She forgot to state in her letter, "I will reduce public speaking especially matters on the budget and I will not video the public speakers."

Opinion: Jersey City Board of Education offers invitation to unity

The Jersey Journal
February 06, 2014 at 4:21 PM
By SANGEETA RANADE
SPECIAL TO THE JOURNAL

I was fortunate enough to be elected Jan. 6 as the new president of the Jersey City Board of Education. As president, more importantly, as a parent of Jersey City public school students, I would like to extend an invitation to everyone to visit your nearest public school and meet some of our outstanding teachers and administrators.

Come to School 39, where algebra teacher Robert Keating's students are building scale models of Mayan temples and the Leaning Tower of Pisa.

Come to School 30, where physical education teacher Valerie Craig-Ndiaye is getting students moving and changing what's served for lunch. The school last year was one of only 16 in the state to win recognition from the Alliance for a Healthier Generation.

Come to the Academy of Art Snyder High School, where teachers like Carolyn Frazier have guided graduates to the nation's top arts colleges, including Cooper Union and the Rhode Island School of Design.

Come to School 28, where science teacher Robert O'Donnell Jr.'s students are revitalizing the Reservoir. O'Donnell was the only teacher in New Jersey this school year to win a $25,000 Milken Educator Award, often called the Oscars of education.

Our superintendent, Marcia Lyles, has been with the district for nearly a year-and-a-half. She quickly saw how much our staff has to offer. That's why 12 of the 13 assistant principals and vice principals and five out of seven of the principals she's named since she arrived have been promoted.

Parents are recognizing this, too. That's why Jersey City is the only urban school district in the state that's growing, not shrinking. According to a recently completed demographic study by the district, Jersey City public schools will grow by more than 4,000 students in the next five years.

If you are a parent of a child who is either too young for school or attends a private or charter school, I invite you to speak to me about what our public schools have to offer. You'll like what you hear.

Likewise, if you are a public school parent who has an issue you have been unable to resolve with your child's teacher and principal, please reach out to the superintendent or any board member. As a board, we are here to serve.

That brings me to another invitation, to the leadership of the Jersey City Education Association -- the teachers union is one of five unions representing teachers, principals, clerks, janitors, security guards and nurses -- to work with us. As our contract negotiations progress, we know we have common ground: Our deep shared concern for the welfare and future of every child in the district.

The invitation: We want to work with you. Work with us.

In New Haven, Conn., Dave Cicarella, president of the New Haven Federation of Teachers, has defined the union as a group of professionals "willing to improve our craft," agreeing to "reasonable changes" in work rules in exchange for shared power.

The result: The union took over the management of a failing school in New Haven last year. Teachers are rewriting curricula. As an article in The Hechinger Report put it, "By agreeing to work with management, they were able to dictate many of the terms."

We have great teachers. We have excellent administrators. We have a growing population of engaged and caring parents.

We have a lot of work to do to make our schools everything they should be, but we can make this district a model for urban education if we work together. I invite all of you to join me in this critically important work.

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