Dear Editor:
I would like to thank my family and friends, and those 35,000 voters who came out for The Board of Education elections! I would like to thank the JCEA, my mentor Mr. Tom Favia and to all those teachers who sacrifice daily to come to Jersey City to educate our children.
To Councilman Steve Fulop for embracing and allowing me to advocate for myself and I would like to thank his team of workers for being supportive from day one. To those Latinos who trusted in me despite the rumors that were circulating around our neighborhoods, I guess the 6,900 voters who believe in me “squash that notion.” I like to thank you from the bottom of my heart! Let’s move forward for the sake of our children!
To the 28,000 students that we represent in this district, I will not let you down! To all my friends you know who you are! “I thank you” To those visible candidates especially Terry Dehere, Gerry Mc Cann, June Mulqueen, Gerald Lyons, Evelyn Farmer, Anthony Sharperson, Arthur Zigman, Hiral Patel, who all share a vision for our Jersey City Public Schools and the children of this city.
To Sterling Waterman and Carol Lester we ran a campaign in which the majority of the time we were never in the same place at the same time and yet we remain in focus on the needs of our school district and I my other running mate “Chips” D’ Amico I Thank You all. To those fellow board members who believe in my passion for our Jersey City Public Schools.
I like to especially thank my wife, and my two SUPER SOPHOMORES, my two children for believing in me and making me proud of their daily achievements. To my daughter Krystal, a product of the Jersey City Public Schools, a student at Princeton University who just last month got accepted to the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs. To my son Angel a student at Ferris High School (My Alma Mater), who has made academic honors for the last three marking periods and who is very involved in various student activities, student council and who will supersede his community service hours by the end of this school year.
Angel wants to attend Rutgers University in September 2010. My children know that I am not only a DAD, but a mentor, and a friend who will always be supportive of their ideas. They make me smarter each day with their constructive conversations and productive ideas. They keep me away from temptation with their love and support. As you see in my household we believe in teachers and public schools.
Finally to our Administration & Board:
We must stand and deliver bring Jersey City version of “American Promise” to all our children. We need to embrace diversity and provide solutions to all our children. We need to embrace those second language students and provide them with hope and encouragement. We cannot be intimidated by bullies or losers who call themselves leaders. Our real leaders are our students! We need to just hold them by the hand and allow them to fly. We need to step up and pick up every fallen child in our school district. We must mentor every child in our district and point them in the direction of success and opportunities. We must raise the bar of all our children. We must provide safety zones for all our children. We must be more accountable.
“If a child fails we all fail!”
“If a child fails our city fails!”
I will not take this victory for granted. VOTES – Do not improve test scores. VOTES – Do not improve performance. We need to make it better for all our children. We must sacrifice for the sake of our children. I will not celebrate until every child graduates!
Thank You Jersey City and God Bless You All!
Sincerely,
Angel L. Valentin