By Laura Behrmann
President, Board of Education
I was very excited to watch our students return full force for another year of learning at Ramsey schools. Many thanks to our staff members and parents who successfully launched us into the 2022-23 school year. Field trips, in-person back-to-school nights, opportunities for our parents to volunteer in our schools, and so much more have returned from their Covid hiatus.
Many of our students are learning in spaces that are new or newly renovated. Thank you to the Ramsey voters and taxpayers for your support of our vision for the Ramsey School District, from new classrooms for All-Day Kindergarten to larger performing arts areas and new science rooms at Smith Middle School. It was wonderful to see so many people at Ramsey High School for the official ribbon-cutting of the fitness center and the tours of the renovated CAD Lab and Wood Shop. See the inside pages for how those facilities are making a difference and what’s still to come. We knew facilities impact learning, and we wanted something for every Ram. The results met our goals.
Speaking of results, Ramsey was recently designated by the State of New Jersey as a High Achieving District through the Department of Education’s quality monitoring program (commonly called QSAC). That feat may or may not be mentioned in those faceless, for-profit rankings that claim to rate every town and school in the country. They use whatever aggregate data they can find cheaply and spin out proclamations (alongside pricey ads) in a pay-per-click format. Don’t fall for them. They don’t know Ramsey and typically fail to take into consideration much of what we value as a learning community. Recent surveys show our community understands and appreciates our approach, our work, and our outcomes. Our results speak for themselves, and you can see some of them in this newsletter and during presentations at our Board of Education meetings.
Take note of the growth in Advanced Placement courses. Recognize the transparency of our new curriculum database. Read what staff members can do daily in updated instructional spaces. We’re proud to use this newsletter and other opportunities to share what’s happening in Ramsey schools.
On behalf of our Board of Education, I thank you for entrusting us with the responsibility of moving the Ramsey School District forward and ensuring that every student is afforded a rigorous education. Our Board is non-partisan and comprised of nine Trustees who are dedicated to serving the best interests of our students, our staff, and our community.
