Tenafly Public Schools

Tenafly Public Schools
Address
500 Tenafly Road Tenafly , Bergen County , New Jersey , 07670 United States
Coordinates	40°55′46″N73°57′58″W / 40.929331°N 73.966016°W / 40.929331; -73.966016
District information
Grades	pre-K to 12
Superintendent	Michael Ben-David
Business administrator	Victor Anaya
Schools	6
Students and staff
Enrollment	3,582 (as of 2020–21) [1]
Faculty	305.2 FTEs [1]
Student–teacher ratio	11.7:1 [1]
Other information
District Factor Group	I
Website	www.tenaflyschools.org
Ind. Per pupil District spending Rank (*) K-12 average  %± vs. average 1A Total Spending $18,720 58 $18,891 −0.9% 1 Budgetary Cost 15,599 71 14,783 5.5% 2 Classroom Instruction 9,511 81 8,763 8.5% 6 Support Services 2,093 40 2,392 −12.5% 8 Administrative Cost 1,896 102 1,485 27.7% 10 Operations & Maintenance 1,740 60 1,783 −2.4% 13 Extracurricular Activities 349 89 268 30.2% 16 Median Teacher Salary 69,805 77 64,043 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

The Tenafly Public Schools is a comprehensive community public school district that serves students in pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade from Tenafly, in Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. ^[3]

As of the 2020–21 school year, the district, comprised of six schools, had an enrollment of 3,582 students and 305.2 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 11.7:1. ^[1]

The district is classified by the New Jersey Department of Education as being in District Factor Group "I", the second-highest of eight groupings. District Factor Groups organize districts statewide 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]

Students from Alpine attend Tenafly High School as part of a sending/receiving relationship. ^{[5] [6]}

Awards and recognition

Tenafly High School was recognized with the Blue Ribbon School Award, awarded by the United States Department of Education at a special assembly to the Tenafly High School Community on September 20, 2005. Tenafly was the only high school in New Jersey and one of 38 public high schools in the U.S. to be recognized with the award that year. ^[7]

The district's high school was the 17th-ranked public high school in New Jersey out of 339 schools statewide in New Jersey Monthly magazine's September 2014 cover story on the state's "Top Public High Schools", using a new ranking methodology, and had been ranked 3rd in the state of 328 schools in 2012. ^[8] Tenafly High School was the 3rd-ranked public high school in New Jersey out of 322 schools statewide, in New Jersey Monthly magazine's September 2010 cover story on the state's "Top Public High Schools", after being ranked 3rd in 2008 out of 316 schools. ^[9] The high school was the 2nd ranked public high school in the state out of 316 schools statewide, in New Jersey Monthly magazine's September 2006 cover story on the state's Top Public High Schools. ^[10]

The Tenafly Middle School 8th grade string orchestra, conducted by Erika Boras Tesi, won first place in the American String Teachers Association's National Orchestra Festival in 2006, earning the title of number one public middle school orchestra in the United States. ^[11]

Schools

Schools in the district (with 2020–21 enrollment data from the National Center for Education Statistics) ^[12] are: ^{[13] [14]}

• Malcolm S. Mackay Elementary School ^[15] with 344 students in grades K-5
  • Heidi Chizzik, principal ^[16]
• Ralph S. Maugham Elementary School ^[17] with 364 students in grades K-5
  • Jennifer Ferrara, principal ^[18]
• J. Spencer Smith Elementary School ^[19] with 350 students in grades K-5
  • Daryl George, principal ^[20]
• Walter Stillman Elementary School ^[21] with 334 students in grades K-5
  • Gayle Lander, principal ^[22]

Middle school

• Tenafly Middle School ^[23] with 889 students in grades 6-8
  • John Fabbo, principal ^[24]

High school

• Tenafly High School ^[25] with 1,231 students in grades 9-12
  • James O. Morrison, principal ^[26]

Administration

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

• Michael Ben-David, superintendent of schools ^[28]
• Victor Anaya, school business administrator and board secretary ^[29]

Board of education

The district's board of education is comprised of nine members who set policy and oversee 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. ^{[30] [31] [32] [33]}

