Philip DeVencentis

1 week ago | northjersey.com | Philip DeVencentis

Staci Speranza, 54, the wife of Hawthorne Fire Chief Joseph Speranza, died on the morning of May 20. HAWTHORNE — A fledgling EMT and an injured fireman locked eyes in the back of an ambulance, and their community was never the same for it. That chance meeting sounds like it could be torn from the pages of a Hollywood screenplay, but it happened here. Friendship blossomed into romance, eventually rewarding a close-knit borough with a volunteer power couple.

2 weeks ago | northjersey.com | Philip DeVencentis

The Wayne Board of Education abolished the K-12 district orchestra, which serves about 150 students. Citing benefits of the program, students and their parents asked trustees to reverse their decision. WAYNE — A small but passionate group of students and their parents are appealing to the school board to restore an orchestra program that was abolished as part of millions of dollars in spending cuts for next year.

2 weeks ago | northjersey.com | Philip DeVencentis

The Wayne school board adopted a policy setting rules for authorized use of artificial intelligence. It outlines how teachers should discipline students who are suspected of misapplying the technology. WAYNE — The school board has adopted a new policy that sets clear parameters for use of generative AI in classrooms and on homework assignments.

2 weeks ago | northjersey.com | Philip DeVencentis

The Wayne school board is at an impasse with the township over a contract for armed police officers. Trustees would not approve a proposed agreement because it omitted four provisions that they wanted. WAYNE — The school board and township hit a wall in negotiations to share armed police officers next year, and a contract renewal is now uncertain after weeks of progress toward a deal. Hanging in the balance is the safety of thousands of faculty members and students at 15 buildings.

3 weeks ago | yahoo.com | Philip DeVencentis

HAWTHORNE — Youth welfare advocates in Passaic County are calling new attention to a problem that they say is misunderstood. Nearly 38,200 unaccompanied youths in the U.S. experience homelessness on any given night, according to the most recent federal count. Yet the actual number of those without a permanent place to live is likely much greater, experts suggest. Homelessness takes on different forms, and they say many cases are invisible to the public.