How long is left on MArcia Lyles contract with the district? Anyone know? I am sure we can expect her to continue her musical chairs game from district to district.

I wonder if we will get the brown-nosing lap dog Ellen Ruane who has been drooling over the spot in her place as acting super.

The good news is I wouldn't be surprised if Fulop actually learned his lesson on the Broad Academy types.

During the last couple weeks of school I saw Marcia Lyles in one of her rare interactions with students. She does not seem comfortable interacting with children at all. It was a very enlightening experience.

Report today had Chris Christie responding to "town hall" question about reports that science and social studies are simply tossed aside in the name of test prep. Christie's laughable response was that such claims were an "exaggeration." Trust me, not one shred of that is an exaggeration. It comes from Lyles right down to the principals and out to the teachers.

I have also heard of multiple principals telling teachers and parents that students are not allowed to opt out of the tests. That isn't true at all.

The tests are God. An angry, vengeful God.

Apparently, contrary to what Dolomitti said this is an effective forum as they have turned off every student accessible water fountain in our school in the past week. Kids are wandering around dehydrated (one passed out) because of course the year supply of water has run out.

As the year winds down a consensus among my peers is that it was a particularly violent spring. It seems teachers are way to busy trying to make up data points that pretend to show student growth and they are leaving the discipline to security with disastrous results.

Marcia Lyles thinks Charter Schools are the way to go to improve education here in Jersey City.

How could she not when M.E.T.S. Charter School is doing so great!

First of all . . . the place has almost daily fights which has evolved into a firearm threat of shooting up the school.

http://www.nj.com/hudson/index.ssf/20 ... _city_charter_school.html

And . . . they are allowing outsiders to have students precious personal data (you may recall I brought this to the boards attention last fall with SOurce4Teachers who have since been fired in a huge waste of tax payer treasure)

http://www.nj.com/hudson/index.ssf/20 ... html#incart_river_default

But yeah Marcia Lyles is doing a great job fixing this school system up. I can see why Fulop buddied up with Republicans in Secret meetings to get her in.

Education is perfectly running along. Our ghettos R training the next fear troops. Let the world fear our soldiers who listen to the music what makes them violent who train in the bloofy institutions of learning survive! In the great war coming they kill the civilians not with the rifle but their old weapons of youth the boxcutter the machette. They give chance to unarmed civilian and good sport. The darl forces gather they have our childs now. They have the army in our school house already no? I see them wearing the uniforms of those who kell for the masters. Thank yo for taking childs teach them wel to viktorius! Our techno, our seels, our ghetto solder, we can't loose!

Chemical weapons attacks, machetes, poison in the water, security dropping like flies and a teaching staff feeling less and less like protecting students safety is an important part of the job.

nothing to see here

dtjcview wrote:
http://www.nj.com/hudson/index.ssf/20 ... l_spray.html#incart_river



Let's see what kind of punishment is meted out to the criminals who hosed the school with pepper spray/Mace, and how the parents will be accountable for their action.

I am surprised I am agreeing with Monroe here but I am wondering how often you put yourself in danger of personal physical harm for the benefit of other peoples' children.

But of course you are also illustrating my point that there is nothing substantial in place to protect the children in the schools.

Marcia Lyles cares more about politics than the safety and well being of children.

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And I'll bet you'd be the first to shout 'brutality' if they'd used more force to subdue the little animals.

The two injured security guards sound like Laurel and Hardy.
They see a fight between 8 yeard olds, one security guard twists his ankle running over there, the other trips and hurts his knee.

God forbid these clowns had to deal with something serious like a forced entry to the school.

Robin.

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Let's see what kind of punishment is meted out to the criminals who hosed the school with pepper spray/Mace, and how the parents will be accountable for their action.

teachparentlove - Has EPA been involved? If not, it seems appropriate to call. THis water is also probably be used to preare and cook food. This is outrageous.

First of all: the fact that you can be so glib about my political efficacy when all I am trying to do is increase student safety makes me feel sorry for you. As an obvious Fulop insider I must ask you.... How much money must I donate and to what campaigns to achieve my goal of making children's safety a priority? We both know that the methods you described aren't as effective as that, most effective method of achieving political action. In fact those methods are what you tell suckers to make them go away.

