In the November 4 School Board election three candidates are vying for two seats in West Windsor. In Plainsboro Isaac Cheng and and Rachelle Hurwitz are contending for an open seat, and Rachel Juliana is running unopposed for the final year of the seat formerly occupied by the late Yibao Xu.
The candidates were asked for a brief biography and to provide answers to the questions below. Their responses are in alphabetical order by last name.
Plainsboro:
#b#Isaac Cheng#/b#
1.) Briefly explain your background. What experience, expertise, or perspective would be most useful on the board?
2.) Is there a person/book/event that inspired you to serve public education?
3.) What is your opinion of the common core standards and the accompanying PARCC test? Do you believe that standardized test scores should be part of teachers’ evaluations?
4.) The PARCC test will be administered online. How is the district adapting to evolving technologies and how will it prepare for this test specifically?
5.) The Hughes Corporation is considering a request to add housing to the possible uses of that 600-plus acre property. Other new developments are planned near Old Bear Brook Road and Forrestal Village. What can or what should the board do now in anticipation of these developments?
6.) Beyond the perpetual need to balance quality education with budget realities, what’s the biggest challenge facing the district today?
7.) Are there any other school district issues you feel should be addressed?
1.) As a former student and current business professional, I believe that my background provides me a fresh and unique perspective for the Board.
First, having been through the WW-P schools from K-12, I have experienced the successes and challenges in our classrooms. I have seen firsthand how changes have been implemented in our schools—whether they are new technologies, curricula, or standardized tests. Most importantly, I have had ample time since graduation to reflect on my experience, while still being young enough for my experiences to remain relevant. My student-centric perspective is something that I can uniquely bring if elected to the Board.
Second, my years as a professional management consultant enable me to help the Board make thoughtful, evidence-driven decisions. In my experience advising the senior management of Fortune 500 corporations on how to shape strategy and optimize resources, a fully transparent and bulletproof analysis is paramount. When shaping the vision and budget for the school district, the families of Plainsboro deserve no less. If elected, I will bring the same analytical rigor and transparency to the Board that I bring to my clients on a daily basis. I will never make decisions based on a personal agenda and will always make sure that my decisions are thoroughly examined and beneficial for every student.
2.) As a lifelong member of Plainsboro, I must admit that I’ve often taken the excellence of our schools for granted. It wasn’t until a few months ago that I’ve fully come to appreciate on a personal level why our system is exceptional and worth striving to maintain.
The moment came when I saw my two-year-old nephew prepping for pre-school interviews in NYC. He lives in a district where the local schools are crowded and the education could be more personalized. If my nephew were accepted into a selective pre-school, it would give him a better chance to attend a K-12 prep school that would provide more attention in the classroom.
However, if you really think about it, having a toddler study for interviews is absolutely absurd.
That’s when it became real to me. We live in a community where we aren’t compelled to send our kids to a private school for a quality education. We have schools where our educators are top-notch, and our students have opportunities to pursue their curricular and extra-curricular interests.
Our schools are a primary factor in making Plainsboro an excellent place to live. I am running for the Board because I want to maintain their level of excellence.
One day I hope to raise a family here. When that day comes, I want my children to have the same opportunities that I received and to gain the same foundation on which they can build their lives.
3.) While state guidelines are good in theory, their ultimate value depends on how they are implemented at the local level. It is the responsibility of the Board to ensure that our district’s educators receive the support and lattitude that they need to succeed. As we implement these new standards, a few guiding principles should be kept in mind.
Regarding the common core, teachers must remain independent in how they manage their classrooms. We hire the best teachers in New Jersey so that they can be trusted to teach. The common core does not dictate a curriculum or determine lesson plans that our teachers must follow. Rather, it is only a set of standards that outline skills at certain grade levels. As long as guidelines are met, the Board should not be overly prescriptive in how teachers conduct their classes. In fact, prescriptive management could even be counterproductive toward the common core goals of teaching students how to think and reason. Let’s not kill creativity in our classrooms.
Regarding PARCC testing, test results should be included in teacher evaluations, but always as a small portion of a holistic evaluation process. I am naturally skeptical in heavily weighting standardized tests in teacher evaluations because New Jersey continually changes tests every few years. Furthermore, the PARCC testing is new this year, and our educators still need time to fully understand how to interpret the data. That said, our schools still have the responsibility to prepare our students for these standardized tests and the District should verify that our students are ready.
