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Best High Schools: New Jersey Well-Represented In New National Rankings Best High Schools: New Jersey Well-Represented In New National Rankings
Best High Schools: New Jersey Well-Represented In New National Rankings New Jersey is well-represented in brand-new rankings of the nation's best high schools. US News & World report released its annual list on Tuesday morning, April 23. The rankings were determined by performance on state-required tests, graduation, and how well they prepare students for college. Two New Jersey schools made the top 50 in the U.S: High Technology High School in Lincroft at No. 24, and Edison Academy Magnet School at No. 42. According to US News & World Report, The top 10 best high schools in the Garden State are: No. 10: Academy for Allied Health Sciences …

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by Cecilia Levine
Schools
NJ Teacher Accused Of Touching Student In Hallway Slapped With Disorderly Persons Offense NJ Teacher Accused Of Touching Student In Hallway Slapped With Disorderly Persons Offense
NJ Teacher Accused Of Touching Student In Hallway Slapped With Disorderly Persons Offense A Marlboro middle school teacher accused by a parent of assaulting a student in the hallway has been slapped with a disorderly persons offense. On Friday, April 19, Jenna Sciabica, 38, was charged with one count of harassment-offensive touching, which is considered a petty disorderly persons offense, in connection with a March 13 incident, Marlboro police and online records say. Teacher Jenna Sciabica charged after inappropriate touching claim https://t.co/oR03iOdUtf — Avi Lehrer (@lehrer_avi) April 21, 2024 The incident involved "offensive touching over the clothes" in the hallway of …

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by Cecilia Levine
Schools
NJ Student Hospitalized After 'Blackout Challenge' NJ Student Hospitalized After 'Blackout Challenge'
NJ Student Hospitalized After 'Blackout Challenge' A student at an Essex County middle school was hospitalized on Tuesday, April 16, after he tried the "blackout challenge." Two students at South Orange Middle School took part in the dangerous stunt, popular on social media, which involves holding one's breath to the point of passing out, Lynn Irby Hill, the principal, said in a letter to parents. The first student passed out but was treated by the nursing staff, Irby Hill said. The second student had difficulty resuming breathing and was taken to a hospital by ambulance for further evaluation, Irby Hill said. Assistant Principal Jim Waldro…

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by Sam Barron
Schools
Brake-Checking, Racist Parent Vowed To Have NJ Bus Driver Fired — And She Was: Lawsuit Brake-Checking, Racist Parent Vowed To Have NJ Bus Driver Fired — And She Was: Lawsuit
Brake-Checking, Racist Parent Vowed To Have NJ Bus Driver Fired — And She Was: Lawsuit A black school bus driver claims she was fired after an encounter with a racist parent who confronted her on the road in Cumberland County, court papers say. Genera Fisher filed a lawsuit against the Millville Public Charter School on March 7 in Superior Court, alleging she was let go "in retaliation for her protected activity of reporting a hate crime and/or racial harassment."  The alleged road rage incident occurred on March 3, 2023, according to the lawsuit which described the scene: A car driven by another student's parent brake-checking and turning without signaling in …

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by Jon Craig
Schools
Dad Arrested Trying To Defend Daughter In NJ Classroom Confrontation: Police Dad Arrested Trying To Defend Daughter In NJ Classroom Confrontation: Police
Dad Arrested Trying To Defend Daughter In NJ Classroom Confrontation: Police A South Jersey dad has been charged with making "terroristic threats" and threatening to "knock out" her daughter's peer in an apparent attempt to defend her in a high school classroom in Gloucester County, police paperwork says. Aaron Thomas went into a Paulsboro High School classroom Monday, March 11 while signing his daughter out around 11:30 a.m., an affidavit of probable cause obtained by Daily Voice says. Thomas, 38, was reportedly upset over photos being air-dropped, and was shouting and threatening to "knock the f— out" a student, paperwork says. At one point, Thomas got …

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by Jon Craig
Schools
NJ School Principal Arrested For Assault, Group Says Incident Involved Student NJ School Principal Arrested For Assault, Group Says Incident Involved Student
NJ School Principal Arrested For Assault, Group Says Incident Involved Student A New Jersey high school principal has been arrested for an alleged assault. Frank Sanchez, who was suspended from his job at Columbia High School in South Orange-Maplewood since January, has been charged with second-degree endangering the welfare of a child and simple assault, according to Thomas Fennelley, Chief Assistant Prosecutor of the Essex County Prosecutor's Office. Sanchez surrendered to detectives Monday morning, March 11. Dr. Kevin F. Gilbert, Acting Superintendent of the South Orange-Maplewood School District, released the following statement to Daily Voice when aske…

