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Paterson Schools Named No. 1 In NJ, New Rankings Show Paterson Schools Named No. 1 In NJ, New Rankings Show
Paterson Schools Named No. 1 In NJ, New Rankings Show Several New Jersey schools are among the best in the nation, according to new rankings released this week. U.S. News & World Report, the global authority in education rankings, announced its 2026 Best Elementary and Middle Schools list on Tuesday, Oct. 28. The report includes about 47,000 public elementary schools and 23,000 middle schools ranked at the state and district levels, with charter schools evaluated as a separate category, according to the publication. Rankings are based on publicly available data from the U.S. Department of Education, the report said. To qualify for district…

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by Cecilia Levine
Schools
$18M Budget Crisis Prompts 150+ Montclair School Job Cuts, Superintendent Says $18M Budget Crisis Prompts 150+ Montclair School Job Cuts, Superintendent Says
$18M Budget Crisis Prompts 150+ Montclair School Job Cuts, Superintendent Says A New Jersey school district is facing an $18 million deficit that its new superintendent blames on “years of bad accounting” and overspending, forcing more than 150 staff cuts this month. Montclair Schools Superintendent Ruth B. Turner said 153 employees received notifications on Oct. 22, including 103 who were terminated or affected by a reduction in force (RIF). The changes take effect Dec. 31. “The process of making and communicating staffing reductions is incredibly difficult,” Turner said in the statement. “The total of 153 letters issued included a combination of reduction-in-fo…

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by Cecilia Levine
Schools
One Dead, Six Injured In Homecoming Shooting At One Of America’s Oldest HBCUs: DA One Dead, Six Injured In Homecoming Shooting At One Of America’s Oldest HBCUs: DA
One Dead, Six Injured In Homecoming Shooting At One Of America’s Oldest HBCUs: DA A shooting left one person dead and six others injured on the campus of Lincoln University in Chester County, Pennsylvania — one of America’s oldest historically Black colleges and universities — during homecoming weekend, authorities announced on Sunday, Oct. 26. Officers responded to the 1500 block of Baltimore Pike around 9:15 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 25, for reports of gunfire, according to the Chester County District Attorney’s Office. During a press conference early Sunday morning, Chester County District Attorney Christopher de Barrena-Sarobe confirmed the fatality and said one person …

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by Jillian Pikora
Schools
Teen Accused Of Kicking School Worker To Death Charged With Assault: Report Teen Accused Of Kicking School Worker To Death Charged With Assault: Report
Teen Accused Of Kicking School Worker To Death Charged With Assault: Report A staff member at a Massachusetts therapeutic school was killed after she was kicked in the chest by a 14-year-old student. Now, a news report says authorities have charged the teenager with the death.  Amy Morrell, 53, of Riverside, Rhode Island, worked at Meadowridge Academy in Swansea. The school serves students with emotional and developmental challenges. Authorities said Morrell and other staff were trying to stop a student from leaving her dorm without permission on Oct. 15 when the teen kicked Morrell in the chest. “Shortly after being struck, the victim collapsed,” said Bristo…

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by Josh Lanier
Schools
NY Teacher Caught On Livestream Sexting Purported 13-Year-Old Girl: Police NY Teacher Caught On Livestream Sexting Purported 13-Year-Old Girl: Police
NY Teacher Caught On Livestream Sexting Purported 13-Year-Old Girl: Police A Long Island elementary school teacher is accused of requesting sexually explicit photos from who he thought was a 13-year-old girl. Wading River Elementary School teacher Mark Verity, 37, was arrested by Suffolk County Police Friday, Oct. 17, hours after he was allegedly caught on a livestream admitting to engaging in sexually explicit conversations with a purported minor, as Daily Voice reported.  On Thursday, Oct. 16, the vigilante group Predator Poachers Long Island posted a video claiming it had confronted the teacher during a sting operation. In the clip, Verity allege…

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by Michael Mashburn
Schools
NY Teacher Discussed 'Sex, Kissing' With Purported 13-Year-Old Girl In Undercover Sting NY Teacher Discussed 'Sex, Kissing' With Purported 13-Year-Old Girl In Undercover Sting
NY Teacher Discussed 'Sex, Kissing' With Purported 13-Year-Old Girl In Undercover Sting A Long Island elementary school teacher has been suspended and banned from campus after allegedly having sexually explicit conversations with a purported underage girl. The Wading River Elementary School teacher was “caught on a livestreamed platform sharing disturbing remarks,” Shoreham-Wading River Central School District Superintendent Gerard Poole said in a letter to parents Wednesday, Oct. 15. It came hours after the vigilante group Predator Poachers Long Island posted a video claiming it had confronted the teacher during a sting operation. In the clip, the man admits to engaging in a …

