Bernards Township School District

The Bernards Township School District is a comprehensive community public school district, serving students in pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade from Bernards Township in Somerset County, New Jersey, United States.[3]

Bernards Township School District
Address
101 Peachtree Road
Basking Ridge, NJ 07920
Coordinates40.691518°N 74.544191°W / 40.691518; -74.544191
District information
GradesPreK to 12
SuperintendentNick Markarian
Business administratorRod McLaughlin
Schools6
Students and staff
Enrollment5,450 (as of 2017-18)[1]
Faculty481.9 FTEs[1]
Student–teacher ratio11.3:1[1]
Other information
District Factor GroupJ
Websitewww.bernardsboe.com
Ind.Per pupilDistrict
spending		Rank
(*)		K-12
average		%± vs.
average
1ATotal Spending$17,35734$18,891−8.1%
1Budgetary Cost13,8973914,783−6.0%
2Classroom Instruction8,331348,763−4.9%
6Support Services2,279502,392−4.7%
8Administrative Cost1,196131,485−19.5%
10Operations & Maintenance1,776651,783−0.4%
13Extracurricular Activities3177726818.3%
16Median Teacher Salary62,3803664,043
Data from NJDoE 2014 Taxpayers' Guide to Education Spending.[2]
*Of K-12 districts with more than 3,500 students. Lowest spending=1; Highest=103

As of the 2017-18 school year, the district and its six schools had an enrollment of 5,450 students and 481.9 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 11.3:1.[1]

The district offers its Integrated Preschool Program for children on the autism spectrum, utilizing the principles of applied behavior analysis.[4]

The district is classified by the New Jersey Department of Education as being in District Factor Group "J", the highest of eight groupings. District Factor Groups organize districts statewide to allow comparison by common socioeconomic characteristics of the local districts. From lowest socioeconomic status to highest, the categories are A, B, CD, DE, FG, GH, I and J.[5]

Awards, recognition and rankings

During the 2009-10 school year, Ridge High School was awarded the Blue Ribbon School Award of Excellence by the United States Department of Education, the highest award an American school can receive.[6] The school had also won the award for the 1986-87 school year.[7] Mount Prospect Elementary School was one of 11 in the state to be recognized in 2014 by the United States Department of Education's National Blue Ribbon Schools Program.[8][9] In 2015, Liberty Corner School was one of 15 schools in New Jersey, and one of nine public schools, recognized as a National Blue Ribbon School in the exemplary high performing category by the U.S. Department of Education.[10][11]

Ridge High School was ranked 37th best in America and second best non-magnet high school by Newsweek in 2015[12] and ranked 71st overall in America (and third-highest ranked non-magnet school in New Jersey) by the magazine in 2016.[13]

William Annin Middle School was chosen as a "School To Watch" in 2016, one of three middle schools in the state selected by the Schools To Watch Program.[14]

Schools

Schools in the district (with 2017-18 enrollment data from the National Center for Education Statistics[15]) are:[16][17][18]

Elementary schools
  • Cedar Hill Elementary School[19] (594 students; in grades K-5)
    • Paul Ciempola, Principal
    • Krissy Uhler, Assistant Principal
  • Liberty Corner Elementary School[20] (536; K-5)
    • James Oliver, Principal
    • Jenna Hawkswell, Assistant Principal
  • Mount Prospect Elementary School[21] (594; PreK-5)
    • Joanne Hozeny, Principal
    • Michael Pepitone, Assistant Principal
  • Oak Street Elementary School[22] (489; K-5)
    • Jane Costa, Principal
    • Thomas Thorp, Assistant Principal
Middle school
  • William Annin Middle School[23] (1,341; 6-8). The school is one of the few in the United States to have a seismograph, which is part of the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory Cooperative Seismographic Network.[24][25]
    • Karen Hudock, Principal
    • Dan Lederer, Assistant Principal
    • Thomas Sharples,[26][27][28] Assistant Principal
    • Adam Torrisi, Assistant Principal
High school
  • Ridge High School[29] (1,884; 9-12)
    • Drew Krause, Principal[30]
    • Kathleen Dusebout, Assistant Principal
    • Scott Graber, Assistant Principal
    • Cheryl Howarth, Assistant Principal
    • Scott Thompson, Assistant Principal

Administration

Core members of the district's administration are:[31][32]

  • Nick Markarian, Superintendent
  • Rod McLaughlin, Business Administrator / Board Secretary

The district's board of education has nine members who set policy and oversee 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 three seats up for election each year held (since 2012) as part of the November general election.[33][34]

