Tuesday, April 23, 2013
John Radzik, a third grade teacher at Avenel Street School, has been dismissed following a NJ Department of Education arbitration hearing.
One of the five Woodbridge school district educators who were placed on paid suspension last year on allegations of cheating misbehavior to increase standardized test scores has been fired. The Board of Education voted to dismiss John Radzik - once named Teacher of the Year - on April 18, based on the results of a NJ Department of Education arbitration report. "We prevailed. We proved most of our accusations. There was a whole list of them," said School Superintendent Dr. Robert Zega. Radzik, he said, was one of the first teachers in the state to go before an arbitration board rather than a Board of Examiners. Zega replaced former Superintendent Dr. John Crowe, who resigned as the details and scope of the cheating scandal came to light …
40.578182
-74.27981
Avenel St Elementary School #4 & #5
230 Avenel St, Avenel, NJ
/articles/one-of-the-woodbridge-cheating-scandal-teachers-is-fired
751249
/locations/9292775
Thursday, February 21, 2013
Remember the $32.5 million bond referendum on school solar panels? As the last are being installed, it's unclear whether the panels will pay for themselves as they were promised to do.
More than two years ago, Woodbridge voters approved a $32.5 million bond referendum to install new roofs on 21 township schools, to be followed by solar panels that promised to cut electricity bills by a huge margin. If you look now, the last of the solar panels are being installed - right now, at Woodbridge High School. A field of little yellow flags on the school roof marks off where the panels are to be placed as workmen scurry to and fro, finishing up the job. Like other schools that received the solar panels, Woodbridge High School has an enormous sign proclaiming the installation of the "Solar Photovoltaic System" erected on the grounds. A slogan on the sign, "Saving Money and Bringing Clean Energy to Our Community," harkens back to…
40.56626
-74.284769
Woodbridge High School
1 Samuel Lupo Pl, Woodbridge, NJ
/articles/with-srec-woodbridge-high-school-gets-the-last-of-the-solar-panels
751252
/locations/8855517
Thursday, January 31, 2013
The Woodbridge BOE appointed Robert Zega, who has been working as an assistant superintendent since August.
In a special board meeting Wednesday night, the Woodbridge Board of Education approved the appointment of Dr. Robert Zega as the district's new superintendent. Zega, who has been serving as the assistant superintendent of curriculum and instruction since August, is replacing Dr. John Crowe, who resigned from his position as of December 1, amid the standardized test cheating scandals in the district. In his assistant superintendent job, Zega replaced Lois Rotella, who abruptly resigned last August just as news of the state Department of Education investigation into cheating at various Woodbridge schools was coming to light. Zega's assistant superintendent contract was to run through June 30, 2013. His promotion to head of the school …
Friday, January 11, 2013
Dara Kurlander, the suspended Avenel Street School principal, has filed suit against OFAC and the anonymous sources who fingered her in a cheating scandal.
Dara Kurlander, the Avenel Street School principal who was suspended on charges of helping children cheat on standardized tests, has filed a lawsuit against the NJ's Department of Education's investigative unit and two of the anonymous sources who testified against her. In the lawsuit, filed in Middlesex County, Kurlander's attorneys charge that the Office of Fiscal Accountability and Compliance (OFAC) "falsely taint[ed] her reputation as an educator," according to a report in the Star-Ledger. In addition to OFAC, Kurlander's attorney Lisa Krenkel is suing the Director of Investigations Thomas Martin and Director Robert Cicchino, and two anonymous sources who reported to OFAC Kurlander's alleged desk-tapping trick that alerted students to…
Monday, November 19, 2012
Angela Korodan, a retired assistant superintendent, will be the temporary head of the district until a permanent replacement is found.
With the impending reassignment of John Crowe to an elementary school principal's position on December 1, that leaves an empty space at the top of the Woodbridge School District while the board engages in its superintendent search. The Board announced last week that they will be bringing a former assistant school superintendent, Angela Korodan, out of retirement to fill Crowe's superintendent spot until a permanent replacement can be found. "She'll be the interim superintendent," said Board attorney Jonathan Busch. "She was a pleasure to work with, a true professional." Korodan had once served as the district's temporary superintendent, when Crowe's predecessor, Vincent S. Smith, had left, and before Crowe was took on the superintendent …
Saturday, November 17, 2012
Attorneys for former Avenel Street School Principal Dara Kurlander are petitioning to get the confidential state files into a school cheating scandal.
