Month: October 2015
Journal News 10/1/15: Takeaways from East Ramapo Monitors’ First Report
District parents expressed little faith in the process and demanded immediate change.
Journal News 10/8/15: East Ramapo School Board Announces Klein’s Resignation
The board has named an interim superintendent who will serve through June.
The announcement drew strong applause and cheers Wednesday night from several dozen people attending a special Board of Education meeting.
ERCSD Student Essay 9/15: East Ramapo – We Cannot Cope
A student at Ramapo High School (class of 2016) recently wrote an essay about what students in the District have had to face with the cuts to programs and classes. Below is a copy of Ms. Cola’s essay.
Ashbury Park Press 9/23/15: State Monitor Files Charges vs. Special Ed Official in Lakewood
State monitor claims Helen Tobia made improper school placements
LAKEWOOD The school district’s state-appointed monitor has filed tenure charges against Helen Tobia, the supervisor of pupil personnel services, for a host of allegedly “illegal and/or highly improper” acts, including overstepping her authority to place children with special needs in Orthodox yeshivas and private specialized schools at their parents’ request, according to court documents.
Dropout Nation 9/23/15: E. Ramapo Still Waiting for Randi Weingarten of the AFT to Respond

Published In: How Teachers Unions Preserve Influence, Three Thoughts
Willie Trotman, Spring Valley NAACP, Writes Letter of Thanks to Walcott 9/17/15
On Sept. 17/15, Willie Trotman, President of the Spring Valley NAACP, wrote a letter to Mr. Walcott thanking him
for their recent meeting and for Mr. Walcott’s team having accepted this important challenge in East Ramapo. The letter emphasizes the urgency of the situation and the need for the Monitors to move beyond superficial
remedies such as building repairs, and to focus on the profound leadership issues that have led the ERCSD to its current state of crisis. A copy of the letter is attached.
NYS Monitors in E. Ramapo Issue Their First Report 9/16/15
On September 16, the East Ramapo Monitors presented their findings and actions thus far, including the news that only 14% of students are leaving high school ready for college. Read the report below.
East Ramapo Report from State Monitors 9-16-15
The Jewish Week 9/17/15: Shulem Deen on How Yeshivas Fail Their Children
Shulem Deen: Chasidic Schools Ensure Ignorance And Poverty
The author’s two teenaged sons are U.S. born and raised but can’t speak, read or write English.

My two sons, ages 13 and 15, were both born and raised within the U.S. Neither of them can speak, read or write English.
The Jewish Week 7/28/15: Mayor Backs DOE Investigation of Yeshivas
Mayor gets behind DOE investigation of secular education in dozens of Brooklyn chasidic schools.