4.) Technology is a very powerful tool to use in the classroom, but its applications must be carefully considered before any large purchases are made. We should not have technology for the sake of having technology.
For example, I was at High School North when the Smart Boards were rolled out in almost every classroom. While the Smart Boards were flashy at first glance, they did not actually add to the classroom as the year went on. Some teachers used them frequently and others less so. Some did not use them at all. Most of the time, teachers and students alike did not seem to fully understand why the Smart Boards were available and how to effectively use them.
A few best practices should be made for large-scale technology purchases. During the pilot phase, the district should better assess the goals for the new technology and determine clear criteria for success. The district should also analyze whether the benefits of the technology are the best use of the budget, and if there are any substitutes. Furthermore, all of this information should be proactively communicated to parents for feedback.
Having this information would not only improve transparency in procurement, but also create a more thoughtful plan on how to roll out and improve our usage of new technology.
5.) Looking back at the last few decades, the school district has done a phenomenal job at maintaining educational quality in its schools, even after the community continues to double and triple in size. My family moved to Plainsboro almost 30 years ago because of the excellent schools. That’s still the reason why families are moving here today.
As our community continues to grow in size, the District must proactively anticipate population increases and assess future needs. Logistical changes in classroom space and headcount require time and planning.
To anticipate these future trends, the district should continue to foster an open dialogue between the township and developers. While it’s impossible to predict the future, we can get pretty close if we all collaborate and share data.
6.) Apart from the core issues of education and the budget, I believe that the biggest challenge facing the district today lies in managing the excessive stress that our students face on a daily basis. Particularly in our middle schools and high schools, our students feel pressure to excel at everything — to get straight As, to score a perfect SAT, and to be president of every club. This pressure comes from parents and peers alike.
Don’t get me wrong. This is an essential part of what makes this district great! People care deeply about education.
However, when the pressure is taken to an extreme, unanticipated symptoms emerge. Students may gain misguided priorities, viewing grades or college acceptances as the end-all-be-all. Worse yet, students may lose motivation after failing to live up to unrealistic expectations. Mental health suffers at a time when teens are naturally most volatile.
As the community, we must remember that the true barometer for educational success is for students to graduate with a passion for learning and the ability to think independently. We must remind our students that AP classes, club officerships, and college acceptances stem from a deeper goal.
I can only reflect on some of the graduating members of my own high school class, who I look up to because they exemplify these character traits.
One of my closest friends followed his passions for sound engineering and is now mixing the audio for Interstellar, Christopher Nolan’s upcoming movie. Another felt strongly about social justice and is now a Pulitzer Prize winning journalist. Yet another is changing the world by working at the forefront of alternative energy at a startup. I can go on and on.
I mention my classmates not to highlight their achievements, but to note that none of them followed a pre-determined route to where they are today. An incremental AP course or extracurricular would not have altered their current path. Rather, my friends succeeded because our schools allowed them to discover their true passions and gave them the work ethic to realize their goals.
We must not lose sight that the ultimate goal of our District is to instill students with a passion for learning. This not only done by offering a wide array of advanced courses and extracurriculars, but also by encouraging a healthy culture of learning, self-discovery, and yes, even failure.
While our schools have done a great job in preparing our students for the future, my hope is that we continue to remain compassionate in the culture that we perpetuate. Schools and grades are merely the start of a child’s life. Where they end up depends more on their internal values and drive.
7.) Thank you for the opportunity to present my views. If you have any additional questions for me, E-mail isaacchengforBOE@gmail.com, or visit my website at isaacchengforBOE.com.
#b#Rachelle Feldman Hurwitz#/b#
1.) Briefly explain your background. What experience, expertise, or perspective would be most useful on the board?
2.) Is there a person/book/event that inspired you to serve public education?
3.) What is your opinion of the common core standards and the accompanying PARCC test? Do you believe that standardized test scores should be part of teachers’ evaluations?
4.) The PARCC test will be administered online. How is the district adapting to evolving technologies and how will it prepare for this test specifically?
5.) The Hughes Corporation is considering a request to add housing to the possible uses of that 600-plus acre property. Other new developments are planned near Old Bear Brook Road and Forrestal Village. What can or what should the board do now in anticipation of these developments?
6.) Beyond the perpetual need to balance quality education with budget realities, what’s the biggest challenge facing the district today?
