The Lawrence Gazette recently sat down with officials from the Lawrence Township Public Schools to talk about issues confronting the district.
Past articles resulting from that interview ran in the April and May issues of the Gazette and addressed topics such as school finances, the reconfiguration of grades at elementary schools and the Lawrence Intermediate School, and the teacher shortage crisis. Those articles can be read online at communitynews.org.
This month, Superintendent Robyn Klim, Business Administrator Thomas Eldridge and Sean Fry, the director of personnel and administrative services, talk with Lawrence Gazette editor Bill Sanservino about politics in education and diversity within the district.
The below Q&A has been edited for grammar and clarity.
Lawrence Gazette: When you talk about the education profession, in some instances it has become a politically charged environment. Parents, maybe more than ever, are really interested, and there’s a lot of misinformation out there.
For example, last year I got a call from a resident after I did a story about the candidates running for school board.
The woman said I didn’t address, some important issues, like whether the district is teaching “they/them” pronouns. Things like that.
How do teachers and school officials address an environment where education has become so political?
Robyn Klim: I’m going to go back back to the district’s goals.
Our strategic plan talks about all kids mattering and all kids belonging, regardless of any political pressures that come in and sort of infiltrate at different times. It matters to us that our kids belong. I think that when you stay central to the goal of teaching the hearts and minds of every young person that we face, that noise sort of dissipates.
Why I say noise, is because sometimes it takes us off track of what our purpose is, and that is to educate and grow future leaders, future students who are going to contribute to this society, regardless of anyone’s political affiliation. The student matters before us first.
LG: So, the district doesn’t try to espouse any kind of political ideology?
RK: No. I think we are charged with utilizing the state curriculum. We certainly write the curriculum in a way that is more inclusive. We want students to feel that they are represented somewhere in that curriculum. That’s a that’s part of the “mattering” piece, the “belonging” piece. I don’t feel that we’re teaching one side or another. I think we’re teaching the learner to have their own understanding of how they’re going to synthesize this information and contribute to the greater society. I mean, that’s really what it’s about at the end of the day.
LG: Lawrence is a very diverse school district. You range from being on the border of Princeton, which is at one economic level, to then being on the border of Trenton, which is basically more urban rim. What has the district done to address this type of diversity within the town?
RK: Well, I think we would start with Mr. Fry and our hiring practices.
Sean Fry: To the extent possible, one of our goals is to diversify the hiring of our staff. We think it’s important that children have someone that looks like them. That being said, diversity comes in all different looks and ways like. It’s not just that somebody has a certain race or ethnicity. It’s well beyond that.
We try to hire people with a diverse group of experiences and backgrounds. We think that that’s important. We take our hiring very seriously. You’ll see a central office administrator who will be involved in the hiring process. When we hire our certified staff, it’s often times multiple central office administrators. Dr. Klim, as her schedule allows, is pretty much on almost all of those interviews as well.
We believe that bringing in the right people is essential, and part of the challenge we face is that the pipeline dries up sometimes, and that makes it difficult to retain and recruit people of any background.
But with that said, although the pipeline is decreasing and getting smaller, it is becoming more diversified naturally. That’s just because the overall percentage of the population in that generation in New Jersey is changing. The demographics of New Jersey are changing.
So even though it’s the younger Millennials and Gen Z-ers that we’re now seeing trickling out of these education preparation programs, that population as a whole is more diverse than the previous generations. So as a result, our numbers are shifting in terms of the candidates that are applying for positions. And that’s also a matter of fact, based on population trends.
Thomas Eldridge: A distinction of what we do differently, is that we notice, and you cannot put a program around that. That’s a value set you’re hired with. And that’s a value where if you don’t if you don’t have the skill, it’s what you’re led towards. So, you can have all the best systems in the world, but if you don’t notice the opportunity to step in and be courageous enough to do it, it won’t matter.
When you listen to Dr. Klim talk, she notices for you. She’ll notice from me. Even if you’re not a person of color and diversified, and by visual for the child to see someone like themselves, the expectation for you as a staff member is when you notice that kid, you do something. And that’s what she does. She makes you want to notice, because she notices, and she leads with notice.
When she sees somebody who might need a moment, she’s going to go out and get that moment and deliver it for you. Maybe it’s a moment that you need to celebrate, or maybe it’s a moment you need a hug. Maybe it’s a moment where somebody stands by you and watches with you because you’re alone. And once you’re there, you’re there. You’re ready. That’s a gift she brings.
Dr. Klim, I don’t know where you learn that from, but you have it. And you taught us those things. You got your doctoral degree, but you had that gift long before then. So where did that come from? Because it’s what makes a difference for every kid.
RK: Wow. Thank you, Tom. It’s funny—somebody once asked me, “What is your superpower?” And I said, “Noticing and building relationships from that moment.”
I truly believe that. I think that I will find ways to connect and interact. I look for opportunities for that in my day, or to make someone’s day better, or to think outside the box or build something creative. It’s because I’ve taken it all in, and I’m figuring out what they need.
I was trained clinically in mental health to always target the unmet need, and then that sort of developed through my special ed director positions and now here as the superintendent. I just have this clinical intuition to know what the targeted goals should be, whether that person’s ready to address it or not.
Right now, we’re in the middle of Ramadan. You mentioned diversity, and I have young ladies that are at the high school, and they’re hungry.
So, we open up the library during the lunch period so that they’re not stuck in a lunchroom with kids that are eating. And they have prayer space available and a club after school to go to.
We just celebrated Black History Month, and we had this beautiful weekend extravagant event, and we celebrated heroes— just these trailblazers in our community. People of color that have sort of gone onward and upward. That was sort of our mantra going through this ceremony.
And we’ve done Hispanic Heritage Night. And we have talking devices at the disposal of secretaries and guidance counselors and nurses to talk to our families that are Ukraine, that come in. And we have students from Russia. These kids from a trauma background—war torn country—coming in like seeking education here in Lawrence Township.
We don’t take that lightly. That kid will be seen through a trauma-informed lens. That kid’s needs will be addressed first before the learning happens. I think that might be what separates us from some of the other philosophies of how to educate kids.
I think we understand the mental health and basic needs component. Is so incredibly valuable. I always say connection before content. If you don’t know the kid and you can’t connect, you’re not going to teach and you’re not going to move that kid.
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