The greatest challenge facing Hoboken today is making our public schools the very best they can be. Money is not the issue. We pay the highest cost per pupil in the state, so we clearly have the resources to provide the highest quality curriculum which maximizes educational opportunities and instruction.
For the past year, I have been working on a new concept whereby Stevens Institute of Technology will partner with the Hoboken public schools to develop a high-tech academic facility incorporating a sophisticated curriculum of science, math and technology to enhance educational opportunities for all of our children. I see this as a dynamic opportunity to create a combined middle and high school for the 21st Century.
Already, the Hoboken public schools and Stevens enjoy a close and productive relationship with educational programs for both our public school students and teachers. The Hoboken-Stevens collaborative curriculum would extend this relationship by providing all of our children with access to the acclaimed International Baccalaureate curriculum, supported by an infusion of technology in every curricular area. Additionally, this school will provide educators with a view of the best educational practices available today and what employing them can accomplish in an urban setting..
While the curriculum is designed to provide children with a first-class education and a deep love of learning, this school would be about diversity and providing urban children with the same opportunities available in the suburbs. The McNair Academic High School in Jersey City is recognized as one of the state’s top schools and one of the most ethnically diverse. Utilizing the academic excellence of Stevens, our talented pool of highly-trained teachers and the diversity of our student population, Hoboken can create a public school of the same caliber as McNair.
We can no longer maintain the status quo caused by the foot dragging of those elected and appointed officials who call such a school “elitist.” Those were the same cries they used a few years ago when Hoboken sponsored the state’s first forum on charter schools. But the creation of charter schools has been beneficial by creating competition and providing parents with educational choices.
I admire those who strive to continually streamline and upgrade educational bureaucracies, such as Mayor Bloomberg in New York City. I share his desire to create the best possible public school district which reflects and celebrates ethnic diversity. There is no reason why Hoboken can’t also move its educational system forward utilizing a partnership with a nationally renowned institution of higher learning to the benefit of our children. That is why I pledge to explore all educational opportunities, especially the middle/high school collaboration with Stevens.
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