Dear Editor:
As a school board member sometimes I wonder why some people choose to devalue the contributions of dedicated b&r officials who are young urban professionals, or of those who simply are independent of a brand? There are many who have volunteered for years and have been instrumental in helping move our school district forward. I always believe in agreeing to disagree respectfully so therefore I disagree with my friend Scott’s latest assessment.
I believe that as a board our compass points in one direction now collectively towards our Superintendent Dr. Toback which by virtue is “G.T.D.” getting things done for student-parent concerted cultivated success. Our newly embraced road map has placed us on the right path of district excellence, aiming for blue ribbon status. We’ve encompassed a vision that illustrates the fusion of our community’s dream, desire, drive and determination to be provided a 21st century world-class education. Dr. Toback has designed an educational plan that listened to parents, all board of ed. members and acutely produces a live pulse of what must get done to be the best in improving student achievement.
I take great pride in being an impetus for the changes and the keen quality of schooling our kids will receive. I commend the administration for delivering on campaign promises like providing a parent’s toolkit which is now available online, the ability to receive your child’s syllabus so parents can follow along and track their child’s progress at home. We are truly focusing on the whole child and that credit goes to the teachers, Dr. Toback and our community. The superintendent has the ability to coach his team to get things implemented and transcend the way we do business by thinking big. For instance, the district wide visionary efforts to increase parental involvement through better communication tools, producing infrastructure upkeeps for a healthier learning environment at the High School or Connors school students receiving a new courtyard to have proper recess. Most of all, best practices to create a positive, challenging and resourceful learning environment.
Our QSAC goals will be achieved as these metrics have given us great baselines and ceilings to work from so we can prosper. We will achieve a high school graduation rate of 100 percent through the innovative partnerships with Hudson County Community College, distance learning opportunities & technical prospects the district is working on. I’m confident we will get more students into top tier colleges as we expand our AP/honors program.
As important, the challenge by charter schools facilitates for a healthy discourse and the implementation of ambitious concepts that will help all public schools perform better and when that happens, the whole child becomes a priority. I want to praise the schools for an outstanding job in celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month and the “week of respect” in honor of Anti Bullying month. I hope with my latest recommendation of establishing a bullystoppers.com portal we can encourage students to report bullies to the district.
In closing, we’re all passionate and driven to see our educational goals accomplished, so let’s continue building resilient educational bridges that will close the achievement gap, attract all socio-economic classes to invest in public schooling and let’s end the shameful pitting so we lead by example as a community, you can make a difference one parent or resident at a time!
Sincerely,
Carmelo G. Garcia