7.) Are there any other school district issues you feel should be addressed?
1.) In 2004 I went back to Rutgers, New Brunswick and finished a dual degrees in 2007, with honors in History and Communication along with a leadership certificate from the Communication School. As president of my class, I gave the commencement address. Making two honor societies as an adult required more then a desire to learn. One must have the ability to learn complex concepts and apply new skills in a rigorous classroom setting. I have continued learning through the New School Boards Association and I have earned enough credits to qualify as a Certified Board Member. The NJSBA has helped me be a better board member and serve our District.
Two-and-a-half years ago my husband was diagnosed with a blood disorder and our lives changed gears. I may have considered myself an advocate, and a program manager before, but researching, applying, and getting him admitted into the National Institute of Health was not luck. Fighting for my husband’s life and telling doctors “no” to unnecessary procedures instilled a new range of advocacy. Gratefully, he is now in remission. His brush with death empowered me with a deeper commitment to work harder each day to improve the quality of life for our community. I take my position on the school board seriously and why I use my advocacy skills at the state level through the New Jersey School Boards Association (NJSBA).
Recognizing where improvement is necessary and fostering appropriate implementation of educational needs takes experience. As a member of the NJSBA’s Special Education Committee, I strongly advocated for special education training for board members. In early 2015 all New Jersey School Board members will be trained in special education. I have used my voice for all of New Jersey’s children and reflects my proven leadership skills.
2.) I am a descendant of Rabbis, so learning/education is our life’s journey and doing good deeds for our community was taught to me as long as I can remember. If I had to chose a single event, it would be growing up in Englewood, NJ during the civil rights movement. My sixth grade teacher was cruel to an African American student “sitting in” front of me. I could not accept the teacher’s ignorance. I stood up to my teacher and helped the student become part of our class. Today, I appreciate our community’s diversity, value our common quest for quality education, and want all of our children to achieve their personal goals. Important books; The Dali Lama’s, “Ancient Wisdom, Modern World: Ethics for a New Millennium” sits on my bed stand along with my Bible, and a book by my beloved Rabbi Arthur Hertzberg, “A Jew In America.”
3.) Regarding the common core standards: The common core was originally devised to lift standards in states where educational scores were lacking. Sadly, some of the states needing to improve their quality of education opted out. Last June NJSBA held its annual legislative meeting with state legislators in Trenton. I stood before state representatives and implored them to review the PARRC’s testing period because of the loss of valuable educational time in the classroom.
Last year Diane Ravitch, author of, “Reign of Error,” spoke in Princeton about testing and the privatization of public schools. I agreed with some of her points; testing cannot put a value on teachers and “…(tests) undermines professionalism.” Nor does testing provide a real understanding of how well “all” of our children are doing qualitatively.
As I said three years ago, “…good teachers know who the good teachers are and likewise, they know which teachers need help.” If administrators have increased observations, then the process, not the tests, benefits teachers, administrators, and students.
Having said the above, New Jersey districts must comply with PARCC testing. The DOE remains in a state of flux on the ways and hows of administering of the PARRC. Our staff has been agile in keeping up with the alterred specifications. We do not expect a radical shift in the data from the testing. By and large, most of our students do not have difficulty with testing because they have been doing open ended questions for years. We are not sure of how PARRC and Student Growth Outcomes (SGOs) results may effect our teachers reviews given the lag time of the first year SGOs roll out. I am also interested in following the use of Student Growth Outcomes and how the data will impact special education students.
4.) Our district has been diligent in preparing for the 40 afternoons of testing. Our technology staff has been preparing for the bandwidth PARRC demands for over a year. Teachers have been trained on the use of computers and Chromebooks to help administer the test. Additional Chromebooks have been purchased for our special education students and they will be trained in advance on how to use them. Our special education students are one of my concerns and I am waiting to see how the process and computers works for them during the PARCC. We will adjust what needs to be done accordingly.
Technology is a necessary part of education and becoming intrinsically utilized in many of our classes. All of our fifth and sixth graders now use Chromebooks. Our media centers are increasingly used as computer centers. The question is, in what manner do we incorporate self-directed learning? Last year I attended a STEM training for board members. Clearly, we must roll out self-directed learning embedded with teachers lecturing and guiding students as they go. Some students do well on their own. However, teachers should incorporate student’s goals while remaining the educator. There is no doubt an integrated process is valuable helping students to learn on their own. We want our students to be innovators and inventors, not held back by a syllabus.
