Paramus Public Schools

The Paramus Public Schools are a comprehensive community public school district that serves students in kindergarten through twelfth grade from Paramus, in Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.

Paramus Public Schools
Address
145 Spring Valley Road Paramus , Bergen County, New Jersey, 07652 United States
Coordinates	40.927595°N 74.057984°W / 40.927595; -74.057984
District information
Grades	PreK-12
Superintendent	Sean Adams
Business administrator	Steven J. Cea (Interim)
Schools	8
Students and staff
Enrollment	3,760 (as of 2019–20)[1]
Faculty	332.7 FTEs[1]
Student–teacher ratio	11.3:1[1]
Other information
District Factor Group	GH
Website	District website
Ind. Per pupil District spending Rank (*) K-12 average  %± vs. average 1A Total Spending $20,521 80 $18,891 8.6% 1 Budgetary Cost 16,877 87 14,783 14.2% 2 Classroom Instruction 9,285 75 8,763 6.0% 6 Support Services 2,447 64 2,392 2.3% 8 Administrative Cost 1,906 103 1,485 28.4% 10 Operations & Maintenance 2,754 98 1,783 54.5% 13 Extracurricular Activities 364 94 268 35.8% 16 Median Teacher Salary 63,850 47 64,043 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 2019–20 school year, the district, comprised of eight schools, had an enrollment of 3,760 students and 332.7 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 11.3:1.^[1]

The district is classified by the New Jersey Department of Education as being in District Factor Group "GH", the third-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.^[3]

Awards and recognition

Three of the district's schools have been formally designated as National Blue Ribbon Schools, the highest honor that an American school can achieve:^[4][5] Paramus High School in 1988-89, Parkway Elementary School in 1987-88 and Ridge Ranch Elementary School in 1998-99.^[6][7]

For the 1995-96 school year, Ridge Ranch Elementary School was named as a "Star School" by the New Jersey Department of Education, the highest honor that a New Jersey school can achieve.^[8]

The district was selected as one of the top "100 Best Communities for Music Education in America 2005" by the American Music Conference,^[9] and was selected again for this honor in 2006.^[10]

The NAMM Foundation named the district in its 2008 survey of the "Best Communities for Music Education", which included 110 school districts nationwide.^[11] The district was also named in the foundation's 2009 survey of the "Best Communities for Music Education", which included 124 school districts nationwide.^[12]

Schools

Schools in the district, with 2019–20 enrollment data from the National Center for Education Statistics,^[13] are:^[14][15][16]

Elementary schools

• Memorial Elementary School^[17] (302 students in grades K–4)
  • Laverne O'Boyle, principal^[18]
• Midland Elementary School^[19] (177 students in grades K–4)
  • Cynthia Hulse, principal^[18]
• Parkway Elementary School^[20] (314 students in grades PreK–4)
  • Suzanne Barbi, principal^[18]
• Ridge Ranch Elementary School^[21] (337 students in grades K–4)
  • Jeanine Nostrame, principal^[18]
• Stony Lane Elementary School^[22] (186 students in grades K–4)
  • Thomas Marshall, principal^[18]

Middle schools

• East Brook Middle School^[23] (575 students in grades 5–8)
  • Ryan Aupperlee, principal^[18]
• West Brook Middle School^[24] (577 students in grades 5–8)
  • Deirdre Spollen-LaRaia, principal^[18]

High school

• Paramus High School^[25] (1,253 students in grades 9–12)
  • Raymond J. Kiem, principal^[18]

Controversies and incidents

In late May 2007, The Record reported that Paramus Public School officials had knowingly failed to report the presence of the banned pesticides aldrin, dieldrin and chlordane on the campus of West Brook, a middle school in the system.^[26] Responding to local outrage, the superintendent, Janice Dime, assured in a letter addressed to the public that the chemicals were not hazardous, however, borough mayor, Jim Tedesco, described Dime's statement as being either misinformed or deliberately misleading.^[27] Because of public pressure, on June 6, 2007, the district's board of education placed Janice Dime on an extended leave^[28] and shut down West Brook Middle School for decontamination and testing. On June 13, test results done by a borough-contracted firm revealed that two of the 30 tested areas on campus had levels of chlordane that exceeded state safety standards.^[29] Since the incident more soil tests have been conducted around the area and in other parts of Paramus, with some yielding positive for excessive presence of pesticide.^[30] West Brook was decontaminated and reopened to students, while Janice Dime resigned from her position as superintendent.

