February 18, 2009 THE VILLADOM TIMES IV • Page 7 Mahwah Township’s public schools receive state report cards by Frank J. McMahon The Mahwah School District has received its reports cards for the schools in the K-12 district from the New Jersey Department of Education. The NJDOE also issued the Statewide Assessment Report, the state’s annual summary of the results for the assessment tests administered in the spring of last year. “With our state and nation facing such a severe economic downturn, we have an increased mandate to provide accountability for every dollar we spend on education,” said Commissioner of Education Lucille E. Davy. “The purpose of these reports is to enable members of the public to measure the progress of their local schools through the individual report cards and the trend information in the assessment summary.” The report cards are the fourteenth to be produced under the 1995 state law that specifies the information that must be reported and requires their annual distribution. They also represent the 18th time New Jersey has issued a report on its public schools since the first report cards were distributed in 1989. The report card information for all the Mahwah schools is arranged under five categories: school environment, student infor- mation, student performance indicators, staff information, and district financial data. A complete listing of all the statistics in the report cards for all the schools in the township can be found on the Internet at http://education.state.nj.us/rc/. The more pertinent statistics for the Mahwah High School are included in this article. During the 2007-08 school year, the enrollment at the high school was 992 students, an increase of 29 students over the previous year. The average class size was 23.6 students, while the state average was 18.9 students. The High School Proficiency Assessment test results indicated that in language arts literacy 93.7 percent of the students tested were at or above the proficiency level. In mathematics, the percentage was 89.4 percent. The comparable averages in the state were 83.4 in language arts and 75.4 in mathematics. The 2007-08 average SAT scores at Mahwah High School were 546 math, 518 verbal, and 533 essay, combining for a total average SAT score of 1597. In the 2007-08 school year, 25.4 percent of the students in grades 11 and 12 participated in the Advanced Placement tests, while the state average was 18.3 percent. (continued on page 16) Author visits Lenape Meadows Author Laurence Pringle recently visited the Lenape Meadows School in Mahwah. He discussed the writing process and introduced the students to the diversity of nonfiction. Students were able to purchase many of his books and have them signed. The event was funded by the Lenape Meadows Home School Organization in cooperation with the Mahwah Schools Foundation. Pringle is pictured with Lenape Meadows students. �� ����� ���������� ��������������������� ������������������������������������� ���� ������� ������������ �������������������������������������������� GET A FRESH START ����������� STOP ���������������� �������� ���������� ���������� ������������������������ �������������� ��������������������� ��������� ����������������������������������������������������������������������������� ������������������������������������������� Keeping Families Warm Since 1929. Winter specials available now for a limited time only. Call Robin at 973-636-7000 Serving All Your Home Heating Needs Prompt, Reliable Service You Can Depend On, Plus The Personal Attention You Deserve. • Oil Heat Systems Serviced & Installed • Automatic Fuel Oil Deliveries • Tank Insurance Available Cash ts Discougn il n O On Heati s Deliverie 24 Hour 201-891-1000 Emergency Service �����������������������