Fair Lawn Public Schools Explained

Fair Lawn Public Schools
Superintendent:	Rui Dionisio
Businessadmin:	Danielle Mancuso
Image Alt:	This is the logo for Fair Lawn Public Schools.
Address:	37-01 Fair Lawn Avenue
Zipcode:	07410
Country:	United States
Coordinates:	40.9431°N -74.1067°W
Schools:	9
Enrollment:	5,529 (as of 2022–23)
Ratio:	12.1:1
Free Text:	GH

The Fair Lawn Public Schools is a comprehensive community public school district serving students in pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade from Fair Lawn in Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.^[1]

As of the 2022–23 school year, the district, comprised of nine schools, had an enrollment of 5,529 students and 458.4 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 12.1:1.^[2]

The district is classified by the New Jersey Department of Education as being in District Factor Group "GH", the third-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.^[3]

Awards and recognition

In both the 1990–91 and 1997-98 school years, Fair Lawn High School received the National Blue Ribbon Award of Excellence from the United States Department of Education, the highest honor that an American school can achieve.^[4]

In 2016, Lyncrest Elementary School was one of ten schools in New Jersey recognized as a National Blue Ribbon School by the United States Department of Education, a recognition celebrating excellence in academics.^{[5] [6]}

Henry B. Milnes Elementary School was one of nine schools in New Jersey honored in 2020 by the National Blue Ribbon Schools Program.^{[7] [8]}

History

In December 2014, Fair Lawn voters approved by a greater than 2-to-1 margin a $12.8 million expansion and capital improvement referendum to be implemented by the district. The referendum funded the initiation within two years of a full-day kindergarten in the district, a program offered by most districts countywide, as well as a roof replacement program at six schools. The expenditures were covered by $2.2 million in state aid, with the remaining $10.6 million covered by bonds issued by the school system.^[9] The full-day kindergarten program was slated to begin in September 2016.^[10]

Schools

Schools in the district (with 2022–23 enrollment data from the National Center for Education Statistics.^[11]) are:^{[12] [13] [14]}

Preschool

• Thomas Edison School^[15] for preschool

Elementary schools

• John A. Forrest Elementary School^[16] with 269 students in grades K-4
  • Damon Placenti, principal^[17]
• Lyncrest Elementary School^[18] with 207 students in grades K-4
  • Kelly Diee, principal^[19]
• Henry B. Milnes Elementary School^[20] with 428 students in grades K-4
  • Stephanie Primavera, principal^[21]
• Radburn Elementary School^[22] with 393 students in grades K-4
  • Jill Lindsay, principal^[23]
• Warren Point Elementary School^[24] with 392 students in grades K-4
  • Sue Gons, principal^[25]
• Westmoreland Elementary School^[26] with 393 students in grades PreK-4
  • Christine Dell'Aglio, principal^[27]

Middle schools

• Memorial Middle School^[28] with 626 students in grades 5-8
  • Nancy Schwindt, principal^[29]
• Thomas Jefferson Middle School^[30] with 1,134 students in grades 5-8
  • Michael Weaver, principal^[31]

High school

• Fair Lawn High School^[32] with 1,624 students in grades 9-12
  • Paul Gorski, principal^[33]

Administration

Core members of the district's administration are:^{[34] [35]}

• Rui Dionisio, superintendent^[36]
• Danielle Mancuso, business administrator and board secretary^[37]

Board of education

The district's board of education, 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.^{[38] [39]}, the Board of Education members are Julie Mahan (president), Joseph Baldofsky (vice president), Eugene Banta, Edward Bertolini, Jeanne Browne, Rita Fayvelevich, Michael Rosenberg, Mark Spindel and Lisa Yourman.^[40]

In August 2023, the district announced the hiring of Rui Dionisio, superintendent of the Ramapo Indian Hills Regional High School District, who took office as Fair Lawn superintendent in November 2023.^[41]

External links

• District website
  • School Data for the Fair Lawn Public Schools, National Center for Education Statistics