Adolf Hitler assignment controversy

In April 2021, a fifth-grade teacher at Maugham Elementary School instructed her 5th grade students to do a presentation on famous people in the first person. ^[34] After a recently immigrated Asian student asked to choose Anne Frank as a topic for her paper in order to learn more about her Jewish classmates, another student asked to choose Adolf Hitler as a topic. After consulting with her rabbi and considering the student's intent, the teacher decided to allow the student to proceed. The student dressed up as Hitler and presented an essay that she had written from the perspective of the Nazi leader touting his "accomplishments" as a part of a class assignment. ^{[35] [36] [37] [38] [39]} The student wrote a biography of Hitler that glorified the Nazi leader, stated that Hitler's "greatest accomplishment was uniting a great mass of German and Austrian people" in his support, framed the Holocaust in a positive light, and added that Hitler was "pretty great". ^{[36] [40] [41]} Subsequent to the presentation, the student reiterated her intention to the class and a substantive discussion ensued. The student's essay was displayed publicly within the school's hallway during the month of April. ^{[34] [36] [42] [43] [44]} In May 2021, the details of the school assignment became known to the public, leading to outrage in the community, which has a substantial Jewish population. ^{[34] [36] [42] [45]} The subsequent social media maelstrom misconstrued the intentions of the student and teacher, resulting in harassment and the family's eventual departure from the district. After initially defending the teacher and the school's actions and asserting that "it is unfair to judge any student or teacher in this matter", ^{[46] [47] [48]} the districts' board of education suspended the teacher and the principal of the school with pay in June 2021 and opened an investigation into the incident. ^{[49] [40]} Following the investigation, the teacher resigned and the principal was reinstated in July 2021. ^{[50] [51]}

