Fort Lee School District Explained

Fort Lee Public Schools
Superintendent:	Robert Kravitz
Businessadmin:	Lindita Agastra (acting)
Address:	231 Main Street
Zipcode:	07024
Country:	United States
Coordinates:	40.8518°N -73.9718°W
Schools:	7
Enrollment:	4,074 (as of 2021–22)
Ratio:	12.3:1
Free Text:	FG

The Fort Lee School District or Fort Lee Public Schools is a comprehensive community public school district that serves students in pre-Kindergarten through twelfth grade from Fort Lee, in Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.^[1]

As of the 2021–22 school year, the district, then comprised of six schools, had an enrollment of 4,074 students and 331.7 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 12.3:1.^[2]

The district is classified by the New Jersey Department of Education as being in District Factor Group "FG", the fourth-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

During the 2010-11 school year, School #3 was awarded the Blue Ribbon School Award of Excellence by the United States Department of Education, the highest award an American school can receive, one of only 10 schools statewide to be honored.^[4] The school was one of three in Bergen County honored that year.^[5] In 2024, School 3 was one of 11 statewide that was recognized as a Blue Ribbon School.^{[6] [7]}

Fort Lee High School has been ranked very highly both by U.S. News & World Report (92 of 451 in 2020^[8]) and the New Jersey Department of Education ranking (89% percentile in the state^[9]).

Controversy

Fort Lee Elementary School 1 was in the news in 2018, receiving local and out-of-state media coverage after a teacher's assistant pleaded guilty to selling drugs on school grounds.^[10]

Schools

Schools in the district (with 2021–22 enrollment data from the National Center for Education Statistics^[11]) are:^{[12] [13]}

Elementary schools

• School 1^[14] with 535 students in grades K-4
  • Alberto Ruiz, principal
• School 2^[15] with 341 students in grades PreK-4
  • John Brennan, principal
• School 3^[16] with 386 students in grades K-4
  • Viveca Williams-Glover, principal
• School 4^[17] with 392 students in grades K-4
  • Patrick Ambrosio, principal

Intermediate / middle schoolCombined 1,153 students in grades 5-8

• Lewis F. Cole Intermediate School^[18]
  • Thomas Kraljic, interim principal
• Lewis F. Cole Middle School^[19]
  • William Diaz II, principal

High school

• Fort Lee High School^[20] with 1,223 students in grades 9-12
  • Lauren Glynn, principal

Administrators

Core members of the district's administration are:^{[21] [22]}

• Robert Kravitz, superintendent of schools^[23]
• Lindita Agastra, acting business administrator and board secretary^[24]

Former District Superintendent Raymond Bandlow announced in August 2011 that although he had over two years left on his contract, he would be retiring in New Jersey effective October 31 to accept a position as superintendent of the Beacon City Schools in Beacon, New York. In addition to collecting a New Jersey pension, Bandlow will receive an annual salary below the $210,000 he had been receiving in Fort Lee, but more than the nearly $165,000 he would have received in a new contract in Fort Lee following restrictions on salaries imposed by former Governor of New Jersey Chris Christie.^[25]

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.^{[26] [27] [28]}

External links

• Fort Lee School District
  • School Data for the Fort Lee School District, National Center for Education Statistics

Notes and References

1. https://www.straussesmay.com/seportal/Public/DistrictPolicy.aspx?policyid=0110&id=7616a2da3d5d4e61856ef2f7ecfe9410 Fort Lee Board of Education District Policy 0110 - Identification
2. https://nces.ed.gov/ccd/districtsearch/district_detail.asp?Search=2&details=1&ID2=3405310&DistrictID=3405310 District information for Fort Lee 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/2010/national.pdf#page=13 2010 Blue Ribbon Schools: All Public and Private Schools
5. Alex, Patricia. "3 Bergen elementary schools given Blue Ribbon designation", The Record, January 6, 2011. Accessed April 5, 2011.
6. https://nationalblueribbonschools.ed.gov/awardwinners/ Current Awardees
7. Kelley, Tina. "11 new National Blue Ribbon Schools named in N.J.", NJ Advance Media for NJ.com, September 23, 2024. Accessed September 24, 2024. "Eleven public and private schools have been chosen as New Jersey’s newest National Blue Ribbon Schools, the U.S. Department of Education announced Monday."
8. https://www.usnews.com/education/best-high-schools/new-jersey/districts/fort-lee-public-schools/fort-lee-high-school-12547 Fort Lee High School 2020 Rankings
9. Clark, Adam; Astudillo, Carla. "See how your public school scores in N.J.'s newest (and hidden) ratings", NJ Advance Media for NJ.com. January 23, 2018, updated April 2, 2019. Accessed April 26, 2020.
10. https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/new-jersey-elementary-school-teachers-assistant-pleads-guilty-selling-oxycodone-prosecutors/1789896/ "NJ Teacher's Assistant Pleads Guilty to Selling Oxycodone: Prosecutors"
11. https://nces.ed.gov/ccd/schoolsearch/school_list.asp?Search=1&DistrictID=3405310 School Data for the Fort Lee School District
12. https://rc.doe.state.nj.us/selectreport/2022-2023/03/1550 School Performance Reports for the Fort Lee School District
13. https://homeroom6.doe.state.nj.us/directory/school/districtid/1550 New Jersey School Directory for the Fort Lee School District
14. https://fles1.flboe.com/ School 1
15. https://fles2.flboe.com/ School 2
16. https://fles3.flboe.com/ School 3
17. https://fles4.flboe.com/ School 4
18. http://flis.flboe.com/ Lewis F. Cole Intermediate School
19. http://flms.flboe.com/ Fort Lee Middle School
20. https://flhs.flboe.com/ Fort Lee High School
21. https://www.flboe.com/administration/about_us About Us
22. https://homeroom6.doe.state.nj.us/directory/district/county/bergen New Jersey School Directory for Bergen County
23. https://www.flboe.com/administration/superintendent_of_schools Superintendent of Schools
24. https://www.flboe.com/administration/business_office Business Office
25. Almenas, Maxim. "Fort Lee Superintendent Raymond Bandlow will leave the district Oct. 31", Fort Lee Suburbanite, August 30, 2011. Accessed August 31, 2011. "Fort Lee School Superintendent Raymond Bandlow has been the district leader for four years, but he was not present at the Aug. 29 school board meeting. Instead, he was officially accepting the superintendent position for the Beacon City school district in Dutchess County, 50 miles north of New York City. Bandlow's resignation will be effective as of Oct. 31."
26. https://www.nj.gov/education/finance/fp/dwb/DistrictByTypeList2018.pdf New Jersey Boards of Education by District Election Types - 2018 School Election
27. https://www.nj.gov/education/finance/fp/acfr/search/23/1550.pdf#page=54 Annual Comprehensive Financial Report of the Fort Lee Public Schools
28. https://www.flboe.com/board_of_ed Board of Education