As you are gloating about this PS34 is a bloodbath. Two guards were hospitalized and this isn't even a high school!

Regarding the lead in the Public School Drinking Water:

From asking around I have been able to surmise with some certainty that the problem of lead in the public school water fountains was more covered up than ever taken care of. You admit that you barely know what happened. I'll tell you what I am being told by multiple sources I consider knowledgeable:

Over the years the water sources have been tested. Different fountains have tested positive different years and no one seems to know why. The same water fountain tests positive or negative different times they test it. They do a trick to make the fountains test negative if they test positive before putting a sign up. They turn a screw and let if run overnight and then test it the next day. This will usually bring the level down enough to pass it. Often times they put a sign up but don't turn it off. Kids don't know why they are told not to drink because the signs aren't descriptive and do anyway. Signs get ripped down and aren't replaced. The water coolers are rarely replaced so thirsty kids who need a drink do so from the fountain or the faucets. Faucets are not turned off when they test positive because it is assumed they are not for drinking like the fountains. Of course, thirsty kids drink from the faucets all the time.

There is a systematic problem. Our kids are being poisoned in a way that damages their brains in the very buildings they are going to so they can fill those brains with knowledge. You, Dolomitti are totally OK with it even though you admit you don't have all the fact. That is what politics and education does.


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Keep posting, raising the awareness, and documenting the fact that the admin's only agenda seems to be to keep the problem hidden. It will take only one major incident to highlight the admin's inaction and sweep them out. We can only pray that incident won't be on the same scale as other recent school atrocities.

The problematic water fountains were shut off immediately after the report. Unless some idiot turned on a contaminated faucet, none of the students are drinking contaminated water.

In fact, it seems like many of them were shut off for years, since Ms Lyles' predecessor knew about the issue, and didn't fix it.

It's not clear how much remediation has taken place, but at least some of the fountains were taken care of in a few weeks after the report. Keep in mind that sometimes it can be a relatively easy process (e.g. replacing a fixture), other times it can be difficult and expensive (replacing pipes in the wall).


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Didn't I tell you that posting to JCList would be politically ineffective?

EPA REgion 2 covers Jersey City

phone: (212) 637-5000

Main Regional Office
290 Broadway
New York, NY 10007-1866

Edison,NJ Environmental Center
2890 Woodbridge Ave.
Edison, NJ 08837-3679

The warm weather is here and with it comes a strong uptick in violence amongst young people as the kids come out of their houses and onto the street where friction causes flames and the students love to "settle the beef" in school because they know the fight will be broken up before they can be beat to death. I broke up another fight today. Particularly violent as girl fights can be. I had to pick up a braid with a little chunk of blood and skin on the end.

Still 0-zilch-nada leadership from our Superintendent or Claremont Avenue on how we can decrease violence in our schools.

Another issue which I am calling out in this public forum which I would like to see "reformed" by our Mayor and Superintendent Marcia Lyles is the poison in our buildings and the water we give our students to drink.

Thread on Lead poisoning our students

This is not a new problem but Marcia Lyles has continued ignore the lead in our water and proven carcinogens (such as asbestos) in our buildings. These poisons are well documented and each building has a book in the main office that outlines them. Lyles has continued to ignore these issues and sweep them under the carpet. The watercoolers in schools haven't had water bottles in them for months and the signs on the water fountains are gone (even though the custodian in my building says nothing has been changed). I put up a sign of my own and it was ripped down. I try to keep the kids from drinking the lead tainted water but can only spread the word to my own classes and try to keep them from drinking from the water fountain right outside my classroom (which had the sign but has since been lost).

I will also be calling the EPA this afternoon.

fat-ass-bike thanks for your idea. I just use my iphone though . . . really helps the parents see how Johnny behaves (and I do). I am going to join the leadership institute and use the voice memo feature to record what they are teaching us though...

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Its getting to the stage that teachers will have to have either CCTV with audio in classrooms or wear personal dvr's to record all interactions with students (as some police do)

http://www.ebay.com/itm/New-Mini-DV-H ... meras&hash=item27de255376

At $70 each - delivered, its a cheap investment to protect their integrity and career, but also it provides evidence of 'special' kids behaving badly or with criminal intent!

