Dear Editor:
I am Ken Howitt, a candidate for the one year term on the Hoboken Public Schools Board of Education. I believe that with strong skills and fresh ideas, one person can make a significant impact in one year.
I have a deep regard for the public schools system, having attended Red Bank and Little Silver public schools – graduating Red Bank Regional High School in Monmouth County, New Jersey. I then attended Columbia University in New York City, where I received my B.A. degree in 1976. From there, I worked in marketing and advertising in New York City and in 1983 joined the family commercial printing business in Little Silver. I am still in commercial printing, presently working at Enterprise Press in Englewood, New Jersey.
My wife and I have lived in Hoboken since 1988. Our three children have only known Hoboken as home – all attended the Hoboken Public Schools. Our eldest is a junior at Rutgers University; our middle child, a first year at Columbia University in New York City; and our youngest, a Hoboken High sophomore.
Hence, I am very familiar with the Hoboken Public Schools, having had a non-stop relationship for the last 17 years. While some of my opponents can only hypothesize, I talk to the actual people and listen to them as well. There will always be the need for improvement, but the schools are not broken. My children’s success was nurtured by a strong partnership with the entire school staff that never lost sight of the goal – and that was always providing the best education possible.
The programs were comparable to those programs in Monmouth County. Saturday U – a program done in conjunction with Stevens, the Meadowlands Environmental Center program, marching band, drama, athletics, Serve America community service, Harvard Model Congress, Halloween parades – the list is extremely long and the benefits to my kids are everlasting. They made strong friendships, formed bonds with teachers that serve as role models to this day, and most importantly, were given the tools that allow them to gain knowledge on their own, wherever their future leads them.
I am mounting this campaign, because I do not recognize the depiction of the school district being drawn by the present board and the other candidates, particularly the slated tickets. Their campaigns engender animosity and disrupt the public confidence in the school system, when they should be showing a vision of the future that will empower the staff and challenge local businesses and the community at-large to form an alliance to benefit our children.
In coming weeks in these pages, I will present an outline of just that – a strategic plan designed to build on the good, form community partnerships, pursue educational grants, and, most importantly, demonstrate that our tax dollars are producing an educational product that benefits not only our children, but will build a much stronger Hoboken.
Please send questions or comments to ken@hobokensuccess.com.
Thanks,
Ken Howitt