5.) Our administration historically monitors potential increases in student growth within our district and our enrollment status does fluctuates. The Hughes tract has been a roller coaster of contradictions for years. Our administrative staff has been proactive maintaining a relationship with the Hughes corporation and the West Windsor Township. With any new development, we worry about the stress on class size and staff. We would hope the Hughes Corporation would incorporate a school in its plans to compensate for any potential radical increase in student population for the betterment of our community. The new development in Forrestal Village, Plainsboro will be high end units for young couples and the Township does not expect much impact on our district.
6.) Challenges: The sunsetting (in our district in 2015-2016) of the state’s Chapter 78, requiring school employees to pay a portion of their health care benefits. The stress on our budget if the law sunsets and the Affordable Care Act’s excise tax distribution becomes a critical factor on how we negotiate contracts and plan our budget. A potential 10 percent increase in total health insurance premiums could mean a $2 million increase in total costs. All of New Jersey’s pensions are stressed and I worry about how we can sustain our teachers and all public employees. Please go to our district’s website, bring up the budget, and look at the pie chart for a better understanding on how our budget is distributed.
While technology advances, the demands on our system increases. Due to the PARCC we moved quickly to insure our systems could support our students during the 40 afternoons of testing. However, beyond PARRC, we need to increase our bandwidth to support the increasing number of Chromebooks and devices used by our students. This year we started “BYOD” (bring your own device) in our high schools. The approximate cost to maximize our system, (given technology advances constantly), is around $250,000 per grade for devices and $1.3 million to upgrade our infrastructure. If we chose to replace our core hub, the estimate is around $400,000. There are yearly costs for bandwidth and an increase of hubs for each class to support the devices. The question is how do we afford and sustain technology?
Parents understand the need to educate our students with devices for the 21st century. There are two parts to the use of devices.
First, students should learn to work on their own, but integrating lectures, lessons, and leading students through their course work is integral in learning to be independent. Some students move more quickly than others and teachers should be aware of their students successes or struggles. While we move forward with technology our paradigm for classwork assessment should also be adjusted. I am sensitive to pilot programs given our district’s learning curve last year.
Second, our special education student’s use of technology is vital to their success. By use of examples; children with dyslexia are dependent on devices that can read information to them and support their writing. Children with autism are reliant on devices for their individual educational, specific needs, and support. Our special education students’ support through technology is what enables, educates, and empowers them.
7.) Communication with parents remains a work in progress. Our website needs more work. Infinite Campus is infinitely complicated. I can only speak for myself, but reaching out to parents and listening to concerns of parents throughout the district is valuable beyond a group of fixed friends. For the past three years I have met and or spoken with parents by phone, who need to speak to a board member. Being available is one component, but what is more important is having compassion, the ability to relate to our diverse community, and having innate skills to focus on the issue at hand. Parents may choose not to attend board meetings, but as a board member it is important for us to reach out to the community.
In the same vein, we should return to community outreach during our annual budget review. Our district wins awards for our budget and our community would be better served if people learned why.
We should return to hands on classes to stimulate future engineers, artists, and scientists. Encourage more female students into the sciences. Not all students know what they want after high school. We should provide more options to our students, diverse internships that could lead to potential employment, and more college preparation classes for the students who are not in honors and AP.
Special education is an important component of our district. Although we have made strides in improving communication in the past two years, parents feel there is still a need for improved understanding between parents and the district. Being on our WW-P Special Education Program Review Committee, NJSBA’s Special Education Committee and working in tandem with the NJSBA’s Special Education Task Force, I am hoping we can work on earlier classification where needed and limiting our over classification of students who may only need remedial support.
School trips have become controversial during the past two years despite my best efforts having both high schools assistant principals come to a curriculum meeting in June to clarify the trip decision process. Parents from Plainsboro and West Windsor have reached out to me repeatedly for two years on this issue. Trips foster personal growth, and parents should be allowed to decide if their child should participate, if a student should spend time away from home, or if a family can afford an overnight trip. I do not feel we should be judging what are too many trips during the year if a student acquires a valuable lesson. One of our roles as board members is empowering our staff to motivate students through multiple measures, so our students develop a passion for life-long learning.
#b#Rachel Puno Juliana#/b#
1.) Briefly explain your background. What experience, expertise, or perspective would be most useful on the board?
