Teaneck Blog

Casting a wary eye on Teaneck politics and municipal affairs

Friday, February 16, 2007

Saying the right things

An interview in today's Record with Teaneck High School's new principal, Angela R. Davis, brings some reassurance that the school is in good hands. This is no run-of-the-mill, business-as-usual, I'm-so-happy-to-be-here interview. Instead, Davis reveals a bold objective: to mold THS into one of Bergen County's "most prestigious academic institutions." Given some of the excellent competition in our area, this is ambitious, perhaps too ambitious for the three to five year time frame she has set. Nonetheless, it is a worthy goal, and stating publicly that this is a high priority should do a lot to raise the stock of Teaneck High School.

Why? Hasn't Davis just stated the obvious? Don't all schools strive for academic excellence? The answer is no. Some schools, especially those beset by the perception that a significant portion of the student body is struggling, set their sights lower. In fact, some posters on this site have suggested that the Teaneck schools ought to narrow their focus to basic skills and leave higher academic achievement to other school districts.

Davis appears to be saying that her tenure will not be about catering to the lowest common denominator, but about pulling everyone up by "role-modeling" and promoting "high expectations." Instead of letting the problems endemic to a subset of the school population dictate the agenda for everyone, Davis will continue to improve course offerings with the introduction of additional foreign language classes and a business program, while attacking one of the root causes for underachievement by making students see "that it's OK to be on the honor roll, it's OK get into college early."


This is the kind of positive thinking that could help restore the image of Teaneck High School, once one of New Jersey's most highly regarded secondary schools, in the eyes of the community and the rest of the state. Here's to Principal Davis translating her well-chosen words into deeds.

20 Comments:

At 3:06 PM, Blogger Karin said...

So how much is this new endeavor going to cost the Teaneck taxpayers?

GOOD LUCK...SHE IS GOING TO NEED IT :)

 
At 3:13 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

The interview was quite frank and it is certainly good that Ms. Davis' priorities are correct. However, the situation she is trying to ameliorate looks bad from what she said. "We have to improve the communications, from the administration to the staff, between departments and within departments." That is a revealing and chilling statement about how the high school has been functioning till now. "It would be helpful for the middle school teachers to see what textbooks we're using, what we expect the middle school child to know upon arrival to the high school." What are the system-wide administrators doing if that is the case? The Board of Education members should be asking a lot of pointed questions of the superintendent as a follow-up. "They also need to see that it's ok to be on the honor roll, it's ok to get into college early." How can the kids have gotten to such a place in their lives in 2007 that they don't have the natural ambition God made them with? Who drove it out of them?

 
At 4:17 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

How can the kids have gotten to such a place in their lives in 2007 that they don't have the natural ambition God made them with? Who drove it out of them?

Why those rotten schools, of course! Who else could it possibly be????

 
At 4:19 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

What goes on in the lower grades?

 
At 5:06 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Anonymous said...
What goes on in the lower grades?

You know, the usual stuff - teachers with pierced tongues, nipple rings and mohawks, special classes on how to dress provocatively and disrespect adults, cock fights in the cafeteria, reading is strictly prohibited and math is discouraged except for those pursuing a career as a drug dealer or pimp.

 
At 5:55 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Well that was edifying and constructive.

 
At 8:06 PM, Blogger Karin said...

the new leader of THS has her work cut out for her...but I can tell you that no matter what this taxpayer will not be voting YEAH on any school budget in the newar future!

 
At 9:26 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

For all those who think the schools should be working harder to raise academic standards -- if you think voting down the budget will accomplish that, you have another thing coming. And if you think that it's the schools that are allowing our kids to think it's OK to not go to college or not be on the honor roll, you are crazy. Motivation starts in the home and must be constantly reinforced. Finally, anyone who has been following the intensive meetings the Board of Ed has been having on the ACT initiative know that many of these questions have been asked and changes are already underway, esp. at the middle schools.

 
At 9:01 AM, Blogger Karin said...

I think we all know that the parents of many T-Neck students have failed their kids...
But to keep pissing money away at a system that is not working is also plain stupid! I for one want to see major improvments before I say ok to another budget...T-Neck gets enough funds right now..work with what you have before you start asking for more!

 
At 9:37 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

let's keep pissing $$$ away on a paid fire dept instead! only 4 towns out of 70 in Bergen County have PAID depts. (Hackensack, Englewood, Ridgewood & Teaneck).

 
At 10:42 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Latin is quite dead. There really is no point in pushing it. Chinese is too difficult for the students not succeeding and who need the most focus of attention. They are teaching subjects when they need to be teaching students.

 
At 7:10 AM, Blogger Karin said...

my eldest son takes Latin..has greatly improved his English Scores and has helped him out in the Sciences...and lets not forget that Latin is the official language of the Church (that is the Catholic Church) :)

 
At 8:44 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Is it true that many of the students come from Paterson and the Bronx using Teaneck addresses that do not belong to them?

 
At 8:49 AM, Blogger Karin said...

Oh yeah...
Teaneck has a LARGE problem wihtout of district kids...always has been an issue but it never has been resolved!

We had friends that had a son that graduated last year from THS...guess what they nor their son live in T-neck or have ever lived here...they got a FREE education..go figure!

 
At 9:09 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Karin-

If you are right, stopping that and perhaps cutting the positions needed to educate those freeloaders, should be a priority of the school board. Shouldn't that be a big issue in the upcoming school election?

 
At 9:46 AM, Blogger Teaneck Blog said...

This is not a huge revelation, nor is it correct to assume that nothing is being done about it. It may not be enough, but the BoE is aware of it and is supposedly addressing the issue.

See here for more background.

 
At 10:25 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

So Karin -

you are part of the problem for not reporting it.

If any resident wants to submit a lead, call (201)833-5500 and ask for Al Shultz -- all leads are confidentaial and anonymous.


quoted from the comments section of the link Teaneck Blog provided

 
At 5:00 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Karin,
Did you ever report the non-resident child? The school calendar always has a phone number listed to report anonymous tips which are then followed up by the truant officer, Al Shulz. Or tips can be given to any principal or teacher or secretary, who will then pass them on. Perhaps the child had legal guardians living in Teaneck -- that happens sometimes.

 
At 7:10 PM, Blogger Karin said...

Nope I was not part of the Problem...
Nice try though folks..as I did not know that this person was not a resident till the day of graduation...(never met him before)...are you telling me that in 4 years of attending THS that NO ONE figured it out??

 
At 12:30 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

"We had friends that had a son that graduated last year from THS...guess what they nor their son live in T-neck or have ever lived here...they got a FREE education..go figure!"

"Nope I was not part of the Problem...
Nice try though folks..as I did not know that this person was not a resident till the day of graduation...(never met him before)...are you telling me that in 4 years of attending THS that NO ONE figured it out??"

Karin-
Most of us know where their friends live. Get your STORIES straight!

 

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