In May 2018, a 51-year-old teacher, Jennifer Williamson, and a ten-year-old student at East Brook Middle School, Miranda Faith Vargas, were killed and dozens of students were injured when their school bus slammed into a dump truck on Interstate 80 while travelling on a field trip to Waterloo Village.^[31] The 77-year-old driver, who had had his driver's license suspended 14 times before the accident, was charged with vehicular homicide, which could lead to a sentence of ten years in jail upon conviction.^[32] Days after the crash, Cong. Josh Gottheimer pushed for a federal law requiring school buses to have seat belts to prevent deaths in similar types of crashes.^[33]

Administration

Core members of the district's administration are:^[18][34]

• Sean Adams, superintendent
• Brooke Bartley, business administrator and board secretary

Board of education

The district's board of education, comprised of nine members, 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 three seats up for election each year held (since 2012) 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.^[35][36][37]

References

1. District information for Paramus Public School District, National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed April 1, 2020.
2. Taxpayers' Guide to Education Spending April 2013, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed April 15, 2013.
3. NJ Department of Education District Factor Groups (DFG) for School Districts, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed October 24, 2014.
4. "CIBA cited as one of the best by Education Department", Journal Inquirer, November 16, 2006. "The Blue Ribbon award is given only to schools that reach the top 10 percent of their state's testing scores over several years or show significant gains in student achievement. It is considered the highest honor a school can achieve."
5. "Viers Mill School Wins Blue Ribbon; School Scored High on Statewide Test" The Washington Post, September 29, 2005. "For their accomplishments, all three schools this month earned the status of Blue Ribbon School, the highest honor the U.S. Education Department can bestow upon a school."
6. Glovin, David. "Two Bergen Schools Pocket National Awards", The Record, May 22, 1999. Accessed October 24, 2014. "The Cherry Hill School in River Edge and the Ridge Ranch School in Paramus were among the 266 public and private elementary schools that were named 1998-99 Blue Ribbon Schools by the U.S. Education Department."
7. Blue Ribbon Schools Program: Schools Recognized 1982-1983 through 1999-2002 (PDF), United States Department of Education. Accessed May 21, 2020.
8. Star School Award recipient detail, New Jersey Department of Education, Archived December 18, 2006. Accessed November 26, 2009.
9. Best 100 (101!) Communities for Music Education in America, 2005, accessed December 12, 2006.
10. Best 100 Communities for Music Education in America, 2006 Archived 2007-09-28 at the Wayback Machine, accessed December 12, 2006.
11. "NAMM Foundation Names the 'Best Communities for Music Education'", NAMM, April 30, 2008. Accessed November 13, 2009.
12. "Nationwide Survey Finds the 'Best Communities for Music Education' in U.S.", NAMM, April 16, 2009. Accessed November 13, 2009.
13. School Data for the Paramus Public Schools, National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed December 7, 2016.
14. Our Schools, Paramus Public Schools. Accessed May 21, 2020.
15. School Performance Reports for the Paramus Public Schools, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed April 3, 2024.
16. New Jersey School Directory for the Paramus Public Schools, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed February 1, 2024.
17. Memorial Elementary School, Paramus Public Schools. Accessed May 21, 2020.
18. District Administrators, Paramus Public Schools. Accessed February 9, 2021.
19. Midland Elementary School, Paramus Public Schools. Accessed May 21, 2020.
20. Parkway Elementary School, Paramus Public Schools. Accessed May 21, 2020.
21. Ridge Ranch Elementary School, Paramus Public Schools. Accessed May 21, 2020.
22. Stony Lane Elementary School, Paramus Public Schools. Accessed May 21, 2020.