Notes and References

1. https://www.straussesmay.com/seportal/Public/DistrictPolicy.aspx?policyid=0110&id=dee0738b01174df78e809801d90bca51 Fair Lawn Board of Education District Policy 0110 - Identification
2. https://nces.ed.gov/ccd/districtsearch/district_detail.asp?Search=2&details=1&ID2=3404980&DistrictID=3404980 District information for Fair Lawn Public School District
3. http://www.state.nj.us/education/finance/rda/dfg.shtml NJ Department of Education District Factor Groups (DFG) for School Districts
4. http://www.ed.gov/programs/nclbbrs/list-1982.pdf Blue Ribbon Schools Program: Schools Recognized 1982-1983 through 1999-2002 (PDF)
5. https://www2.ed.gov/programs/nclbbrs/2016/national.pdf#page=20 2016 National Blue Ribbon Schools All Public and Non‐Public
6. Clark, Adam. "These 10 N.J. schools earn Blue Ribbon honors", NJ Advance Media for NJ.com, September 28, 2016. Accessed November 13, 2016. "The U.S. Department of Education on Wednesday announced that 10 New Jersey schools have been named National Blue Ribbon Schools, a recognition celebrating excellence in academics."
7. https://nationalblueribbonschools.ed.gov/awardwinners/reports/2020/all_2020_national_blue_ribbon_schools.pdf#page=23 2020 National Blue Ribbon Schools All Public and Non-Public Schools
8. Clark, Adam. "9 N.J. schools just won a huge national honor", NJ Advance Media for NJ.com, September 24, 2020. Accessed September 27, 2020. "Nine New Jersey public schools have been awarded the national Blue Ribbon designation, one of the highest honors in education. The schools were recognized Thursday by the U.S. Department of Education for high student achievement."
9. Diduch, Mary. "Fair Lawn voters approve $12.8M referendum", The Record, December 9, 2014, backed up by the Internet Archive as of June 2, 2016. Accessed September 16, 2017. "Borough voters approved a $12.8 million capital improvement project that will provide six schools with new roofs and expand an elementary school, paving the way for full-day kindergarten. The state through grants will pay for $2.19 million of the project, leaving the district to pay for the remaining $10.6 million with a bond."
10. https://web.archive.org/web/20160426031231/http://www.fairlawnschools.org/regletter Kindergarten Registration / Enrollment Process for 2016-2017
11. https://nces.ed.gov/ccd/schoolsearch/school_list.asp?Search=1&DistrictID=3404980 School Data for the Fair Lawn Public Schools
12. https://www.fairlawnschools.org/page/district-locations District Locations
13. https://rc.doe.state.nj.us/selectreport/2022-2023/03/1450 School Performance Reports for the Fair Lawn Public School District
14. https://homeroom6.doe.state.nj.us/directory/school/districtid/1450 New Jersey School Directory for the Fair Lawn Public Schools
15. https://edison.fairlawnschools.org/o/tes Thomas Edison School
16. https://forrest.fairlawnschools.org/o/jaf John A. Forrest Elementary School
17. https://forrest.fairlawnschools.org/o/jaf/page/about-us About Us
18. https://lyncrest.fairlawnschools.org/o/les Lyncrest Elementary School
19. https://lyncrest.fairlawnschools.org/o/les/page/about-us About Us
20. https://milnes.fairlawnschools.org/o/hbm Henry B. Milnes Elementary School
21. https://milnes.fairlawnschools.org/o/hbm/page/principal-s-message Principal's Message
22. https://radburn.fairlawnschools.org/o/res Radburn Elementary School
23. https://radburn.fairlawnschools.org/o/res/page/principals-message Principal's Message
24. https://warrenpoint.fairlawnschools.org/o/wpe Warren Point Elementary School
25. https://warrenpoint.fairlawnschools.org/o/wpe/page/principals-message Principal's Message
26. https://westmoreland.fairlawnschools.org/o/wes Westmoreland Elementary School
27. https://westmoreland.fairlawnschools.org/o/wes/page/principals-message Principal's Message
28. https://memorial.fairlawnschools.org/o/mms Memorial Middle School
29. https://memorial.fairlawnschools.org/o/mms/page/about-us About Us
30. https://tjms.fairlawnschools.org/o/tjms Thomas Jefferson Middle School
31. https://tjms.fairlawnschools.org/o/tjms/page/about-us About Us
32. https://flhs.fairlawnschools.org/o/flhs Fair Lawn High School
33. https://flhs.fairlawnschools.org/o/flhs/page/principals-message Principal's Message
34. https://www.fairlawnschools.org/page/central-office-staff Central Office Staff
35. https://homeroom6.doe.state.nj.us/directory/district/county/bergen New Jersey School Directory for Bergen County
36. https://www.fairlawnschools.org/page/superintendent Superintendent
37. https://www.fairlawnschools.org/page/business-office Business Office
38. https://www.nj.gov/education/finance/fp/dwb/DistrictByTypeList2018.pdf New Jersey Boards of Education by District Election Types - 2018 School Election
39. https://www.nj.gov/education/finance/fp/acfr/search/23/1450.pdf#page=41 Annual Comprehensive Financial Report of the Fair Lawn School District
40. https://www.fairlawnschools.org/page/board-members Board of Education Members
41. Noda, Stephanie; and Stoltz, Marcia. "Fair Lawn hires Ramapo Indian Hills superintendent to lead its school district", The Record, August 16, 2023. Accessed August 25, 2023. "The Fair Lawn Board of Education has hired the current superintendent of the Ramapo Indian Hills school district to lead the district in the coming school year. The school board unanimously voted during a special Tuesday meeting to hire Rui Dionisio as the new superintendent. He will begin his term in Fair Lawn on Nov. 1 under a contract that lasts until June 30, 2028."