2.) Is there a person/book/event that inspired you to serve public education?
3.) What is your opinion of the common core standards and the accompanying PARCC test? Do you believe that standardized test scores should be part of teachers’ evaluations?
4.) The PARCC test will be administered online. How is the district adapting to evolving technologies and how will it prepare for this test specifically?
5.) The Hughes Corporation is considering a request to add housing to the possible uses of that 600-plus acre property. Other new developments are planned near Old Bear Brook Road and Forrestal Village. What can or what should the board do now in anticipation of these developments?
6.) Beyond the perpetual need to balance quality education with budget realities, what’s the biggest challenge facing the district today?
7.) Are there any other school district issues you feel should be addressed?
1.) I was born and raised in the Philippines and moved to the United States when I was 15 years old. I had the opportunity to see the U.S. from many different perspectives. In four years I attended four different high schools in three different states: Connecticut, California, and Oregon. After graduating from high school I received my undergraduate degree at UC Berkeley, and my law degree at the University of San Francisco. I have been an attorney for over 15 years, and I am admitted to practice law in both California and New Jersey.
I lived in Northern California for over 20 years before I moved to New Jersey with my husband in 2007. While living in Northern California, I was an active participant in many community and professional groups, particularly those representing the Filipino-American community. I was the President of the Filipino Bar Association of Northern California, where I served as an officer for three years. I was also elected as a school board member to a high school district school board, and served as one of its members for five years prior to relocating to New Jersey.
The West Windsor-Plainsboro District is a richly diverse school district and I believe that my cultural background, educational experience and professional experience provide me with a unique perspective and tools to help in evaluating issues that impact the district.
2.) There are a number of things that have inspired me to serve public education. When I was in college and then again as an attorney in Northern California, I became very active in various organizations that had mentorship programs with students. I really enjoyed working with students and helping them to benefit from my past experiences. I also coached a high school mock trial team with my husband for five years and working with the students and seeing how much they thrived and learned was such an amazing experience. I was also a recipient of good mentoring, and one of my mentors, Eddie Angeles, was the school board member in Northern California who preceded me. He was also one of my inspirations for becoming a school board member.
And now, my biggest inspiration for serving in public education is my children. They have just entered the school district – my daughter is in kindergarten and my son in first grade – and I am committed to ensuring that they and all other students in this district get a quality education.
3.) By way of background, the Common Core State Standards are an internationally benchmarked set of standards for English Language Arts Literacy and Mathematics that is meant to place all students, regardless of geographic location or socio-economic status on the same course towards college and career readiness. Currently 43 states have adopted the Common Core State Standards, including New Jersey.
The Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) are the assessments used to measure the Common Core State Standards. New Jersey has been transitioning the existing statewide assessments (NJASK) to PARCC, which is currently on track to be administered in the 2014-’15 school year.
I do believe in and agree with the stated goals that the Common Core State Standards were meant to address and achieve. Having myself attended school in a different country, then coming to the United States and experiencing different school systems in three states, I do understand firsthand the need to have consistent standards across the country and the need to be competitive with our international peers. So having a consistent set of goals and a framework for how our curriculum should be set for all grade levels in all schools does make sense, as well as ensuring that all students who graduate high school from the United States have the same set of knowledge and skills needed to either make them college ready or ready to enter the workforce.
Having said this, I have heard stories and accounts from various parents about their frustrations with the drafting and implementation of specific Common Core State Standards. I do believe that these concerns should be listened to and addressed, and hopefully those officials in positions to be able to address these concerns are looking into them and finding ways to address them. Until then, we as School Board members are required to implement the Common Core State Standards since New Jersey has adopted these standards.
As far as whether standardized test scores should be part of teachers’ evaluations, I believe that students’ achievement in certain subjects do have some correlation to the effectiveness of the teacher. However, I do not believe it should be the main component in a teacher’s evaluation since there are many more factors that determine how good a teacher is, not just the scores of his/her students.
4.) Because the PARCC test is computerized testing that requires school districts to have the required technology to conduct the test, this does pose some challenges that the school district Administration is actively working to address. The Administration is looking at the PARCC testing schedules, the currently technology that the district already has, and what supplementation we may need for these tests to run as smoothly as possible. The last field tests for PARCC occurred this past spring, so some of these identified challenges are relatively new. But the Administration is working very hard to ensure that the district is ready to administer the PARCC tests.