If I was an 8 year old and got into a fight that injured a school guard, or called a teacher a 'dumb f**k' or a 'c**t' the principal would be the least of my worries.

But I guess these parent(s) are different.

http://www.nj.com/hudson/index.ssf/20 ... html#incart_river_default

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Wonder if you can put in a OPRA request to find schools policy on recording weapons offenses, and how that complies with OCR/CRDC data collection policy/mandates?

http://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/data.html?src=rt

Contact the United Nations and get some Peace Keepers into the schools to develop a safe schools program ... it appears the State, City and Police are going to be reactive on safety or have limited the 'safety budget for schools.

Lobby, Lobby, Lobby via parents, relatives, friends, teachers, and even students if the school environment has serious issues ... which it undoubtedly has via your experience and the news reports that come up

Thanks for the links Fat-ass-bike. I do appreciate your support of my mission for student safety.

However, it also reveals one of my biggest frustrations in my quest for student safety. After Newton the nation reacted swiftly and schools implemented tons of safety measures to protect against mass shootings. However, we have a slow motion massacre happening in our schools. The box cutters, machetes, kitchen knives, and even pistols are in our schools and used everyday. This we sweep under the rug. Where is the outrage for our children?

Also, regarding the efficacy of my methods (for the Fulop sponsored DOlomiti) On Monday I took a knife off a student. When I followed up with security to try and give my written statement they shrugged me off. I kept pressing them and they told me that they are getting pressure not to put in paper work on weapons from central office. They said it just came down the chain last week. SO I guess my work here is having an effect but the sadly predictable one at that. We should have some nice comforting data for you soon DOlomiti .... It will be BS but who cares if it is politically expedient right? Just kids safety after all.

Charles Epps used to come around to schools, speak to teachers, set expectations, etc. Say what you will about his time in office but at least he wasn't hiding in the office on the top floor of 347 Claremont Ave.

Older schools are being outfitted with camera systems right now. Is this Lyles' version of safety? How about rolling up her sleeves and working with the community instead of making our schools look and work more like prisons?

If the NJ state legislature passes that bill to put a moratorium on high stakes testing, this lady won't know what to do with herself.

Today in Jersey City Public Schools students? education was interrupted for the 7th time to take tests whose only purpose is to help standardized test companies make better tests. Unfortunately testing season comes at the most crucial time of the student/teacher education process when capstone projects are being worked on and a year?s worth of skills are being demonstrated and solidified. This question was not on any of the tests but is equally ridiculous.

76. Which is least likely to happen:

A)Marcia Lyles will spend more than five years running Jersey City Public Schools before taking a job earned through political connections at Amplify with old buddies Christopher Cerf and Joel Klein

B)Marcia Lyles will embrace the platitude ?safety first? and make student safety her first priority as Superintendent

C)Through degradation of the workforce, absurd new paper trails that are implemented poorly, and paying teachers less
Jersey City?s schools improve drastically, and you are suddenly able to sell your condo for more than you paid for it

D)None of the above. None of these will ever happen.

This thread was created to voice concern about student safety in JCPS. It is no secret that our students have to deal with all kinds of crime and violence within our schools. Muggings, getting ?jumped?, fights, large scale ?gang? or ?group? fights, and weapons (with the machete being a particularly popular one for students in the heights). The stakes are very high for our students, one wrong look can land you in the hospital. As a concerned teacher serving the students in this community for nearly 20 years I want Marcia Lyles to place reducing these types of violent incidents at the top of her priorities. We can?t do anything for our students if we can?t keep them safe. Please reply to this thread if you think this should be a top priority. Read on if you want to know what is REALLY going on in JERSEY CITY PUBLIC SCHOOLS.

Dolomitti,

I am really amazed that you would be arguing that violence in schools for our students in Jersey City SHOULD NOT BE a top priority. Although violence against children has almost as many deniers as the holocaust this is a new low. I know that you understand the true uselessness of ?stats? and ?data? and are just using them as a tool of obfuscation in a politically proficient way. Having an up close view of where-the-rubber-hits the road concerning paperwork getting done I assure the readers there are a million things that change the ?reporting? either way. MAYBE if we got a top tier research University in here we could get a hazy picture at best but I think in the interest of time and the children we should all just go with our guts here and say STUDENT SAFETY SHOULD BE A TOP PRIORITY.

