In Dr. Robert Penna’s eyes, participating in the Magnet Schools of America National Conference in St. Louis recently was nothing new.
Penna, who came to Guttenberg to become the superintendent of schools last year, has been a member of the national Magnet Schools of America’s Board of Directors for years, since his days as the assistant superintendent of the East Orange school district. He is also the United Nations representative for the Magnet Schools of America program.
So sitting on a featured dais with the superintendents of such large districts as Baltimore County; Gary, Ind.; Little Rock and Wichita is not a novelty to Penna.
“When I was in East Orange, I would go to a lot of these national conferences in Orlando, San Jose, Indianapolis,” Penna said. “It was really nothing new to me.”
However, for the schools chief of a tiny district with just one elementary school to be considered among the best administrators in the nation, that is something very unique to Guttenberg.
Penna attended the conference and spoke to the audience of perhaps 1,000 school administrators about teacher training, early childhood education, thematic education and desegregation issues, as part of the Magnet School Program.
What exactly is the Magnet School program?
“It’s an approach where every grade level studies the culture of a particular area,” Penna said. “Say, for instance, the fifth grade has Africa. Well, we would incorporate African culture in every class. In physical education, they would learn African games and dance. In English, they would read something from African composition. The same for history. They would study all the other regular things, but this thematic approach would be in addition.” Guest speakers would be brought in to discuss aspects of the culture.”
Penna added, “How many times can a youngster get to meet an ambassador from a foreign country? Or participate in a pen-pal program with a student from another country? There are so many options to do during the course of a school year. And it’s not a one-shot deal. It sustains throughout the whole year.”
Penna said that he has helped to establish the program more than 20 times, mostly during his days in East Orange.
“Simply stated, we as educators have to do whatever we can to get the students interested,” Penna said. “Once you get them interested in learning, then they can learn to taste success. Once they taste success, then they want more. You get the students so motivated that they want to come to school to learn, but you have to find out what their interests are.”
Penna added, “I’ve been able to use the program to our advantage in the past. I’m the guy that is brought into these conventions to try to convince other districts all across the country to use it. I’m able to bring the concept to educators all across the country.”
Penna is so excited about the program that he has already begun to introduce it to the administrators and teachers at the town’s only school, the Anna L. Klein elementary school, with the hope that the program can be officially introduced in the near future.
“We already have a multi-cultural base here in Guttenberg,” Penna said. “And with my association with the United Nations, we will have access that not many other schools would be able to have. I think it’s a perfect place to begin this program. Part of the beauty of this town is its diverse cultural backgrounds. We should be able to use it to our advantage here. Let’s find a theme that inspires these youngsters.”
Penna said that the response thus far has been positive from the staff at Klein School.
“It’s worked so well for me in the past,” Penna said. “The students have performed well. On the high school level, the dropout rate decreased, but that’s something we don’t have to worry about here. Attendance improved. It had a very positive impact on all aspects of the learning process. And it’s worked at least 20 times.”
Penna said that he truly envisions the thematic approach as being a wonderful addition to the curriculum at Klein School. Each year, projects in different classes could focus on that theme.
“I envision this program working so well here,” Penna said. “I’m hoping others see that same vision.”