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Ragamuffin Parade, Hoboken NJ 2017 Much of the research and support for Dual Language Learning   was known when I first proposed a dual language program for the Hoboken School District in 2009. Unfortunately, many Hoboken Board of Education members felt they knew what was best for the district and so a majority of the Board of Education voted against allowing a dual language program into the Hoboken Public Schools ( Hoboken Reporter Coverage ). There was financial resources for the program, there was support from the State, there was adequate classroom space in the district (we had over 8 classrooms immediately available), there was solid research on the effectiveness of dual language education in the early grades, and there was more than adequate interest from parents in the city for a dual language program (a poll was conducted with very positive results and was reported to the Board).  At the time, members of the "Kids First" political group and its Hoboken Board of Educ

Hoboken Catholic School- Hoboken, NJ  In late September of 2017, the U.S. Department of Education named Hoboken Catholic Academy to its annual list of high-achieving schools, which is based on "a school's overall academic performance or progress in closing achievement gaps among student subgroups." Here are some features of the school, according to  Hoboken Catholic Academy : "Hoboken Catholic Academy, a Newark Archdiocesan Pre-K to grade eight school, in Hoboken, NJ, serves children from five Catholic parishes in Hoboken and Weehawken as well as children of other faiths. HCA boasts strong academic, extra-curricular and athletic programs with an emphasis on faith formation and service to others. HCA has a supportive parent association that is an integral part of the school. Its graduates excel in high school, earning hundreds of thousands of dollars in Catholic high school scholarships annually." Hoboken Catholic Academy, a Newark Archdiocesan Pre-K to grade eig

Snow storm aftermath- Hoboken, NJ March, 2017  A re the Hoboken Public Schools experiencing "white flight"? Is the percentage of poor students in the Hoboken School District really 80%? Is the socio-economic demographics of the Hoboken School District the main reason for low test scores? These are all very good questions and thankfully there is independent, NJ Department of Education data that can help us parse the rhetoric from the facts. We will look at 2 specific measures in this post. The percentage of students identified as white and the percentage of students identified as free or reduced lunch over an 18 year period so we can not only see year to year variation but also longer term trends .   We will then explore whether these socio-economic factors explain aspects of district achievement.  First, the percentage of white students in the Hoboken Public Schools have INCREASED from 15% in 1999-2000 to 33.2 % in 2015-16 (Figure 1). That is a large increase.  Figure 1: Per