He is a math teacher at Lincoln High School.
- If so, Why did the BoE allow him to run?
- Why is that no one challenged ?

I am curious to see a specific NJSA..

Quote:

It's not clear that he's currently a JC teacher. I find the phrasing odd, he doesn't say where he's currently employed. I assume if he's in another district he could be a member, no?

He's right about vouchers but wrong about charters.

It is not legal to be a board member an a teacher.Will he quit his job if elected.will he be voting to increase his own salary.
Whole thing makes no sense.

6A Mr. Youssef you get MY Vote Man WOW What a Guy.......

http://www.hudsonreporter.com/view/fu ... ndary_stories_left_column

It is time for our voices to be heard!
Hudson Reporter
Apr 24, 2011 | 0 views | 0 0 comments | 0 0 recommendations | email to a friend | print

Dear Editor:

My name is Nabil Youssef; I am honored to become one of the Jersey City Board of Education candidates. I have 18 years experience as a high school math teacher eleven of those years are invested in The J.C.P.S. system. I am a parent of two children that attend The J.C.P.S., I am teacher in the morning and a parent at night which gives me the opportunity to see the classroom and homework dilemma.

It is time for a real change in the system for new ideas and new faces. Stop saying, ?it is working,? when the data and result of the state exams say the following, ?In Jersey City, 37 schools out of 44 failed to meet AYP.? As taxpayers we are rated the highest paying city and state nationwide. Our children deserve a better education. The district educates a student for 12 years (1-12 grades) in our system, it cost the state about ($211,000) in the 12 years to earn a high school diploma (state pays about $17,600 a year/per student) a percent from that money for each student comes from our tax money in Jersey City. Stop it ? enough is enough!

The main questions I would ask any candidate running for a seat in the elections is,

A) Why you running for that seat?

I am running because I believe in public education and have seen our education deteriorate. I?ve also been asked to run by many students, parents, and teachers. All of us share a main goal, saving public education.

B) How will you contribute in fixing the system?

1. Implementing technology, new curriculums and helping to fix Scheduling (schedule students in the classroom according to there needs and strengths not according to there last names. Stop assuming that all students learn at the same pace or are on the same level).

2. Stop irresponsible spending while looking for more transparency. (Our district has over spent in programs the last 10 years millions of dollars.)

3. If elected I will make sure that the Students, Teachers, Our Community, and Parents Voices are heard. They should have a positive role fiscally and be able to vote in any plan before the JCBOE can go ahead and profit. I know where our needs and our strengths are based.

I am a candidate that is running 100 percent independent. The only obligation I have is to the J.C.P.S. Students, the Jersey City tax payers and voters. I have no obligation to any politicians or union leaders. I feel proud to receive support as an independent candidate our community, union members, teachers, parents, and students. I?ll never let them down Vote for Nabil Youssef ? independent candidate choice (A-6).

Thanking you in advance.

Sincerely,

Nabil Youssef, LHS, Math Teacher, M.A.

JCBOE Candidate A-6

Read more: Hudson Reporter - It is time for our voices to be heard

This guy is GREAT! And tells it exactly like it is.

He should be the front runner in this election. No one can hold a candle to him.

http://www.jerseycityindependent.com/ ... kes-his-humor-up-a-notch/


NABIL YOUSSEF is a math teacher at Lincoln High School.

Why do you want to serve on the school board?

I am running because I believe in our public education and have seen our education deteriorate. I?ve also been asked to run by many students, parents, and teachers. All of us share a main goal: saving public education.

What qualifications would you bring to the position?

I am currently working in the education field for 18 years as a high school math teacher. Twelve of those years are invested in the Jersey City public school system. During these years I have been studying the system very well and I know where our needs and our strengths are, based on a daily life situation with your children. I earned my master?s degree in Math and Education (GPA 3.97) and right now am looking to get started on my doctorate degree. My children are high achievers as well. I am also a parent of two children that attend the Jersey City Public School right now. I am teacher in the morning and a parent at night, which gives me the opportunity to see the classroom and homework dilemma.

What do you think are the three most pressing issues for Jersey City?s public schools right now?