In today’s society and economy, I think technology plays a very important role. And since technologies are now evolving and growing at a very fast rate, it is even more important that we try to include these evolving technologies in the classroom. Since technology is becoming more and more a part of our everyday lives, it is important that our students are well versed in them so that we are adequately preparing them as they enter the workforce.
5.) The Administration has already been closely watching and following the discussions and plans for all these proposed new developments. Since these pending, future development plans may have a significant impact on the school district, I believe that the Administration should continue to do as it has been doing — gathering as much information as is available regarding these developments and starting to look at how the district will need to address a possible large influx of new students. However, until these development plans are finalized, I believe the district and the Administration are limited in how much we can really start putting in place.
I believe that the Board should (and in fact, it already has) begin the conversation with the Administration on what this could mean for the school district and what things we would need to do and implement when these plans are in fact finalized. This is obviously going to be an ongoing conversation that will require a lot of planning and decisions to be made as these plans start to solidify.
6.) 1. How to continue to foster an educational experience that matches the high standards that this district currently enjoys;
2. How to manage and merge the rich heritage and cultural and socioeconomic differences within the district in a way that results in the best possible educational opportunities for all our students; and
3. How to ensure that the district can match current technological advances and include such advances in the education we provide to our children.
I do believe that from challenges arise opportunities. The challenges that we face only give us the opportunity to help improve our district, which in turn will lead to the best quality education for our children. I welcome the opportunity to work with the other School Board Members to address these challenges.
7.) No response.
West Windsor:
#b#Richard Kaye#/b#
1.) Briefly explain your background. What experience, expertise, or perspective would be most useful on the board?
2.) Is there a person/book/event that inspired you to serve public education?
3.) What is your opinion of the common core standards and the accompanying PARCC test? Do you believe that standardized test scores should be part of teachers’ evaluations?
4.) The PARCC test will be administered online. How is the district adapting to evolving technologies and how will it prepare for this test specifically?
5.) The Hughes Corporation is considering a request to add housing to the possible uses of that 600-plus acre property. Other new developments are planned near Old Bear Brook Road and Forrestal Village. What can or what should the board do now?
6.) Beyond the perpetual need to balance quality education with budget realities, what’s the biggest challenge facing the district today?
7.) Are there any other issues you feel should be addressed?
1.) Forty-four years as a teacher, principal and national educational consultant, provides an extensive knowledge and experience base regarding the issues that confront a member of the Board of Education. These past years as chairperson of the Curriculum Committee have given me a thorough understanding and connection to the ongoing district issues and plans for development related to curriculum, instruction, assessment, technology and professional development. This provides the data base for my prioritizing the financial components of the total budget.
2.) During my sophomore year in college, I began to tutor a blind girl in many subjects. Having to find ways to help her successfully grasp the concepts of earth science was the moment of decision: I wanted to be a teacher! Board membership is my way of giving back to the larger community that has provided many benefits to me and my family.
3.) The Common Core Standards and the PARCC tests are two separate issues. Common Core sets consistent curricular standards with specific benchmarks and expectation for all learners in the states that have signed on. To continue to be a leader in the 21st century, we need a well educated total citizenry, not a scatter-gram of low to high performing schools, districts and states, with a middle point of low average. All of the countries that show better results than the United States have national standards and curriculum.
PARCC is an improved standardized test design, as compared to the NJASK or High School Proficiency Assessment. It was selected by the New Jersey State Department of Education. Like any standardized test, it is a snapshot in time, and must be part of a broader array of indicators, including district common assessments, unannounced classroom observations, supervisory/administrative walkabouts, as examples. A question still remains concerning the implementation of this new assessment.
The district will continue a conversation with the state Department of Education to attempt to reduce the negative impact of its delivery system. All assessment results should be used for instructional planning by teachers and districts. We must wait and see what data the State gives us from the new assessments before we can determine their value. Student progress should be part of evaluations, from a growth analysis, not an arbitrary set score. Individual populations, classrooms, districts, towns, are at very different beginning places. That is why an arbitrary point score is unfair and does not describe the real picture. Parents, taxpayers and the general public have a right to expect continuing, reasonable, annual growth.
