Westfield BOE Goes Back To School

More than 6,300 enrolled students will file back into Westfield classrooms next week, but last night, it was the Westfield ’s turn to go back to school.

Though the board’s first meeting of the 2012-2013 session included some discussion of past performance, there was a clear focus on the upcoming school year, which will include two new district principals, 50 newly-painted classrooms and a recently-installed wireless network that will provide and permit more efficient use of technology throughout the district.   

Superintendent Margaret Dolan began last night’s meeting at by summarizing district events that took place during summer months and to address the 2010-2011 School Report Card that was recently released by the New Jersey Department of Education. Dolan highlighted some of the most relevant data, including standardized test score results and classroom environment factors. 

According to the report, the average combined SAT score of Westfield students in 2010-2011 was 1732, and 89.2 percent of students taking Advanced Placement (AP) examinations received a score of three (out of five) or higher. Additionally, 54.8 percent of Westfield students displayed an advanced proficiency in math on the High School Proficiency Assessment, with 46.2 percent displaying an advanced proficiency in language arts.

The complete Westfield report card can be viewed here.

Though the state report does not rank schools, Dolan attempted to provide a context to demonstrate how such data is used and interpreted by publications that do provide such rankings. For example, Dolan said that the Inside New Jersey rankings place a particularly strong focus on advanced proficiency in math and language arts.

On the other hand, the rankings released by New Jersey Monthly are influenced not only by performance on standardized test scores but by certain school environment factors. Though Westfield’s average class size of 20 students and its 11.7 student-to-faculty ratio compare quite favorably to the publication’s top-ranked schools, the district was ranked 49th in the state due in large part to factors such as the percentage of its faculty with masters or doctorate degrees (63.4 percent in Westfield, 81.7 among the state’s top ranked schools).

Though Dolan said each periodical is free to use the statistics they choose, she said the district’s ultimate focus will remain on ensuring student preparation and not on classroom environment factors that are deemed important by any given ranking system.

“They’re not the goal, they’re the process,” Dolan said.

The superintendent also noted several curriculum changes for the upcoming school year. Two fully-enrolled Mandarin Chinese courses will be offered at the high school and a new robotics class is being offered at the intermediate level. The intermediate school math and science curriculum has been updated to align with national Common Core standards, and there will be a greater literary focus at the elementary school level.  

Jane Clancy, chair of the Facilities Committee, highlighted more than 30 maintenance projects that took place around the district over the summer months and cost a total of $2.7 million. Funding for the projects was provided through the Westfield High School 2000 bond and a safety grant in addition to the district’s operating budget and maintenance reserve account.

In total, 50 classrooms were painted, several school lots and sidewalks paved and rooms re-tiled. Lockers were replaced at the high school, which also received a new storage shed. received a new gym floor and two refurnished bathrooms. An air conditioning unit was installed in the library and a new exhaust system was installed at School.

Ongoing projects include a new exhaust system for the high school gym; replacing the hot water heater at Edison; replacing gym bleachers at Roosevelt; new boilers at and ; chimney repair at Tamaques; and chimney and masonry repair at the Elm Street building.

The board will next meet on Tuesday, Sept. 11 at 7:30 p.m. The location was not yet been determined, and the meeting may again take place at Lincoln School to allow sufficient space for any residents wishing to attend. Residents are encouraged to check the district website to confirm the location of the meeting.