As for your critique of my methods: I think this public, permanent, high SEO clout forum is the perfect use of my limited time to achieve my objective of making student safety a top priority in the ?reform? of Jersey City Public Schools. I actually used this site back at the beginning of the year to draw attention to the ineffective and problematic Source 4 Teachers corporation the district decided it was good to spend 10 + MILLION dollar to to staff the substitute pool. Not only did the process not work most of the time it also raised serious privacy concerns for students and teachers. This contract has been terminated for the district. I think this speaks to both my ability to identify real problems with the system as well as this forum as a tool and a method of addressing those concerns. I believe knowing that your grandchildren and every future employer could find evidence of a mistake within the first few returns on a google search is more effective than your dated myths on how to effect political change at a local level.

You can check the thread for evidence:
Thread about Source4Teachers concern

As for causation: Granted I can?t ?prove? Marcia Lyles is responsible for a growing trend in student violence. I can prove that improving student safety in a real and meaningful way has not been anywhere near the top of Marcia Lyle?s priority list. We have had a slew of new initiatives and none of them to help students and teachers enjoy less violence and crime while attending school. We have had a TON of new initiatives though . . . we now have to have ridiculously detailed lesson plans and we create SGO (student growth objectives) to show your precious ?data? of student learning. Of course teachers research and collect this ?data? individually so we can easily manipulate it for our purposes. All of these initiatives are absurdly time consuming and ridiculous so teachers and administrators have no time for other things such as conflict mediation. Keeping your classroom open during lunch for students used to be common place now it is almost unheard of. Most of the extracurricular things that really made school important and relevant in students lives are gone now. I don?t know what kind of plan it is for a community to unleash a dominatrix like superintendent trained by the best in bureaucratic torture techniques by the ?shrouded in secrecy? Broad Academy. I have been teaching here coming up on two decades and this is the most messed up I have seen the schools. Treating the people you trust to care for your children like the enemy is going to have karmic consequences for the community.

The most talented teachers have options and are leaving in droves. The teachers who don?t care still don?t care and are not being fired. The new blood coming in isn?t being properly mentored. Personally, I have skills and options. My lease is up this summer and my own children and I will be relocating to a place where I can get more space and great schools for the same rent. Most of the extra curricular things around school are not happening this Spring so I am spending my energy I would normally spend on school functions on raising awareness about this vital issue for the children. It is my last ?project? for JCPS.

SO thank you DTJCView for your support on this issue. I still am in disbelief that people could be so opposed to make student safety and decreasing violence in schools a top priority. I hope that Marcia Lyles looks out the window of her tax-payer-paid-for chauffeur driven car and sees what is really important for students, she certainly won?t see it in schools because she rarely comes to visit.

On the topic of surveys - perhaps create a grassroots one for free online, circulate it to staff, students and parents, then present the results to Marcia and the BOE. It would be hard for them to ignore the results if the survey is constructed objectively. You might even be able to get the help from the teacher's union to get the survey distributed and publicized.

https://www.surveymonkey.com/mp/online-research/

@Dolomiti - fair points, but also perception plays a factor irrespective of stats. One approach might be to conduct a poll across JC students and teachers, to identify perceived key inhibitors to success, which would include disruptive students, bullying, violent incidents, etc - as well as hot topics such as standardized testing.

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Maybe. I don't have anywhere near enough information to make that claim.

Violent incidents in JC's schools went up after 2006, and have come back down to 2006 levels.

In addition, school violence dropped 20% for New Jersey overall in 2013, and it dropped 30% in JC.

That may or may not be due to any local or education policies. Figuring out the causality for violence is extremely difficult, so I for one will not draw any conclusions.

Nor have I said that "Lyons achieved this!" (In fact, I think that's a bit unlikely.) What I would say is that there MIGHT be a downward trend. We certainly have to look at more than one teacher's anecdotes to find out.

More to the point, it doesn't look like there is a genuine trend of escalating school violence across JC. And if it turns out that a few schools have a short-term problem, it's best to recognize it as such.

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So moving sideways over 6 years is an achievement?