4.) Our district has built a technology plan over the years that includes a set of articulated courses grades 3-7. We began a 1:1 pilot initiative in fifth grade classes at two schools last year and expanded this to all fifth and sixth graders this year. As we plan and execute these changes, a full budgetary component is always involved. We are currently completing an audit of available devices to determine if there is a need for additional purchases to meet the testing needs.
One of the required areas included in each curricular program review, is technology. All of our written curricula include technology resources and expectations for its use as a teaching and learning tool. Used effectively, technology supports successful learning, with demonstrated learning outcomes that ensure our students are competent to communicate in an evolving technological world.
5.) Our population projections over the past decade continue to be very accurate, using a careful metric design coupled with actual experience based data. Ongoing conversations with both townships keep us informed of potential growth, allowing appropriate short and long term planning models. Budget allocations have carefully provided for funds we can access should the need for additional space arise, as is true now of the addition at Village School, with no increased cost to taxpayers. Being at the table, I know that our conversation with the Hughes corporation has increased its appreciation for the accuracy of our data, careful use of existing spaces, ability to provide an outstanding educational program for all learners at a stable, below state average per pupil cost, all with a commitment to excellence and a keen eye on maintaining a tax structure that is reasonable. Hughes knows that a quality school system is critical for the best value of real estate and that any sudden, unplanned increases, will unbalance the financial stability of the community, reducing their profit share. The superintendent, together with his leadership team and the Board, must continue to maintain an ongoing open, thorough, and honest dialogue with both townships and the Hughes corporation, to support a “We” approach to creating the future of this school community.
6.) First we must remain vigilant in thoroughly assessing every aspect of the program to ensure our continued competitive academic excellence and standing, state and national. Next we must ensure that the whole child, every child, is being successfully addressed. Each and every child in this school system is equally important and deserves what we want for our own child. We always face uncertainty from the state and federal governments regarding funding, changes in reimbursements, and additional non-funded mandates.
Planning has to be both immediate short term and long term. Implications for cost increases such as energy, health care, have to be projected with multiple scenarios created and experience data used to make the best guesstimates as to impact. As our professional staff ages and more individuals reach retirement options, we must maintain the quality professional development opportunities that have allowed us to create and support such an outstanding professional staff.
7.) We have to find additional ways to involve the public in an ongoing conversation about public education. To that end, I believe we should have a public discussion concerning the use of televised or videotaped meetings. Since the Board of Education is charged with the governance of our public schools, and since the right to vote is a basic and fundamental right of citizens in a democracy, I would favor either option. All citizens of the community should have total access to the conversation about our schools as a basis for determining their vote. Specifically, we must find out from the public, what issues or questions need to be better explained regarding the budget process. We in turn need to help the public develop a deeper, respectful understanding of the complexities of being an educator, and how parents and schools can better partner to increase the successful learning of all children.
A serious conversation regarding the positive and negative uses of the emerging and challenging 21st century social communications options available to young people, parents, and staff needs to be further strengthened. A difficult task for schools is to increase parent awareness of the potential negative impact of undue pressure to excel. I believe we all hold the same first priority for our child: a healthy well balanced physical, social, emotional, mental psychological, individual, with skills and confidence to successfully enter the larger world, resilient and flexible to sustain change. Adaptability to change will be a more necessary skill for those young people currently in our classrooms.
Finally we have an issue that does not accrue to a grade point average, but is fundamental to our ability to survive on this planet. Each of our youngsters must be comfortable interacting with a range of people who are both alike and different from themselves. No matter who we are and where we live, there are certain basic physical and emotional needs that sustain life. We share these in common and have to assist young people in celebrating what we have in common with others, as well as respecting and appreciating the unique experiences and qualities we each bring to the table. Our children will continue living in a more diverse world that most of their parents.
In conclusion, I pledge myself, as a citizen and as a candidate for a board seat, to strive to create a school community environment that looks at the needs of our children from a perspective of We, not Me!
#b#Dana Krug#/b#
1.) Briefly explain your background. What experience, expertise, or perspective would be most useful on the board?
2.) Is there a person/book/event that inspired you to serve public education?
3.) What is your opinion of the common core standards and the accompanying PARCC test? Do you believe that standardized test scores should be part of teachers’ evaluations?
4.) The PARCC test will be administered online. How is the district adapting to evolving technologies and how will it prepare for this test specifically?
5.) The Hughes Corporation is considering a request to add housing to the possible uses of that 600-plus acre property. Other new developments are planned near Old Bear Brook Road and Forrestal Village. What can or what should the board do now?