Three months after the Woodbridge School District suspended five educators based on the results of a state investigation into standardized test cheating, one of the suspended principals wants to clear her name. Attorneys for Dara Kurlander, who was principal at Avenel Street Schools #4 & #5, want to see the confidential files upon which the NJ Office of Accountability and Compliance (OFAC) based their report on the cheating scandal that rocked the township in August. Kurlander's attorneys announced they have filed a petition with the Superior Court of New Jersey to gain access to OFAC's investigatory files, which includes interviews with subjects who say they observed the cheating and Kurlander's role in it. The interviews have so far …
Thursday, October 18, 2012
Not many people attended the Woodbridge Board of Education debate that was lightly publicized.
The biggest thing about Monday's Board of Education debate was how few people showed up for it. In a year that has seen the school district ripped apart with resignations, suspensions, and an omnipresent cheating scandal, the debate hosted by the Presidents' Council of Woodbridge Township had almost as few fireworks as it had audience members. Three incumbents - Judy Leidner, Lawrence Miloscia, and Board Vice President Ezio Tamburello - are running for the three open seats, as are two newcomers, former district physical education teacher Peter Capitano, Sr. and political aide Daniel Harris. The selection of a new school superintendent was as hot of an issue as it got. Woodbridge School Superintendent John Crowe will be leaving his post …
40.589132
-74.285471
Avenel Middle School
85 Woodbine Ave, Avenel, NJ
/articles/sparsely-attended-boe-debate-a-polite-affair
2006085
/locations/8029644
The Woodbridge Board of Ed meeting is tonight at Avenel Middle School.
The search is on for a superintendent in the Woodbridge School District, and setting a date for a town-hall style forum will be on the agenda at tonight's Board of Education meeting. The BOE will be holding their regular meeting tonight at 7 pm at Avenel Middle School. They will discuss when they will hold an open meeting for the public where the details of the superintendent search committee will be reviewed. Current School Superintendent John Crowe will be leaving his job on December 1, the latest result in the school cheating scandal that has run rampant through the school district. Several teachers and principals have been suspended because of the standardized test cheating row which still isn't over. The NJ Department of Education …
Monday, October 1, 2012
Would you welcome him as a prinicipal to your child's school? Or would you say 'no way'?
One of the latest incidents in the Woodbridge school cheating scandal is the school board's announcement that they want to replace Dr. John Crowe as schools superintendent. Dr. Crowe will leave his superintendent job December 1, but he's not leaving the district. He'll be installed as a principal of a Woodbridge elementary school. What do you think? Would you welcome Dr. Crowe as your child's school principal? Or would you oppose him being in charge? Take our poll and post a comment. What do you think about the issue? Follow Woodbridge Patch on Facebook, Twitter and sign up for the daily newsletter.
Friday, September 28, 2012
And one of the principals suspended in the scandal is hoping the details of the OFAC report will exonerate her.
The same body that suspended a Woodbridge school principal may be helping her to clear her name. Lisa Krenkel, the attorney for Dara Kurlander, one of five principals and teachers suspended in the wake of the school district's cheating scandals, said she's pleased the Board of Education is subpoenaing the NJ Department of Education’s Office of Fiscal Accountability and Compliance (OFAC) for the information they used in determining who was responsible for the cheating. "Dara is very committed to getting to the bottom of what happened, to find out how we got to where we are, and how to prevent it in the future," Krenkel said. School Board attorney Jonathan Busch said the board had passed a resolution to subpoena OFAC's records. "Before the …
NotInKansasAnymore
6:22 pm on Friday, May 3, 2013
Hey silence....tell Mr Radzik if his Realtor / Supervisor job (s) don't pan out he may still be able to get a job in Woodbridge. I heard the marijuana facility will be open in September. more ›