The Teaneck Public Schools is comprehensive community

public In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociological concept of the ''Öffentlichkei ...

school district A school district is a special-purpose district that operates local public primary and secondary schools in various nations. North America United States In the U.S, most K–12 public schools function as units of local school districts, wh ...

serving students in

pre-kindergarten Pre-kindergarten (also called Pre-K or PK) is a voluntary classroom-based preschool program for children below the age of five in the United States, Canada, Turkey and Greece (when kindergarten starts). It may be delivered through a preschool ...

through

twelfth grade Twelfth grade, 12th grade, senior year, or grade 12 is the final year of secondary school in most of North America. In other regions, it may also be referred to as class 12 or Year 13. In most countries, students are usually between the ages of 17 ...

Teaneck Teaneck () is a township in Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is a bedroom community in the New York metropolitan area. As of the 2010 U.S. census, the township's population was 39,776, reflecting an increase of 516 (+1.3%) fr ...

Bergen County Bergen County is the most populous county in the U.S. state of New Jersey.New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

, United States. As of the 2019–20 school year, the district, comprised of seven schools, had an enrollment of 3,720 students and 347.3 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a

student–teacher ratio Student–teacher ratio or student–faculty ratio is the number of students who attend a school or university divided by the number of teachers in the institution. For example, a student–teacher ratio of 10:1 indicates that there are 10 students ...

of 10.7:1.District information for Teaneck School District

National Center for Education Statistics The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) is the part of the United States Department of Education's Institute of Education Sciences (IES) that collects, analyzes, and publishes statistics on education and public school district finance ...

. Accessed November 1, 2019. The district is classified by the

New Jersey Department of Education The New Jersey Department of Education (NJ DOE) administers state and federal aid programs affecting more than 1.4 million public and non-public elementary and secondary school children in the state of New Jersey. The department is headquartered ...

as being in

District Factor Group {{refimprove, date=February 2013 Membership in a District Factor Group (DFG) is an indicator of the socioeconomic status of citizens in school districts of New Jersey. DFGs were first developed by the New Jersey Department of Education in 1975 for ...

"GH", the third-highest of eight groupings. District Factor Groups organize districts statewide, ostensibly to allow comparison by common

socioeconomic Socioeconomics (also known as social economics) is the social science that studies how economic activity affects and is shaped by social processes. In general it analyzes how modern societies progress, stagnate, or regress because of their local ...

characteristics of the local districts. From lowest socioeconomic status to highest, the categories are A, B, CD, DE, FG, GH, I and J. However, because socioeconomic data is derived from the municipality as a whole and a significant proportion of Teaneck's more affluent families send their children to parochial or other private schools, the usefulness of District Factor Grouping in the Teaneck district's case is disputed.

Awards and recognition

The Teaneck Public Schools have been recognized by the

as part of its

Best practice A best practice is a method or technique that has been generally accepted as superior to other known alternatives because it often produces results that are superior to those achieved by other means or because it has become a standard way of doing ...

s program. The district was awarded in the 1997–98 school year for its Passport Portfolio Program, and in the 2000–01 school year for its Early Literacy Initiative.

History

Harvey B. Scribner Harvey Bertram Scribner (July 7, 1914 – December 23, 2002) was an American educator and administrator who oversaw the voluntary integration of the Teaneck Public Schools in the mid-1960s. He also headed the Vermont Department of Education. ...

, who later served as

New York City School Chancellor The New York City Schools Chancellor (formally "Chancellor of the New York City Department of Education") is the head of the New York City Department of Education. The Chancellor is appointed by the Mayor, and serves at the Mayor's pleasure. The ...

, was hired in 1961 by the Teaneck Public Schools to serve as superintendent of the district. There he oversaw the adoption of mandatory busing in 1965 in which Teaneck voluntarily integrated its public schools. Despite angry phone calls from some parents and the occasional death threat, Teaneck's integration went smoothly and Scribner recalled that he was "literally crying" on the first day of school in 1965 when buses rolled into school without incident. Teaneck's 1965 busing plan was widely reported as the first district in the nation with a white majority to implement a voluntary school integration program. A 1982 teachers strike that lasted for 19 days was settled after a judge threatened to jail striking teachers and pressured the board of education to negotiate an agreement.

Schools

Schools in the district, with 2019–20 enrollment data from the

, are: ;Elementary schools * Bryant School (322 students in pre-K and Kindergarten) **Built in 1927, the school is named for poet and journalist

William Cullen Bryant William Cullen Bryant (November 3, 1794 – June 12, 1878) was an American romantic poet, journalist, and long-time editor of the ''New York Evening Post''. Born in Massachusetts, he started his career as a lawyer but showed an interest in poetry ...

. **School #6 **Leslie Abrew, Principal * Hawthorne School (345 students in grades 1–4) **Built in 1925, the school is named for author

Nathaniel Hawthorne Nathaniel Hawthorne (July 4, 1804 – May 19, 1864) was an American novelist and short story writer. His works often focus on history, morality, and religion. He was born in 1804 in Salem, Massachusetts, from a family long associated with that t ...

