Westfield Public Schools

Westfield Public Schools
Superintendent:		Dr. Margaret Dolan
Business Administrator:		Robert Berman
Address:		302 Elm Street Westfield, NJ 07090
Grade Range:		K-12
School facilities:		9
Enrollment:		6,344 (as of 2009-10)
Faculty (in FTEs):		459
Student–teacher ratio:		13.82
District Factor Group:		I
Web site:		http://www.westfieldnjk12.org
Ind.	Per Pupil	District Spending	Rank (*)	K-12 Average	%± vs. Average
1	Comparative Cost	$11,781	24	$13,632	-13.6%
2	Classroom Instruction	6,948	14	8,035	-13.5%
6	Support Services	1,997	61	2,166	-7.8%
8	Administrative Cost	1,300	45	1,379	-5.7%
10	Operations & Maintenance	1,241	18	1,674	-25.9%
16	Median Teacher Salary	62,049	75	57,597
Data from NJDoE 2009 Comparative Spending Guide. *Of K-12 districts with 3,501+ students. Lowest spending=1; Highest=105

The Westfield Public Schools are a comprehensive community public school district that serves students in Kindergarten through 12th grade from Westfield, in Union County, New Jersey, United States.

As of the 2009-10 school year, the district's 10 schools had an enrollment of 6,344 students and 459 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 13.82.The district had an additional 317 non-teaching staff, for a total of 776 FTEs, and operated in the 2007-08 school year on a budget of $91,184,000, at an average per student cost of $14,851.

The district is classified by the New Jersey Department of Education as being in District Factor Group "I", the second highest of eight groupings. District Factor Groups organize districts statewide to allow comparison by common socioeconomic characteristics of the local districts. From lowest socioeconomic status to highest, the categories are A, B, CD, DE, FG, GH, I and J.

Students taking the SAT have achieved average scores of 560 in Verbal and 577 for Math. 11 Perfect Scores have been achieved. In the 2005 National Merit Scholarship Program, the Westfield Public Schools had 6 Semifinalists and 18 Commendations.

Awards and recognition

Theodore Roosevelt Intermediate School was awarded the Blue Ribbon School Award of Excellence by the United States Department of Education, the highest award an American school can receive, during the 2004-05 school year.

For the 1994-95 school year, Westfield High School was named as a "Star School" by the New Jersey Department of Education, the highest honor that a New Jersey school can achieve.

Schools

The district has a central kindergarten, along with six grade 1 - 5 elementary schools and two grade 6 - 8 middle schools divided by a "North Side / South Side" boundary, as well as a single high school. The schools in the district (with 2009-10 enrollment data from the National Center for Education Statistics) are as follows:

Kindergarten

• Lincoln School (285 students)

Elementary Schools (Grades 1-5)

• Franklin Elementary School (633; North)
• Jefferson Elementary School (444; South)
• McKinley Elementary School (348; South)
• Tamaques Elementary School (426; South)
• Washington Elementary School (329; North)
• Wilson Elementary School (468; North)

Middle Schools (Grades 6-8)

• Theodore Roosevelt Intermediate School (780; North)
• Thomas Alva Edison Intermediate School (759; South)

High School (9-12)

• Westfield High School (1,796 students)

Because the Westfield Public Schools are in Union County, public school students may apply to attend the Union County Vocational Technical Schools. They include Union County Magnet High School, Union County Academy for Information Technology, Union County Academy for Allied Health Sciences, Union County Vocational Technical High School and Union County Academy for Performing Arts.

Press

Westfield High School publishes a weekly student newspaper during the school year called Hi's Eye. Established in 1935, the paper publishes 33 issues per year with a monthly Arts and Entertainment insert called Iris. The Hi's Eye is unique among many student run newspapers in that it is weekly and completely self-funded. The motto for the Hi's Eye is "If it's Friday and there's school... there will be Hi's Eye."

The middle schools and elementary schools also publish a brief newspaper written by their students, for their students. Theodore Roosevelt Intermediate School publishes an issue of The Rough Rider 12 times a year. Thomas Alva Edison Intermediate School publishes The Edison Insider a few times a year. Woodrow Wilson Elementary School publishes an issue of The Wilson World twice a year.

Administration

Core members of the district's administration are:

• Dr. Margaret Dolan, Superintendent
• Robert Berman, Business Administrator / Board Secretary

External links

• Westfield Public Schools
• Westfield Public Schools's 2009–10 School Report Card from the New Jersey Department of Education
• Data for the Westfield Public Schools, National Center for Education Statistics