Page 6 THE VILLADOM TIMES I • May 12, 2010 Franklin Lakes Borough schools rated best for housing dollar by Frank J. McMahon The public schools in the Borough of Franklin Lakes were recently rated by a Forbes.com and Great Schools.org study as being among the top 25 best schools in America for a home buyer’s housing dollar. According to the findings of the study, if a home buyer has more than $400,000 to spend on a home, the Northeast is the best region for quality schools. Ten of the 20 towns above this price level are in that region, with six being in Massachusetts. And the study claims that these top 10 towns offer families exceptional public schools and median home prices upwards of $800,000. Weston, Massachusetts ranks at the top among cities with a median home price greater than $800,000 with Franklin Lakes ranked fourth after Mercer Island, Washington and New Canaan, Connecticut. With an education quality score of 93.83, a median home price of $939,920, and an estimated population of 11,576, Franklin Lakes is reported to have one of the 20 highest per capita incomes in the state and the nation, and is home to some major corporations and their leaders. The report describes the borough as having two school districts that are just as successful as its residents, one for the three elementary schools and a middle school, and a high school that is shared with nearby communities as part of the Ramapo Indian Hills High School District. Students of the borough also have the opportunity to attend the highly regarded magnet school, Bergen Academies, in Hackensack. In addition, the local educational foundation has helped to make the schools in this small district showcases of learning, including state-of-the art computer technology, fiber optic hookups, and enrichment programs. The district has been given a rating of nine out of a possible 10. High Mountain Road School, which serves pre-K to fifth grade students, is rated a 10, with the notation that it is one of the few public schools in New Jersey to have received this distinguished GreatSchools rating. The Colonial Road School, which opened its doors in September of 2004 and serves pre-K through grade 5, is one of the few public schools in the state to have received a distinguished GreatSchools rating of nine. The Woodside Avenue School, which serves kindergarten to fifth grade students, is one of the few public schools in New Jersey to receive a distinguished GreatSchools rating of eight. The Franklin Avenue Middle School, which serves students in grades six through eight, received a distinguished GreatSchools WALK-A-THON th Sunday, May 16 at 2pm Rain or Shine Walk, stroll or walk your dog with us for 2 miles! From St. Paul Church, 200 Wyckoff Ave, Ramsey, NJ to Finch Park Cost to Register $10.00 Won’t You Please Join Us and Walk… so that a Child Who Cannot Walk May Someday be Able to. All proceeds benefit Special Needs Children & Spinal Research at Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital at Columbia Presbyterian. Mary’s Basement will be performing after the walk. For more info or for sponsorship forms, e-mail: GDRice96@aol.com rating of nine. Ramapo High School also received the distinguished Great Schools rating of nine. “It is a wonderful honor for our schools, our students, and the entire community,” Superintendent of Schools Roger Bayersdorfer said about the report. “Franklin Lakes is a special place, and for a national organization to pick us from the tens of thousands of school districts is very special. The fact that it is connected with fiscal prudence, as their headline ‘best schools for the buck’ suggests, is especially gratifying as we have been careful over the years to make sure every dollar counts toward a quality education, that we seek and obtain grants and share services, and work in cooperation with our partner districts and the borough. I am very proud of the staff for their work with our students.” Forbes worked with GreatSchools -- a national, independent nonprofit organization founded in 1998 to help parents choose schools -- to prepare the study. The study generated the rankings, and analyzed 17,377 cities and towns from 49 states and the District of Columbia, using a combination of the most recently available K-12 public school student enrollment and test score data, along with 2009 median home price and population data. The list was narrowed down by eliminating areas in which there was insufficient data for analysis, such as small towns with populations under 10,000, or fewer than five K-12 public schools. (continued on page 20) St. Paul Interparochial School 5-12-10 joan/janine WalkAThon3x3(5-12-10) 3 x 3” Rev3 CARNIVAL May 19-23, 2010 187 Wyckoff Ave., Ramsey NJ Wednesday 6:00-10:00 PM Thursday 6:00-10:00 PM (Bracelet Night $25.00 unlimited rides) Friday 6:00-1 1:00 PM Saturday 3:00-1 1:00 PM (Early Bird Bracelet, $25.00, 3:00-7:00 pm, unlimited rides) Sunday 2:00-7:00 PM (Bracelet Day, $25.00, unlimited rides) Advance ticket sales available at St. Paul School and after all weekend masses. For Further Information: 201-327-1108