Hoboken School District Sets Goals

Among the Board of education's goals this year is enhancing school climate and going green. In a recent interview, Superintendent of Schools Mark Toback laid out the four goals that the Board of Education has set for itself for the 2011-2012 school year.

The first goal is to increase test scores and improve student performance. Toback said he would like to see every schools move up by at least 25 percent, as compared to the state's minimum. Toback said he hopes to see every school move into a higher quartile for both math and language.

"Test scores," Toback said, "that's our first priority."

Toback said that the Johns Hopkins program, which worked as a gifted and talented program, will turn into an after school program only starting next school year. The program director's contract will not be removed for next year. Toback said that another gifted and talented program that is more inclusive of all students will take its place.

"We're interested in moving forward with a more inclusive model," Toback said. "The Johns Hopkins Program doesn't meet the state requirements." The superintendent said he doesn't believe that kids should be determined as "gifted" at too early an age.

Other than performance, Toback said he wants to focus on school climate. Over the past years, he said, there has been an increase in violence related incidents. Toback said he would like to lower the amount of incidents by at least 10 percent.

For example, in the 2005-2006 school year, there were 65 reported incidents in Hoboken schools. Incidents include violence, vandalism, weapons and substance abuse. In the 2009-2010 school year—after a steady increase over the three years in between—this total number shot up to 102 reported incidents.

"The first thing is to be aware of the trend," Toback said. The Board of Education also recently passed a new anti-bullying initiative, as mandated by the state.

The third goal that Toback mentioned was "going green." By way of programs and initiatives he said he wants to make the Hoboken School District a more environmentally friendly place. A recently completed energy audit is supposed to help reach this goal, Toback explained. In a communication to parents, Toback wrote that he wants to "make the district less reliant on fossil fuels" with the help of educational programs.

Lastly, Toback said, he aims to increase the districts "public relations." By this Toback mostly means communication between the district and students' parents. This will largely be done with the help of technology. Parents will soon be able to check their child's attendance records, test scores and overall performance online.

Another development that will influence High School students for the 2011-2012 academic year, is the .

The next Board of Education meeting will take place on Tuesday June 14.