Teaneck Public Schools

The Teaneck Public Schools is comprehensive community public school district serving students in pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade in Teaneck, Bergen County, New Jersey, United States.[3]

Teaneck Public Schools
Address
655 Teaneck Road
Teaneck
, Bergen County, 07666
United States
Coordinates40°53′14″N 74°00′26″W
District information
Gradespre-K to 12
SuperintendentBarbara Pinsak (interim)
Business administratorDora E. Zeno (interim)
Schools7
Students and staff
Enrollment3,720 (as of 2019–20)[1]
Faculty347.3 FTEs[1]
Student–teacher ratio10.7:1[1]
Other information
District Factor GroupGH
Websitewww.teaneckschools.org
Ind.Per pupilDistrict
spending		Rank
(*)		K–12
average		 %± vs.
average
1ATotal Spending$24,01997$18,89127.1%
1Budgetary Cost19,03610114,78328.8%
2Classroom Instruction11,6981018,76333.5%
6Support Services3,224962,39234.8%
8Administrative Cost1,674861,48512.7%
10Operations & Maintenance2,111881,78318.4%
13Extracurricular Activities3278226822.0%
16Median Teacher Salary76,4049364,043
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 seven schools, had an enrollment of 3,720 students and 347.3 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 10.7:1.[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, ostensibly 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.[4] However, because socioeconomic data is derived from the municipality as a whole and a significant proportion of Teaneck's more affluent families send their children to parochial or other private schools, the usefulness of District Factor Grouping in the Teaneck district's case is disputed.

Awards and recognition

The Teaneck Public Schools have been recognized by the New Jersey Department of Education as part of its Best practices program. The district was awarded in the 1997–98 school year for its Passport Portfolio Program,[5] and in the 2000–01 school year for its Early Literacy Initiative.[6]

History

Harvey B. Scribner, who later served as New York City School Chancellor, was hired in 1961 by the Teaneck Public Schools to serve as superintendent of the district. There he oversaw the adoption of mandatory busing in 1965 in which Teaneck voluntarily integrated its public schools.[7] Despite angry phone calls from some parents and the occasional death threat, Teaneck's integration went smoothly and Scribner recalled that he was "literally crying" on the first day of school in 1965 when buses rolled into school without incident.[8] Teaneck's 1965 busing plan was widely reported as the first district in the nation with a white majority to implement a voluntary school integration program.[9][10]

A 1982 teachers strike that lasted for 19 days was settled after a judge threatened to jail striking teachers and pressured the board of education to negotiate an agreement.[11]

Schools

Schools in the district,[12][13][14] with 2019–20 enrollment data from the National Center for Education Statistics,[15] are:

Elementary schools
  • Bryant School[16] (322 students in pre-K and Kindergarten)
    • Built in 1927, the school is named for poet and journalist William Cullen Bryant.
    • School #6
    • Leslie Abrew, principal
  • Hawthorne School[17] (345 students in grades 1–4)
    • Built in 1925, the school is named for author Nathaniel Hawthorne.
    • School #5
    • Natasha T. Pitt, principal
  • Lowell School[18] (336 students in grades 1–4)
    • Built in 1935, the school is named for author James Russell Lowell.
    • School #7
    • Antoine Green, principal
  • Whittier School[19] (359 students in grades 1–4)
  • Theodora Smiley Lacey School[20]
    • Opened in 2020
Middle schools
  • Benjamin Franklin Middle School[21] (555 students in grades 5–8)
    • Named for founding father and inventor Benjamin Franklin.
    • Terrence Williams, principal
  • Thomas Jefferson Middle School[22] (523 students in grades 5–8)
High school
Defunct schools
  • Eugene Field School – Constructed in 1956. Used as Board of Education Central Administration Offices. School #8. Named for poet and humorist Eugene Field.
  • Emerson Elementary School – Built in 1916. Original School #3. Named for author, essayist, and 19th century philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson.
  • Washington Irving School – Built in 1906. Original School #2. Named for author Washington Irving.
  • Longfellow Elementary School – Built in 1910. School #1. Named for poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.

Controversy

Teaneck has received attention in the media due to sexual crimes committed against minors by faculty members. Joseph White, former principal of Teaneck High School, pleaded guilty to official child endangerment in June 2006 and was sentenced to one year in prison. White had been charged in 2002 with fondling a 17-year-old student and was subsequently acquitted.[24] James Darden, an award-winning former eighth grade teacher at Thomas Jefferson Middle School, was charged with sexual assault and misconduct in June 2007. He pleaded guilty in December 2007 to a charge of aggravated sexual assault and faces up to 81⁄2 years in prison when sentenced on January 18, 2008.[25]

Administration

Core members of the district's administration are:[26][27]

  • Barbara Pinsak, interim superintendent[28]
  • Dora E. Zeno, interim school business administrator and board secretary[29]

As of July 1, 2022, former superintendent Barbara Pinsak was hired on an interim basis to replace Dr. Christopher C. Irving.[30]