* Scheduling: we need to schedule students in the classroom according to their need and not according to their last names. Stop assuming that all students are the same.
* Irresponsible spending: we have overspent on programs in the last 10 years, millions of dollars and it is not working. Who chooses these programs for our students and how are these choices determined?
* Students, teachers, our community, and parents voices must be heard and they should have an input in any plan before the JCBOE goes ahead and profits.

What is your opinion on the most recent budget the Board of Education gave the green light to? Do you believe that the budget is too large or small, or that spending priorities are misplaced? If so, how would you work to change that?

Let me put it this way: when the budget was 660 million dollars, I didn?t see any kind of improvement in our students? test results, and now every one talking about 631 million. Is that really making a difference? My point is that it is not about the money, it about the system not working right. I think the budget is more than fine. Like I said before, the JCBOE has overspent on programs that do not work in the past ? for example in the mathematics program ? and has not served our students? needs. If I am elected I promise the Jersey City taxpayer, because I am a taxpayer myself, that I will help select and approve the programs that will benefit our students. I have worked with them for so long in classrooms and all over the district. I know their needs and their strengths.

What is your opinion on charter schools and how they fit ? or don?t fit ? into the overall mission of the Board of Education?

Charter schools are based on a business choice from the governor and his friends. I will explain why.

The state pays for students in public school $17,600 on average per year, and gives the charter schools the amount of $9,900 average per year for the same student, you do the math it is much cheaper for the state to open up the charter schools then to provide the public school the money. If anyone wishes to challenge me and tell me it is about the students, our kids, I will say: ?That is a lie.? I will ask the governor to give the same amount of money to the charter school student and let me see if he will still support the charter school choice. Let us see what happens. It is all about saving money that is their bottom line. Education funding is always the one to suffer with all the cuts. Government spending never gets the cuts like the educational system.

Do you support vouchers for private schools, as being considered in Trenton under the Opportunity Scholarship Act?

Here we go, another way for making business again. The state pays only $8,000 per student per year in vouchers ? that means it is half the amount for the student in public school and the parent pays the balance of the tuition to the private school. The whole idea is to drain the public education found from public school. If I am wrong, let the governor give the parent the $17,600 for every student to go to private school. Then I will believe and support him in vouchers for private and charter schools.

What is your opinion of Jersey City?s teachers union? Do you believe that it helps Jersey City?s children receive a better standard of education? Please explain.

The JCEA leaders are all about politics. They do not help the student in Jersey City, they help themselves. Look at me as an example. I?m currently a JCEA member and I pay my dues. I?m current running for the JCBOE election as a candidate. Do you think the JCEA leaders came out to give me any support or an endorsement, as one of them? The answer is no. I represent the voice of the students and parents and the hard working teacher, but JCEA leaders choose to support Ward E councilman Steven Fulop?s ticket, which he had endorsed in February 18, 2011. The deadline for filing a nomination was on March 8, but both ignored any other candidates running for elections because they have their own political agenda. Altogether it is not about students or teachers or community, it is about their interest. My point is that I was never offered an interview and was not even contacted by any of the JCEA leaders or Mr. Fulop, and this also happened to the other six candidates.

So, my question is: Is this an equal opportunity situation? Where are the morals for an equal opportunity selection of due process in this election, where each candidate is given the opportunity to share their ideas before any endorsement is made? JCEA leaders and Mr. Fulop just jumped ahead of the process, what a shame for the future of a man who will be running to be our mayor in 2013. It is a childish, premature political move and decision for both, and I wish the media would take notice and publish their actions on only taking one side. Besides, the three candidates endorsed will use this move to further their political game and not the future of our children.

Do you believe that teachers should be evaluated based on test scores of their students? If so, explain why. If not, how do you believe teachers should be evaluated?

I do not believe that teachers should be evaluated based on test scores only. We have a big issue in JCBOE where the students in the classrooms are not correctly classified. In any class you will find the top five achievers, 10 mid-level and 15 below-average students. Can someone tell me what the teacher can do to teach the high level students and the mid-level and the lower level student? No matter what the teacher chooses to do, he/she will miss some students because of the allotted teaching time.

