct over 300 Cambodian schools with matching funds from the World Bank and Asian Development Bank. The Ridgewood Village School will create a structure for Ridgewood students to communicate with Cambodian students via email and participate in global citizenship and distance learning. Ongoing fundraising efforts will allow the Ridgewood Village School to build a water well, create a vegetable garden, and hire a full-time cook for the school to provide a nutritious breakfast and lunch for Cambodian students. The fundraising supported the construction cost of a rural school (includes the building, desks, chairs), a full-time trained English/computer teacher for 2 years, 3 solar panels to provide basic electric for lighting and computers, and books. In February 2009, several representatives from Ridgewood, including students, parents, teachers, and administrators, visited the Ridgewood Village School in Cambodia for the ribbon-cutting ceremony. The representatives brought gifts for students and contributed to the improvement of the village.

References

External links

* *
School Data for the Ridgewood Public Schools

Village of Ridgewood Math -- concerned parent group
{{Authority control Ridgewood, New Jersey New Jersey District Factor Group J School districts in Bergen County, New Jersey