References

1. District information for Tenafly Public School District, National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed February 15, 2022.
2. Taxpayers' Guide to Education Spending April 2013, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed April 15, 2013.
3. Tenafly Board of Education District Policy 0110 - Identification, Tenafly Public Schools. Accessed December 8, 2022. "Purpose: The Board of Education exists for the purpose of providing a thorough and efficient system of free public education in grades Kindergarten through twelve in the Tenafly School District. Composition: The Tenafly School District is comprised of all the area within the municipal boundaries of Tenafly."
4. NJ Department of Education District Factor Groups (DFG) for School Districts, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed October 13, 2014.
5. Alpine School District 2016 Report Card Narrative, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed November 20, 2017. "The District's students in Grades 9 through 12 can attend Tenafly High School which is the partner school in a sending-receiving relationship. Enrollment is free for students with the cost of their tuition paid by the Alpine School District."
6. Alvarado, Monsy. "Alpine to keep sending students to Tenafly", The Record , April 4, 2003, backed up by the Internet Archive as of May 16, 2011. Accessed November 20, 2017. "Alpine - The borough's high school students will continue to attend Tenafly High School under a new contract approved by the Board of Education this week."
7. Schools selected as No Child Left Behind-Blue Ribbon Schools in 2005, United States Department of Education. Accessed October 13, 2014.
8. Staff. "Top Schools Alphabetical List 2014", New Jersey Monthly , September 2, 2014. Accessed September 5, 2014.
9. Staff. "2010 Top High Schools", New Jersey Monthly , August 16, 2010. Accessed May 1, 2011.
10. Top Public High Schools in New Jersey Archived 2007-02-06 at the Wayback Machine , New Jersey Monthly , September 2006
11. "ASTA National Conference , 2006", American String Teachers Association, May 1, 2006. Accessed November 20, 2017. "Other winners by division were: Middle School Orchestra - 1st place, Tenafly Middle School, Tenafly, N.J"
12. School Data for the Tenafly Public Schools, National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed November 1, 2019.
13. School Performance Reports for the Tenafly Public School District, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed April 3, 2024.
14. New Jersey School Directory for the Tenafly Public Schools, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed February 1, 2024.
15. Malcolm S. Mackay Elementary School, Tenafly Public Schools. Accessed December 8, 2022.
16. Principal, Mackay Elementary School. Accessed December 8, 2022.
17. Ralph S. Maugham Elementary School, Tenafly Public Schools. Accessed December 8, 2022.
18. Principal, Maugham Elementary School. Accessed December 8, 2022.
19. J. Spencer Smith Elementary School, Tenafly Public Schools. Accessed December 8, 2022.
20. Principal, Smith Elementary School. Accessed December 8, 2022.
21. Walter Stillman Elementary School, Tenafly Public Schools. Accessed December 8, 2022.
22. Principal, Stillman Elementary School. Accessed December 8, 2022.
23. Tenafly Middle School, Tenafly Public Schools. Accessed December 8, 2022.
24. Principal, Tenafly Middle School. Accessed December 8, 2022.
25. Tenafly High School, Tenafly Public Schools. Accessed December 8, 2022.
26. Principal, Tenafly High School. Accessed December 8, 2022.
27. New Jersey School Directory for Bergen County, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed February 1, 2024.
28. Superintendent's Page, Tenafly Public Schools. Accessed August 8, 2023.
29. Office of the Business Administrator, Tenafly Public Schools. Accessed December 8, 2022.
30. 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.
31. About the BOE, Tenafly Public Schools. Accessed December 8, 2022. "The Tenafly Board of Education is comprised of a 9-member board of trustees, the chief school administrator and the board secretary/district business administrator."
32. Board Members, Tenafly Public Schools. Accessed December 8, 2022.
33. Annual Comprehensive Financial Report for the Tenafly Public Schools, New Jersey Department of Education, for year ending June 30, 2021. Accessed December 8, 2022. "The Tenafly Board of Education (the 'Board' or the 'District') is an instrumentality of the State of New Jersey, established to function as an education institution. The Board consists of nine elected officials and is responsible for the fiscal control of the District. A Superintendent of Schools is appointed by the Board and is responsible for the administrative control of the District. A School Business Administrator/Board Secretary is also appointed by the Board and oversees the business functions of the District."
34. DeMarco Jerry. "Tenafly 5th Grader Dresses As Hitler For Class Project: ‘Pretty Great Wasn’t I?'", Englewood Daily Voice, May 31, 2021. Accessed July 24, 2024. "Students selected their individual figures from history as part of a 'character development' presentation to the class, the parents said.... Writing in the first person, the student cited 'accomplishments' by the mass-murdering Nazi Party tyrant."
35. Eyewitness News (June 4, 2021). "Teacher, principal on leave after student's project on Hitler in New Jersey town". ABC 7 .
36. Beachum, Lateshia (June 1, 2021). "Fifth-grader dresses as Hitler, lauds dictator's 'accomplishments.' A N.J. district is investigating". The Washington Post .
37. "New Jersey, bambina di 9 anni si traveste da Hitler per un compito. Scoppia la polemica: "È antisemitismo"". Il Mattino . June 3, 2021.
38. "Daily Kickoff". Jewish Insider. June 3, 2021.
39. Freda, Gerry (June 4, 2021). "Entra in classe "travestita da Hitler". Bufera in una scuola elementare". Il Giornale .
40. Alexander, Dan (June 1, 2021). "Tenafly, NJ 5th grade project on Hitler as 'great' being probed". NJ101.5 .
41. Katzban, Nicholas (June 2, 2021). "Jewish groups call on community to quell anger toward Tenafly student over Hitler essay". NorthJersey.com .
42. "NJ Elementary Student's Assignment Appearing to Glorify Hitler Sparks Outrage". NBC New York . June 1, 2021.
43. Ford, James; Cook, Lauren (June 1, 2021). "'I was pretty great, wasn't I': NJ student's Hitler presentation under investigation, school district says". PIX 11 .
44. "'I Was Pretty Great, Wasn't I?': Outrage Over Display of Flattering Hitler Bio at New Jersey Elementary School". The Algemeiner . June 1, 2021.
45. Sheldon, Chris (June 2, 2020). "School reviewing 5th grade student's first-person Hitler essay". NJ.com .
46. Sheldon, Chris (June 4, 2021). "Teacher who assigned first-person Hitler essay placed on leave, superintendent says". NJ.com .
47. Galluccio, Bill (June 3, 2021). "New Jersey School Board Defends 5th Grade Teacher Over Hitler Assignment". NewsRadio WFLA .
48. Madani, Doha (June 2, 2021). "New Jersey school board defends 5th grade student and teacher over Hitler assignment". NBC News .
49. Katzban, Nicholas (June 4, 2021). "New Jersey teacher, principal on paid leave after student's report on Hitler's 'accomplishments'". USA Today . Gannett. NorthJersey.com.
50. "New Jersey teacher resigns after student’s Hitler assignment", Associated Press, July 13, 2021. Accessed July 24, 2024. "On Monday at a school board meeting, the board voted to accept the teacher’s resignation after the unnamed teacher was on leave of absence since May. The board also reinstated Principal Jennifer Ferrara to Maugham Elementary School, reported NorthJersey.com."
51. Noda, Stephanie. "Principal returns, teacher resigns in Tenafly after Hitler assignment", The Record , July 13, 2021. Accessed July 24, 2024. "The decision was announced at Monday night’s Board of Education meeting, where the board voted to approve Superintendent Shauna DeMarco's recommendations to accept the teacher’s resignation after a leave of absence ends in January and allow the return of Principal Jennifer Ferrara to Maugham Elementary School."

External links

• Tenafly Public Schools
• School Performance Reports for the Tenafly Public Schools , New Jersey Department of Education
• Tenafly Public Schools, National Center for Education Statistics