This is what I propose: that schools place them in the same level first, so we are then able to measure the progress. For example: if we know the whole class is a below-average class and the teacher takes them to a mid-level or advanced level after a period of time, we should see a general improvement. Why are we measuring just test scores but not the whole advancement of the class? There are many ways to measure progress. In this case, he/she deserves a bonus or merit pay when the level is brought up, and if the teacher in mind is not able to raise the level then he/she deserves to receive a bad evaluation. I think this should be implemented for administrators too, as a measure of the whole progress for the school, and department administrator. What?s fair is fair.

Do you think the instruction at the schools can be improved, and if so, how?

From my experience, as a teacher for 12 years in JCBOE, I believe the instruction at the schools can absolutely be improved. If we do the right thing we have to start right so we can get what we are looking for as a community looking to his education system Jersey City parents, teachers and students and taxpayers deserve a better education system. No way is it acceptable that in Jersey City, 28 schools out of 33 failed to meet AYP.

I have a vision and a mission in education. My vision and mission is to make JC public schools the schools of choices by implementing the following with state of the art technology like use of smart boards in all classrooms and hands on experiences:

Career Guided Initiative (CGI)

We will start the first grade student portfolios which will reflect their needs and strengths. The portfolios will be monitored by the administrators, guidance, teachers, students? study team or school nurses. The portfolio will follow the student from grade to grade beginning from the first to twelfths grades. The second grade teachers will receive the student portfolios before meeting the student to know their needs and strengths and passed on to the next teacher, year after year until the student graduates. We need to stop scheduling students by their last names and ignoring all their needs, strengths and talents. Who said, ?We all learn the same way from the same book?? We need different ways of teaching and to differentiate the curriculum content standards according to the student?s needs and strengths. According to Howard Gardner, ?Knowledge is not the same as morality, but we need to understand if we are to avoid past mistakes and move in productive directions. An important part of that understanding is knowing who we are and what we can do.?

As an introduction, the eighth grader will be primed to take introductory high school level classes. High school levels grades 9-10 will study basic mandatory courses like geometry Algebra, English, etc. The 11-12 grade level, the students and parents choose, according to the student portfolio in their preferred academic achievements.

Choice one: math and science section

The 11-12 grader students will study science and math classes for two years it will include some pre-college classes like pre- calculus, trigonometry, physics and chemistry, etc. and some elective classes. Students who pass the state science exam section will earn a high school diploma of science. In this section all math and science teachers come together as a team to achieve the goals working with an institute: like Liberty Science Center, Stevens Institute of Technology and Jersey City Medical Center. The following will create a co-op program for all students where they will study, practice and get paid through job training in their field. They will connect what they study in the books with real life situations, solving problems and they will be tomorrow?s scientist, doctors and engineers.

Choice two: Art section

The 11-12 grader students will study the arts: language arts, social studies, drama creative writing and some elective classes and will also contain pre-college classes.

The language arts and social studies teachers work together as a team, and with the co-op program in place our students will work in newspapers, social services, and court houses to gain real life experiences for their future career objective. Students who pass the state arts exam section will earn a high school diploma of arts.

Can you imagine how many problems this new system will eliminate? You will work towards a career of your choice as student and to study what you want to achieve. The teacher will finally have the students fully engaged in the classrooms because the student chooses to make a career choice. It is the students? choice. This makes a real difference. The students living in Jersey City go to school in Jersey City they should also have job in Jersey City to help themselves and their parents financially, while giving back to the community and being responsible citizens.

We need to come together as a community to help our students so they can have a better future. Let?s keep them busy and focused on something positive rather than pushing them towards something negative. This will minimize the escalating problems for our community. We know as adults that our children have too much energy. Let?s guide them in the right direction to become good citizens for our great country.

If you agree with my vision, great, I do not need to convince you. But, if you disagree, can you answer one question for me? Why do all colleges and universities in the United States and around the world have a degree guided towards arts or sciences? We should initiate it from high school and not wait until they enroll in the university or college.

