From left, Bloomfield Schools Assistant Superintendent Joseph Flores and Superintendent Sal Goncalves have announced the NJ Department of Education has deemed Bloomfield a ‘high performance district.’
BLOOMFIELD, NJ — Schools Superintendent Sal Goncalves has received, in a congratulatory letter from the New Jersey Department of Education dated Thursday, Jan. 30, the results of a comprehensive evaluation deeming Bloomfield to be a “high performing district.”
The achievement is a first for the district since the evaluation process, known as New Jersey Quality Single Accountability Continuum, was enacted into law in 2005. The results also represent something of a resurrection for the district since 2011-2012 when, Goncalves said, Bloomfield schools were almost taken over by the state. Goncalves spoke with the Independent Press in his office earlier this week, along with Assistant Superintendent and Director of Elementary Education Joe Fleres. Goncalves became superintendent in 2013, and Fleres became his assistant last year.
“It’s been a commitment by the school board and the administration to provide the best possible instruction and facilities,” Goncalves said of the district’s current standing.
The NJQSAC process is initiated by a district self-evaluation. The data is then reviewed by the Somerset executive county superintendent and the Essex County Office of Education. The Bloomfield data will be forwarded to the state Board of Education for certification as a high performance district. On Tuesday, Feb. 11, the evaluation was scheduled for approval by the Bloomfield Board of Education.
The evaluation looked at five areas. With a passing grade of 80, the district scored 85 in instruction and programs, 100 in fiscal management, 100 in governance, 91 in operations, and 86 in personnel.
Money is obviously a big part of making improvements, Goncalves said, but he also pointed to the year 2010, when financial management was given an 88, but other areas lagged. He said that was a puzzle, and he could only think the money was not spent wisely.
“It was not a house in order,” he said. “We weren’t consistent how and where we were spending our money. But these current scores represent an efficient system — a money saver.”
Fleres said the current results show the district is closing the achievement gap.
“We were always marked down for that,” he said.
He credited academic improvements to an effort to educate the whole child, making sure the child is doing well emotionally and socially.
Goncalves noted that Bloomfield is a sanctuary city and that children from all over the world come here.
“We grow all these kids,” he said. “Both Watsessing and Oak View and everyone in between is deemed a high-performance school. I give the Board of Education a lot of credit for supporting the initiative the administration has put forward.”
Fleres agreed.
“This news was met with a lot of pride,” he said. “For 15 years, we’ve been chipping away at this audit. It’s a credit to everyone.”
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