Perth Amboy High School on April 17 debuted the use of metal detectors, a security measure that Perth Amboy Federation President Pat Paradiso describes as “a good thing.”
“I know it’s going to be difficult, but you can’t have kids with weapons in school,” Paradiso told News 12 New Jersey in a segment that aired April 17.…
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The Perth Amboy Board of Education on March 9 held its first meeting since the stabbing of 11-year-old Smailyn Jimenez on Feb. 22 by a fellow Samuel E. Shull Middle School student and the subsequent community outcry about school safety.
In an op-ed posted by Perth Amboy Now on March 11, Perth Amboy Federation President Pat Paradiso wrote about a “raucous and uncomfortable” atmosphere during the March 9 meeting’s public session.…
Nine days after Perth Amboy Federation members met to discuss safety concerns at Samuel E. Shull Middle School, 11-year-old Smailyn Jimenez was stabbed Feb. 22 by a fellow Shull student, prompting PAF to ramp up its efforts for change and accountability in the district.
Perth Amboy authorities say the attack, which occurred while Jimenez was on his way home, stemmed from an argument at the school, reports WABC’s Janice Yu.…
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About 20 Perth Amboy Federation members met Feb. 13 at Samuel E. Shull Middle School to discuss safety concerns and unruly student behavior in the building and ways in which to address these issues.
The nearly hourlong afternoon meeting at Shull was led by PAF President Pat Paradiso, who was joined by district representative Lynn Audet and treasurer Josiah Santamaria.…
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Perth Amboy Federation President Pat Paradiso and Newark Teachers Union member Silvia Pereira will be the AFT representatives on the task force Gov. Phil Murphy established via executive order to address the teacher and support staff shortage in New Jersey’s public schools.
“AFTNJ President Donna M. Chiera recommended me for the task force, but I would have asked to be part of it had she not,” says Paradiso (above left), who is AFTNJ’s PreK-12 executive vice president.…
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U.S. Education Secretary Dr. Miguel A. Cardona appeared Jan. 12 on “CBS Mornings” to talk about millions of additional COVID-19 tests coming soon to public schools nationwide.
“You’re going to see distribution of [COVID] tests as early as next week to make sure that our schools can stay open,” Dr. Cardona said.
Co-host Tony Dokoupil responded, “As of right now, you don’t have them stockpiled, but they’re going to be made in the next seven days?”…
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The mask mandate for students, teachers and other personnel in New Jersey schools will continue. The mandate, part of last summer’s Executive Order No. 251, was due to expire Jan. 11.
“I want to be clear — by the way, with no joy … that the mask mandates in schools and day care centers will continue at least for the foreseeable future,” Gov.…
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AFTNJ President Donna M. Chiera hosted a virtual roundtable Sept. 28 with prekindergarten-12 leaders for them to share their school-reopening experiences to date.
Robin Pinckney-St. John, an AFTNJ PreK-12 vice president, talked about how open enrollment in the Newark school district contributes to the challenges in monitoring COVID-19 contact tracing, with students who are in the same family attending multiple schools.…
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The AFT’s Back to School for All campaign rolled through Perth Amboy on Aug. 11, with AFTNJ President Donna M. Chiera and Perth Amboy Federation President Pat Paradiso distributing educational books to individuals who received a COVID-19 vaccine that day at the Raritan Bay Area YMCA.
More than 30 people were vaccinated during the three-hour event, according to Rebecca Pauley, the Raritan Bay Area YMCA community health coordinator.…
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It’s been an academic year defined by wearing masks and performing precautionary tasks, during which the need for sanitizer was eventually upstaged by the arrival of COVID-19 vaccines. It’s also been a period of time when “roomies” became “Zoomies,” as Newark Teachers Union President John M. Abeigon was fond of saying.
With summer break in full view, teachers and staff from the Perth Amboy, Newark, Garfield and North Bergen school districts look back at the challenges they faced during 2020-21.…
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Perth Amboy Federation (Local 857) President Pat Paradiso and district representative Lynn Audet spoke about scheduling and other concerns during the public portion of April 15’s board of education meeting, 11 days before students are due to return to classrooms for in-person learning.
As reported by Katherine Massopust in the April 21 print edition of The Amboy Guardian, Paradiso repeatedly referred to Perth Amboy teachers being treated as “second-class citizens” saddled with such burdens as teaching for five consecutive hours without a bathroom break and covering additional classes without extra compensation.…
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