References
  1. District information for Bernards Township School District, National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed November 1, 2019.
  2. Taxpayers' Guide to Education Spending April 2013, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed April 15, 2013.
  3. Bernards Township Board of Education District Policy 0110 - Identification, Berbards Township School District. Accessed February 6, 2020. "Purpose: The Board of Education exists for the purpose of providing a thorough and efficient system of free public education in grades Pre-Kindergarten through twelve in the Bernards Township School District. Composition The Bernards Township School District is comprised of all the area within the municipal boundaries of Bernards Township."
  4. Preschool, Bernards Township School District. Accessed February 6, 2020.
  5. NJ Department of Education District Factor Groups (DFG) for School Districts, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed December 31, 2014.
  6. 2009 Blue Ribbon Schools: All Public and Private Schools, United States Department of Education. Accessed October 29, 2009.
  7. BLUE RIBBON SCHOOLS PROGRAM Schools Recognized 1982-1983 Through 1999-2002, United States Department of Education. Accessed May 31, 2013.
  8. Goldman, Jeff. "Which N.J. schools were named to national 'Blue Ribbon' list?", NJ Advance Media for NJ.com, October 2, 2014. Accessed December 31, 2014. "Eleven New Jersey schools have been named to the annual National Blue Ribbon list, the U.S. Department of Education announced Tuesday."
  9. 2014 National Blue Ribbon Schools All Public and Private, United States Department of Education. Accessed December 31, 2014.
  10. 2015 National Blue Ribbon Schools All Public and Private, National Blue Ribbon Schools Program. Accessed November 14, 2016.
  11. Mueller, Mark. "Which N.J. schools were named National Blue Ribbon schools?", NJ Advance Media for NJ.com, September 29, 2015. Accessed November 14, 2016. "Fifteen New Jersey schools have been recognized by the federal government as National Blue Ribbon Schools, a designation that celebrates excellence in academics or progress in closing the achievement gap among groups of students.... Each of the 15 New Jersey schools was chosen for the 'exemplary high performing' category, which weighs state or national tests, high school graduation rates and the performance of subgroups of students, such as those who are economically disadvantaged."
  12. Staff. "America's Top High Schools 2015", Newsweek. Accessed November 9, 2016.
  13. Staff. "America's Top High Schools 2016", Newsweek. Accessed November 9, 2016.
  14. Tarrazi, Alexis. " William Annin Named NJ School to WatchOnly two other schools in New Jersey share this recognition.", Basking Ridge Patch, March 18, 2016. Accessed November 9, 2016. "Only 200 schools nationwide share this recognition. WAMS is among only two other schools in New Jersey with this award including: Carl H. Kumpf Middle School in Clark and Leonia Middle School in Leonia."
  15. School Data for the Bernards Township School District, National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed November 1, 2019.
  16. Schools, Bernards Township School District. Accessed February 6, 2020.
  17. 2018-2019 Somerset County Public School Directory, Somerset County, New Jersey. Accessed February 6, 2020.
  18. New Jersey School Directory for the Bernards Township School District, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed December 29, 2016.
  19. Cedar Hill Elementary School, Bernards Township School District. Accessed February 6, 2020.
  20. Liberty Corner Elementary School, Bernards Township School District. Accessed February 6, 2020.
  21. Mount Prospect Elementary School, Bernards Township School District. Accessed February 6, 2020.
  22. Oak Street Elementary School, Bernards Township School District. Accessed February 6, 2020.
  23. William Annin Middle School, Bernards Township School District. Accessed February 6, 2020.
  24. About LCSN, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory Cooperative Seismographic Network. Accessed December 31, 2014.
  25. Hayes, Edward. "School in Bernards tracks earthquakes", Courier News, January 21, 2001. Accessed December 31, 2014. "There are several colleges and universities that maintain seismology equipment for studying, tracking and monitoring earthquakes. And along with them is William Annin Middle School, which maintains its own seismograph for Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory at Columbia University in New York."
  26. Robbins, Gene. Bernards School Board Appoints Thomas Sharples Assistant Principal at Wm. Annin School August 30, 2019. Accessed September 18, 2019.
  27. Long-Term Facilities Plan Update Due at Monday's School Board Meeting Basking Ridge TapInto. August 22, 2019. Accessed August 23, 2019. "The agenda also calls upon the board to approve a number of appointments and resignations, including approval of Thomas Sharples as assistant principal at the William Annin Middle School for the coming school year."
  28. Robbins, Gene. Administrator Donlevie Among Four to Resign in Bernards School District Basking Ridge TapInto. Accessed August 3, 2019.
  29. Ridge High School, Bernards Township School District. Accessed February 6, 2020.
  30. Administration, Bernards High School. Accessed February 6, 2020.
  31. Administration, Bernards Township School District. Accessed February 6, 2020.
  32. New Jersey School Directory for Somerset County, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed December 29, 2016.
  33. New Jersey Boards of Education by District Election Types - 2018 School Election, New Jersey Department of Education, updated February 16, 2018. Accessed January 26, 2020.
  34. Board of Education, Bernards Township School District. Accessed February 6, 2020.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.