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.[31][32][33]

References
  1. District information for Teaneck 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. Teaneck Board of Education District Bylaw 0110 - Identification, Teaneck Public Schools. Accessed September 3, 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 Teaneck School District. Composition: The Teaneck School District is comprised of all the area within the municipal boundaries of Teaneck."
  4. NJ Department of Education District Factor Groups (DFG) for School Districts, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed March 18, 2015.
  5. New Jersey Department of Education Best Practices: Passport Portfolio Program, Accessed June 6, 2006.
  6. New Jersey Department of Education Best Practices: Early Literacy Initiative, Accessed June 6, 2006.
  7. Marks, Joan. "The Lessons of Teaneck", The New York Times, November 19, 1972. Accessed August 18, 2010.
  8. Blair, Jayson. "Harvey B. Scribner, New York Schools Chancellor in a Turbulent Era, Dies at 88", The New York Times, December 24, 2002. Accessed August 18, 2010.
  9. Staff. "Harvey Scribner", The Record, December 27, 2002. Accessed August 18, 2010. "He was a champion of school integration in Teaneck, the first community in the nation to voluntarily integrate its school system by busing."
  10. Teaneck, Fairleigh Dickinson University. Accessed August 18, 2010.
  11. McGrath, Ellie. "Little Room to Negotiate", Time, October 18, 1982. Accessed June 4, 2007. "There were a record 242 strikes in the 1979-80 school year. The following year there were 191; so far this fall there have been about 65. Only some 20 strikes are still in progress today, and few seem likely to continue for long. A 19-day strike ended in Teaneck, N.J., last week after State Superior Court Judge Sherwin Lester leaned on both sides. He ordered teachers back to work and, when they refused, began commandeering school buildings for use as makeshift jails to confine groups of teachers during the day. When an intransigent board of education failed to produce a quorum for a crucial bargaining session, the judge pressured board members to negotiate with the union. The final three-year settlement for the teachers represents yearly pay increases of from 7.5% to 9.7%."
  12. School Listing, Teaneck Public Schools. Accessed December 12, 2019.
  13. Teaneck Virtual Village - History of Teaneck Public Schools, Teaneck Public Library, backed up by the Internet Archive as of August 6, 2017. Accessed December 12, 2019.
  14. New Jersey School Directory for the Teaneck Public Schools, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed December 29, 2016.
  15. School Data for the Teaneck Public Schools, National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed November 1, 2019.
  16. Bryant School, Teaneck Public Schools. Accessed December 12, 2019.
  17. Hawthorne School, Teaneck Public Schools. Accessed December 12, 2019.
  18. Lowell School, Teaneck Public Schools. Accessed December 12, 2019.
  19. Whittier School, Teaneck Public Schools. Accessed December 12, 2019.
  20. "Reopening New Jersey: School named after civil rights icon holds grand opening ceremony". ABC 7 NY. September 18, 2020. Retrieved September 21, 2020.
  21. Benjamin Franklin Middle School, Teaneck Public Schools. Accessed December 12, 2019.
  22. Thomas Jefferson Middle School, Teaneck Public Schools. Accessed December 12, 2019.
  23. Teaneck High School, Teaneck Public Schools. Accessed December 12, 2019.
  24. Markos, Kibret. "Ex-principal in Teaneck gets 1 year", The Record, November 3, 2007. Accessed December 24, 2007.
  25. Markos, Kibret. "Teaneck teacher admits classroom sex with student", The Record, December 18, 2007. Accessed December 24, 2007.
  26. District Administration, Teaneck Public Schools. Accessed December 12, 2019.
  27. New Jersey School Directory for Bergen County, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed December 29, 2016.
  28. Superintendent's Office, Teaneck Public Schools. Accessed July 7, 2022.
  29. Business Office, Teaneck Public Schools. Accessed July 7, 2022.
  30. Stoltz, Marsha A. "Ex-Teaneck schools chief Pinsak will return temporarily as district seeks a new leader",The Record, May 30, 2022. Accessed July 7, 2022. "Former schools chief Barbara Pinsak is returning to the office on an interim basis as of June 30 to succeed Superintendent Christopher Irving."
  31. 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.
  32. Comprehensive Annual Financial Report of the Township of Teaneck School District, New Jersey Department of Education, for year ending June 30, 2019. Accessed September 3, 2020. "The Board of Education ('Board') of the Township of Teaneck School District ('District') is an instrumentality of the State of New Jersey, established to function as an educational institution. The Township of Teaneck School District is a Type II district located in the County of Bergen, State of New Jersey. As a Type II district, the School District functions independently through a Board of Education. The board is comprised of nine members elected to three-year terms. The purpose of the District is to educate students in grades K-12. A superintendent is appointed by the Board and is responsible for the administrative control of the District."
  33. Board Members, Teaneck Public Schools. Accessed September 3, 2020.
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