The West Windsor-Plainsboro Board of Education (BOE) is not the only board that Rachelle Feldman Hurwitz serves on; she is also a member of the New Jersey School Board Association (NJSBA). She recently attended the NJSBA’s legislative day, an event co-sponsored by the New Jersey Parent Teacher Association (NJPTA).
The legislative day is open to both boards of education and PTA members from New Jersey with the purpose of fostering dialogue and information sharing between these organizations and state legislators. The focus of this year’s meeting: education funding issues; standardized testing, in particular the proposed PARCC (Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers) testing; and Common Core, the national education mandatory standards curriculum.
Congressman Rush Holt gave the keynote speech during the luncheon. Legislators, parents, and BOE members all spoke out on these topics, including Hurwitz and West Windsor resident Suparna Mahableshawarkar, who is the president of the PTSA at High School North.
Several legislators addressed the PARCC issue, noting that bills have currently been introduced in both the state senate and the assembly that, if passed, would delay the implementation of the PARCC testing for two years while more information about the tests have been considered.
PARCC testing is supposed to replace the New Jersey Assessment of Skills and Knowledge (NJASK) and High School Proficiency Assessment (HSPA) beginning in the 2014-’15 school year. The tests will be taken on tablets, laptops, or desktop computers.
Said Mahableshawarkar: “The amount of resources needed for schools to implement the PARCC testing is enormous — not just the money to pay for the devices, but also the time. Students will need to learn how to take the test, then will spend countless days taking the PARCC tests. This is especially problematic for high school students, who will lose valuable instruction time. In addition, the money needed to pay for all of these devices is money that will necessarily be taken from other educational programs, teachers’ salaries, and more, all of which hurts our kids.”
Hurwitz added: “Let me be clear. WW-P is ready. We are prepared for the PARCC testing; we have the technology infrastructure in place, and our teachers will have all received the necessary training. But that does not mean that adopting PARCC is in our — or any other district’s — best interest. The amount of time that will need to be dedicated to just administering the test is huge, across grade levels 3 through 11. That lessens the amount of educational instruction that the students will receive.”
Various speakers outlined other initiatives undertaken by the NJSBA. One such project is a STEM and sustainability initiative, which offers an integrated approach to teaching science, technology, engineering, and mathematics concepts, especially for at-risk student populations. Hurwitz was one of the NJSBA members involved with this initiative, which offers opportunities such as a partnership between NJSBA and NASA to send educators and BOE members to training at Goddard Space Center. That program will be expanded to teachers and students. Another upcoming project, in coordination with the NJ Audubon Society, will develop sustainability and green school programs.
“I became involved with the NJSBA because it allows me the opportunity to work on programs that benefit students across New Jersey, as well as those in West Windsor-Plainsboro,” said Hurwitz. “Being a member of the NJSBA really offers so many opportunities to make a difference.”
“I became a member of NJSBA soon after becoming a WW-P board member and was asked to serve on a special committee that evaluated the function of the school board. I have also been on the communications committee, the strategic planning committee, and the special education committee, which assisted the special education task force in producing its comprehensive report on the state of special education in New Jersey: ‘Special Education: a Service, not a Place.’”
“I am also a member of the legislative committee, which might be the most important committee of all, because we have access to state legislators and can lobby on behalf of state and federal education initiatives that benefit our students. I have been asked to be an ‘Eagle advocate,’ who is someone who lobbies state politicians on the grass-roots level. I have thought about running for the governing board of the NJSBA, but then I would have to give up being on the legislative committee, and that is too important to me because I feel that it is the best way to help students.”
Added Hurwitz: “I really believe that my membership and involvement with the NJSBA has made me a better local board of education member. I am kept informed about new developments in education and can interact with educators and those interested in education around the state. For the same reasons, I think my activity is beneficial to our district as well. It is a win-win situation.”
Rachelle and husband Jerald, who have three adult children, have been residents of Plainsboro for nearly 15 years. She has served on the WW-P school board since April, 2011, after beating incumbent Alapakkam Manikandan for one of the Plainsboro seats on the board. She is seeking re-election in the November 4 school board election.
#b#School Board Candidates Sought#/b#
The WW-P Board of Education seeks candidates for the school board election to be held November 4. Four seats — two in Plainsboro and two in West Windsor — will be contested. The deadline for candidates to file nominating petitions is Monday, July 28, at 4 p.m. More information is available at www.ww-p.org.