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by Cecilia Levine
Schools
Two Jersey Shore School Districts Could Merge After OK From State Officials Two Jersey Shore School Districts Could Merge After OK From State Officials
Two Jersey Shore School Districts Could Merge After OK From State Officials New Jersey's top education officials have signed-off on a referendum for a merger between two school districts. On Friday, March 8, Acting New Jersey Department of Education Commissioner Kevin Dehmer approved Seaside Heights merging with the Toms River Regional school district. The Central Regional School District had petitioned against the merger, but Dehmer said that Seaside Heights is closer in proximity to Toms River, so transportation will be cheaper and more time-efficient. He also said the merger would be unlikely to "increase or exacerbate the segregation of students by racial, …

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by Cecilia Levine
Schools
'Deeply Offensive:' 30 Dwight-Englewood 7th Graders Were On Racist Text Chain, Admin Says 'Deeply Offensive:' 30 Dwight-Englewood 7th Graders Were On Racist Text Chain, Admin Says
'Deeply Offensive:' 30 Dwight-Englewood 7th Graders Were On Racist Text Chain, Admin Says The Dwight-Englewood school, a private school in Bergen County, said more than 30 7th grade boys were involved in a text chain that featured racist language. In a letter sent to parents, Jeremy Gregersen, the head of school, said the texts contained highly-charged language and anti-Black, racist memes. "My stomach dropped even further as I found that my son was included in the text chain," Gregersen said. Gregersen said the boys on the text chain have various degrees of culpability. Some simply said nothing, others laughed and egged it on while others posted offensive comments and memes, G…

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by Sam Barron
Schools
Solar Eclipse Will Close NJ School Early Solar Eclipse Will Close NJ School Early
Solar Eclipse Will Close NJ School Early Concern over kids looking at a solar eclipse has caused a school district in Essex County to close early next month. Livingston Public Schools Superintendent Matthew Block announced in a letter to parents on Wednesday, March 6, that on Monday, April 8, the elementary and high school will dismiss at noon while the middle schools will dismiss at 12:45 p.m. The solar eclipse will be occurring at 3 p.m. and Block said they are concerned unsupervised children might be drawn to look at the eclipse, damaging their eyes. Concerns over driving during the eclipse also factored into the early dismissa…

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by Sam Barron
Schools
Hackensack Schools Closed Due To Major Winter Storm Hackensack Schools Closed Due To Major Winter Storm
Hackensack Schools Closed Due To Major Winter Storm New Jersey school districts are announcing closures and delays ahead of a winter storm expected Monday night into Tuesday, Feb. 13. Between 6 and 18 inches are expected across North Jersey, but the National Weather Service "the Tuesday morning commute will be either snowy, slushy, or wet for our entire area." The following districts have announced closures Tuesday, Feb. 13: Belleville Bergenfield Bloomfield Butler Clifton Closter Cresskill Demarest Denville Dover Dumont Englewood  Englewood Cliffs Elizabeth Elmwood Park Fair Lawn Fort Lee Franklin Lakes Fredon Garfield Glen Rock Hack…

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by Cecilia Levine
Schools
NJ High School Educator Nominated For National Teacher Of The Year NJ High School Educator Nominated For National Teacher Of The Year
NJ High School Educator Nominated For National Teacher Of The Year A Monmouth County educator who was named New Jersey's teacher of the year could also get the same recognition nationally. Joe Nappi, a history and social studies teacher at Monmouth Regional High School in Tinton Falls, is one of four finalists for the 2024 National Teacher of the Year award, The Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) announced. Nappi won the state's Teacher of the Year award in September 2023. The other finalists are Cat Walker from Alaska, Christy Todd from Georgia, and Missy Testerman from Tennessee. Nappi is the third Garden State educator to be a nati…

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by Chris Spiker
Schools
Superintendent Reprimanded For Recommending Son For Substitute Teaching Job In NJ Superintendent Reprimanded For Recommending Son For Substitute Teaching Job In NJ
Superintendent Reprimanded For Recommending Son For Substitute Teaching Job In NJ The superintendent of a Middlesex County school district broke a pair of school ethics rules by approving a list of substitute teachers that included her son, officials said. Monroe Township Superintendent Chari R. Chanley’s “failure to recuse herself on the recommendation of her child’s employment constitutes using her position as superintendent to secure an unwarranted privilege, advantage, or employment for her child,” prompted action from the the New Jersey School Ethics Commission, according to a Jan. 23 decision. Chanley was reprimanded for recommending approval of a list of more…

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by Jon Craig