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by Michael Mashburn
Schools
Surprise! Video Shows NJ Teacher's Priceless Reaction To Winning $25K National Award Surprise! Video Shows NJ Teacher's Priceless Reaction To Winning $25K National Award
Surprise! Video Shows NJ Teacher's Priceless Reaction To Winning $25K National Award Seventh-grade English teacher Jeanette Capritti thought she was walking into another morning assembly at Lawrence Middle School on Wednesday, Oct. 15. Instead, she walked out $25,000 richer — and part of an elite group of educators recognized as the best in the nation. Capritti was named New Jersey’s sole recipient of the 2025-26 Milken Educator Award, one of education’s most prestigious honors, during a surprise ceremony in the school gym packed with cheering students, teachers, and local leaders. A video from the event shows Capritti’s jaw drop in absolute shock as her name was called. Th…

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by Cecilia Levine
Schools
'Pee Challenge': NJ HS Principal Condemns 'Reprehensible' TikTok Trend 'Pee Challenge': NJ HS Principal Condemns 'Reprehensible' TikTok Trend
'Pee Challenge': NJ HS Principal Condemns 'Reprehensible' TikTok Trend A new TikTok trend streaming all over the app has taken over a high school in New Jersey — and the principal has had enough. Barnegat High School Principal Patrick Magee sent a letter home to families on Monday, Oct. 6, speaking out about "The Pee Challenge," where people film themselves urinating in public after the trend "recently appeared in our school community." "This behavior is completely reprehensible," Magee said. "It not only damages property but also creates serious health and safety risks for students, staff, and the public." Magee said the school district is working with Barne…

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by Sam Barron
Schools
Federal Union Sues Trump-Vance Admin For Forcing Workers’ Emails To Blame Dems For Shutdown Federal Union Sues Trump-Vance Admin For Forcing Workers’ Emails To Blame Dems For Shutdown
Federal Union Sues Trump-Vance Admin For Forcing Workers’ Emails To Blame Dems For Shutdown The nation’s largest federal worker union is suing the Trump-Vance administration, accusing it of forcing government employees to send partisan political messages during the ongoing shutdown. The American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), which represents roughly 800,000 federal workers, filed the lawsuit Friday against the US Department of Education and Education Secretary Linda McMahon, alleging that the agency violated employees’ First Amendment rights by changing their automatic out-of-office email responses to blame Democrats for the shutdown. According to the lawsuit, the Edu…

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by Zak Failla
Schools
19 Women Secretly Recorded In F&M Dorm Bathroom, Student Sentenced: DA 19 Women Secretly Recorded In F&M Dorm Bathroom, Student Sentenced: DA
19 Women Secretly Recorded In F&M Dorm Bathroom, Student Sentenced: DA A Franklin & Marshall College student who secretly recorded 19 nude women in a dorm bathroom has been sentenced to jail and probation, prosecutors announced Friday, Oct. 3. John James Riley, 20, of York Township, was sentenced to eight to 23 months in county jail, followed by nine years of probation, according to the Lancaster County District Attorney's Office. Judge Dennis Reinaker handed down the sentence on Tuesday, Oct. 1. Riley previously pleaded guilty in June to 19 counts of intercepting communications, 19 counts of criminal use of a communication facility, two counts of possessi…

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by Jillian Pikora
Schools
Classmates Escort Autistic Teen To School After Bullying Attack As NY Mom Urges Reform Classmates Escort Autistic Teen To School After Bullying Attack As NY Mom Urges Reform
Classmates Escort Autistic Teen To School After Bullying Attack As NY Mom Urges Reform When bullies tried to break Tyler RocheTilden, his Long Island classmates had his back. Days after a vicious attack left the 15-year-old terrified to leave home, student athletes from Massapequa High School showed up at his door Tuesday, Sept. 30 – walking him to his homeroom class and proving he wasn’t alone. The heartwarming display came after an incident in Massapequa Park days earlier that left Tyler — who is on the autism spectrum and lives with severe anxiety — shaken and afraid to go outside, his mom Gina Moscato recounted on Facebook. In a series of posts that she shared with neigh…

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by Michael Mashburn
Schools
Fatal Shooting Of HS Senior By Federal Agents Justified, DA Says (UPDATE) Fatal Shooting Of HS Senior By Federal Agents Justified, DA Says (UPDATE)
Fatal Shooting Of HS Senior By Federal Agents Justified, DA Says (Update) The fatal shooting of an Aliquippa High School senior by a federal agent has been ruled justified, Beaver County District Attorney Nate Bible announced during a press conference on Wednesday, Oct. 1. The 18-year-old Kendric Curtis fired two rounds from a stolen handgun into an unmarked SUV carrying undercover ATF, FBI, and local task force officers on Waugaman Street at the Linmar Terrace apartment complex, DA Bible said. An ATF agent returned fire once, striking Curtis in the head. Curtis was flown to Allegheny General Hospital, where he died at 3:03 a.m. on Friday, Sept. 19, the Allegheny…

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by Jillian Pikora