. **School #5 **Natasha T. Pitt, Principal * Lowell School (336 students in grades 1–4) **Built in 1935, the school is named for author

James Russell Lowell James Russell Lowell (; February 22, 1819 – August 12, 1891) was an American Romantic poet, critic, editor, and diplomat. He is associated with the fireside poets, a group of New England writers who were among the first American poets that ri ...

. **School #7 **Antoine Green, Principal * Whittier School (359 students in grades 1–4) **Built in 1923, the school is named for

John Greenleaf Whittier John Greenleaf Whittier (December 17, 1807 – September 7, 1892) was an American Quaker poet and advocate of the abolition of slavery in the United States. Frequently listed as one of the fireside poets, he was influenced by the Scottish poet ...

. **School #4 **Pedro Valdes, Principal * Theodora Smiley Lacey School **Opened in 2020 ;Middle schools * Benjamin Franklin Middle School (555 students in grades 5–8) **Named for founding father and inventor

Benjamin Franklin Benjamin Franklin ( April 17, 1790) was an American polymath who was active as a writer, scientist, inventor, statesman, diplomat, printer, publisher, and political philosopher. Encyclopædia Britannica, Wood, 2021 Among the leading inte ...

. **Terrence Williams, Principal * Thomas Jefferson Middle School (523 students in grades 5–8) **Named for American president

Thomas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson (April 13, 1743 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, diplomat, lawyer, architect, philosopher, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the third president of the United States from 18 ...

. **Nina Odatalla, Principal ;High school *

Teaneck High School , motto_translation = To enrich the mind and improve the character , fundingtype = Public , schooltype = high school , grades = 9– 12 , district = Teaneck Public Schools , enrollment = 1,239 (as of 2021–22) , faculty = ...

(1,189 students in grades 9–12) **Built in 1929 **Clifton Thompson, Principal ;Defunct schools * Eugene Field School – Constructed in 1956. Used as Board of Education Central Administration Offices. School #8. Named for poet and humorist

Eugene Field Eugene Field Sr. (September 2, 1850 – November 4, 1895) was an American writer, best known for his children's poetry and humorous essays. He was known as the "poet of childhood". Early life and education Field was born in St. Louis, Missour ...

. * Emerson Elementary School – Built in 1916. Original School #3. Named for author, essayist, and 19th century philosopher

Ralph Waldo Emerson Ralph Waldo Emerson (May 25, 1803April 27, 1882), who went by his middle name Waldo, was an American essayist, lecturer, philosopher, abolitionist, and poet who led the transcendentalist movement of the mid-19th century. He was seen as a champ ...

. * Washington Irving School – Built in 1906. Original School #2. Named for author

Washington Irving Washington Irving (April 3, 1783 – November 28, 1859) was an American short-story writer, essayist, biographer, historian, and diplomat of the early 19th century. He is best known for his short stories "Rip Van Winkle" (1819) and " The Legen ...

. * Longfellow Elementary School – Built in 1910. School #1. Named for poet

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (February 27, 1807 – March 24, 1882) was an American poet and educator. His original works include "Paul Revere's Ride", ''The Song of Hiawatha'', and ''Evangeline''. He was the first American to completely transl ...

Controversy

Teaneck has received attention in the media due to sexual crimes committed against minors by faculty members. Joseph White, former principal of Teaneck High School, pleaded guilty to official child endangerment in June 2006 and was sentenced to one year in prison. White had been charged in 2002 with fondling a 17-year-old student and was subsequently acquitted. James Darden, an award-winning former eighth grade teacher at Thomas Jefferson Middle School, was charged with sexual assault and misconduct in June 2007. He pleaded guilty in December 2007 to a charge of

aggravated sexual assault The precise definitions of and punishments for aggravated sexual assault and aggravated rape vary from nation to nation and state to state within nations. Effects on victims Aggravated sexual assault can lead to short- or long-term effects. Ma ...

and faces up to 8 years in prison when sentenced on January 18, 2008.

Administration

Core members of the district's administration are: *Barbara Pinsak, Interim Superintendent *Dora E. Zeno, Interim School Business Administrator / Board Secretary As of July 1, 2022, former superintendent Barbara Pinsak was hired on an interim basis to replace Dr. Christopher C. Irving.

Board of education

The district's

board of education A board of education, school committee or school board is the board of directors or board of trustees of a school, local school district or an equivalent institution. The elected council determines the educational policy in a small regional are ...

, comprised of nine members, sets policy and oversees the fiscal and educational operation of the district through its administration. As a Type II school district, the board's trustees are elected directly by voters to serve three-year terms of office on a staggered basis, with three seats up for election each year held (since 2012) as part of the November general election. The board appoints a superintendent to oversee the district's day-to-day operations and a business administrator to supervise the business functions of the district.Board Members
Teaneck Public Schools. Accessed September 3, 2020.

References

External links

Teaneck Public Schools

Teaneck Virtual Village - History of Teaneck Public Schools
*
School Data for the Teaneck Public Schools

{{Bergen County, New Jersey School Districts Teaneck, New Jersey New Jersey District Factor Group GH School districts in Bergen County, New Jersey