Let?s make it happen in Jersey City as an initiative and in our state of New Jersey using this model. We can then implement this system all over our great nation.

If elected, how will you make yourself accessible to parents, students and teachers? Conversely, how will you keep abreast of the school communities? needs and concerns?

I totally disagree as a parent about the transparency of the current system. If you wish to contact any board member currently you have to send a letter to the Board of Education secretary, and the phone numbers are not available for any of the members. In logical terms for any public official the mail and phone numbers are always available to any one who has a concern. I ask the board to open a mail box, an email and a published phone number for all the board members, in case of any concerns from any students, parents, teachers or community member. The JCBOE website could be a great way to communicate with our community. I am looking for transparency ? if we have any problems, needs or concerns we need to highlight it, address it and get a solution immediately.

Anything else you?d like to add?

As a father and a teacher I want the best for all our children. From the first day, I am ready with the knowledge to make it happen. I don?t have to spend time analyzing the system. Together we can make it happen.

Can't understand why there isn't much being said about this guy? He is a teacher is this system and clearly understands the issues faced by the boe. He is also a parent of children who attend the public schools. He is also the most independent candidate running. What does this get him....obscurity, because all eyes have been on big machine backed candidates. His own union didn't interview him (nor 6 other candidates) After attending all but one debate and not liking any of the candidates for this reason or that, I admire this candidate the most. Again, he is currently teaching in this system and is willing to run and speak out against King Epps and his merry dimwits when no one else is that is either on the board or in the administration. This is ballsy. He doesn't have to remember speaking points that were rehearsed with a large team of politically connected people, he speaks from experience and from the heart. He didn't appear out of nowhere. He has been teaching in this system for 15 years. He will do the bidding of the children (including his own) and parents of this city.........ONLY. He doesn't bring a charter school or voucher agenda with him. He lives and breathes the traditional public school. He hasn't been a do nothing teacher for 15 years in this system, he has made a difference in the classroom.
Really, what more can you ask for?

Saving schools is my mission, writes Jersey City Board of Education candidate

By Letters to the Editor/The Jersey Journal The Jersey Journal
April 21, 2011, 6:01AM


I am honored to become one of the Jersey City Board of Education candidates for the April 27, 2011 elections. I am currently working in the education field for 18 years as a high school math teacher. Eleven of those years are invested in the Jersey City public school system. I earned my master's degree in math and education (GPA 3.97) and right now am looking to get started on my doctorate degree.


My children are high achievers, as well. I am also a parent of two children that attend the Jersey City public school system right now. So, I am teacher in the morning and a parent at night, which gives me the opportunity to see the classroom and homework dilemma.


Our current Jersey City public school system isn't able to achieve the result we seek as a community. The quality of the graduates needs to be improved from the current system. Many that graduated from high school went through the AHSA (Alternative High School Assessment) known before as the SRA (Special Review Assessment) for math and language arts. This means they failed to pass the HSPA (high school proficiency assessment) test in their first attempt to earn their high school diploma after their 11 years of enrollment. We as a community can not afford to continue seeing our children fail. Our children deserve a better education.


It is time for our voices to be heard and let the people of Jersey City decide their child's educational destiny. It is time for a real change in the system for new ideas and new faces. STOP saying "It is working," when the data and result of the state exams say the following: "In Jersey City, 28 schools out of 33 failed to meet AYP."


The district educates a student for 12 years (1-12 grades). It cost the state about $211,000 in the 12 years to earn a high school diploma -- the state pays about $17,600 a year/per student, 60 percent of that money comes from our Jersey City taxes. STOP it, enough is enough!


I've also been asked to run by many students, parents, and teachers. All of us share a main goal, saving public education.


By Implementing technology, new curriculums and helping to schedule students in the classroom according to their needs and strengths not according to there last names. Stop assuming that all students learn at the same pace or are on the same level.


If elected, I will make sure that the students, teachers, our community, and parents voices are heard. I know where are our needs and our strengths.


I am a candidate that is 100 percent independent. The only obligation I have is to students, parents and Jersey City taxpayers.


NABIL YOUSSEF, 6A
JERSEY CITY