23. Eastbrook Middle School, Paramus Public Schools. Accessed May 21, 2020.
24. Westbrook Middle School, Paramus Public Schools. Accessed May 21, 2020.
25. Paramus High School, Paramus Public Schools. Accessed May 21, 2020.
26. Gartland, Michael. "Pesticides in soil can cause illness", The Record, May 25, 2007. Accessed July 23, 2015.
27. Opinion. "A contaminated situation", The Record, June 7, 2007. Accessed July 23, 2015.
28. Gartland, Michael. "Paramus school chief put on leave -- Blamed by many for hiding tainted soil", The Record, June 7, 2007. Accessed July 23, 2015. "The Paramus school board announced Wednesday that it put district Superintendent Janice Dime on 'extended leave pending further notice.'"
29. Gartland, Michael. "Pesticide confirmed at school", The Record, June 16, 2007. Accessed July 23, 2015.
30. Fabrikant, Mel. "An open letter to Paramus residents from Mayor James Tedesco", The Paramus Post, January 15, 2008. Accessed July 23, 2015.
31. Heyboer, Kelly. "Driver in fatal N.J. school bus crash had 8 speeding tickets, multiple suspensions. Here's the list.", NJ Advance Media for NJ.com, May 22, 2018. Accessed May 30, 2018. "Hudy Muldrow Sr., 77, had a valid commercial drivers license and school bus endorsement when his bus crashed while taking Paramus students on a trip to Waterloo Village on Thursday, said Mairin Bellack, a spokeswoman for the state Motor Vehicle Commission. A student and a teacher were killed in the violent crash with a dump truck on I-80 in Mount Olive. Dozens of others were hurt, including Muldrow, who was hospitalized, his family said."
32. Wright, Peggy; and Jongsma, Joshua. "Paramus bus driver charged with causing deaths of child, teacher in Mount Olive crash", Daily Record, May 24, 2018. Accessed May 30, 2018. "The 77-year-old school bus driver who crashed last week after he allegedly crossed three lanes of traffic on Route 80 in Mount Olive with 44 passengers on board was charged Thursday with recklessly causing the deaths of a child and a teacher, according to criminal complaints. Hudy Muldrow Sr. of Woodland Park was charged with two counts of death-by-auto, also known as vehicular homicide, for allegedly driving recklessly and causing the deaths of bus passengers Miranda Vargas, 10, and Jennifer Williamson-Kennedy, 51, a Paramus social studies teacher."
33. Vruz, david. "Gottheimer bill calls for seat belts on school buses, mum on background checks", NJTV, May 29, 2018. Accessed May 30, 3018. "Gottheimer said it was time for the federal government to join New Jersey in requiring all school buses to have seat belts, preferably the three-point shoulder restraints. 'I couldn’t believe that only eight states, only eight, require any type of seat belts,' he noted."
34. New Jersey School Directory for Bergen County, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed February 1, 2024.
35. 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.
36. Annual Comprehensive Financial Report of the Paramus School District, New Jersey Department of Education, for year ending June 30, 2023. Accessed May 4, 2024. "The Paramus Board of Education (the 'Board' or the 'District') is an instrumentality of the State of New Jersey, established to function as an education institution. The Board consists of nine elected officials and is responsible for the fiscal control of the District. A Superintendent of Schools is appointed by the Board and is responsible for the administrative control of the District. A School Business Administrator/Board Secretary is also appointed by the Board and oversees the business functions of the District." See "Roster of Officials" on page 14.
37. Our Board of Education, Paramus Public Schools. Accessed May 21, 2020. "The Paramus Board of Education is comprised of elected individuals who freely dedicate their time and energy to serving our school community."

Further reading

• Wassel, Brian. "Grants to provide Paramus teachers with enhanced training". The Record, June 27, 2013.

External links

• Paramus Public Schools
• School Performance Reports for the Paramus Public Schools, New Jersey Department of Education
• Paramus Public Schools, National Center for Education Statistics