6.) Beyond the perpetual need to balance quality education with budget realities, what’s the biggest challenge facing the district today?
7.) Are there any other issues you feel should be addressed?
1.) My background and experience have helped me to be a valuable contributor to the WW-P School Board.
Both of my parents are educators. My father is a professor of molecular biosciences at the University of Texas at Austin, and my mother began her career as a New York City public school teacher and later became a patient advocate and a health educator. Education, particularly science and public health topics, was often the conversation growing up. I went to public school in a New Jersey district from kindergarten through 12th grade.
I earned my bachelor’s degree in international (comparative) area studies, focusing on Russian and Latin American studies, at Duke University. I also hold a master’s degree in non-profit management from the New School University. I have over 18 years of experience working in the education and marketing fields.
I am completing my first term on the board. I am the chair of the Finance Committee and liaison to both the West Windsor Recreation Commission and the Superintendent’s Advisory Council. I have served on the board teacher negotiations committee, the curriculum committee, and on the technology planning committee.
I have spent the last eight years as a full-time community volunteer. I served as co-president of the Community Middle School PTSA and as tournament director for the WW-P Babe Ruth State 13U Baseball Tournament. Currently, I am the chair of the Friends of the West Windsor Library and an alumni interviewer for the Duke Alumni Admissions Association. I also volunteer for several PTAs and as a class parent.
My experience as a parent of three children, who have been enrolled in WW-P schools since kindergarten and are currently attending district schools, allows me to have direct and current experience at multiple grade levels and schools. I understand that each child can have different learning styles and that instruction and the classroom experience should support each child’s learning style.
Since I am very involved in the community and I am open to the concerns of fellow parents, I feel that I will continue to serve our district well. I have extensive financial experience managing departments and budgets in corporate and university settings. My background in communications and marketing will be useful in effectively communicating to parents and taxpayers.
2.) My grandfather, who lived through the Depression, used to tell me that everything can be taken from you, except your education. I believe that every child should have the opportunity to obtain an excellent education. We all support the public school systems in order to make sure that our society will have educated people in future generations. Public education is for every child, and WW-P needs to continue to strive for differentiated instruction. The district also educates the “whole” child, meaning that the district needs to ensure that each child is comfortable and safe in his/her learning environment.
3.) PARCC is the latest testing format in a long history of standardized testing in public schools. While I believe the test could potentially prove more effective at evaluating higher order thinking skills, I recognize that any standardized test administered system-wide poses challenges to teachers, students, and administrators. And because PARCC requires a radically different method of delivery (the test will be administered electronically) the district must plan carefully to ensure that the preparation and implementation of the PARCC assessments does not distract from the productive classroom experience that our teachers want and our students deserve.
WW-P has established high and consistent standards for students, even before New Jersey joined the 43 other states in adopting the Common Core. During my first term as school board member, the district also opted to implement the more demanding teacher evaluation standards of the Danielson Framework, ahead of the deadline established at the state level. I believe our district should continue to think ahead and take steps to comply with state regulations regarding teacher evaluation and student assessment. Because the current administration and school board have been proactive in preparing for the inevitable advent of PARCC, our district will experience a relatively seamless transition as we adapt.
The district has avoided a scramble to comply with state regulations, and the district’s goal should now be to monitor the administration of PARCC and make improvements in the future to minimize any disruption to regular classroom instruction. I will work with district teachers and administrators to ensure that student testing and teacher evaluations are fairly administered, in the spirit of striving toward high standards of instruction and learning.
4.) I am a proponent of every student having access to the same reliable device. This way all students start with the same advantages, regardless of their family’s resources.
As the board liaison to the district’s technology planning committee, I was pleased to provide input into the development of the mission and implementation plan for instructional technology. The mission is “to ensure that all learners, through a variety of opportunities, develop the knowledge, abilities and competencies needed to create, share, and communicate in a world of evolving and innovative technologies.” Further, the technology plan calls for reliability, access, equity, and support for all students.
The district has implemented several technology initiatives this year. Students in third, fourth, and fifth grade now have a special technology class. This class teaches students how to type and how to research accurately and effectively online. The curriculum of this class also has a PARCC preparedness component, allowing students to simulate how to take the test on the devices used for this assessment.
I believe that the district’s measured and incremental approach to purchase and roll out the implementation of technology in the classroom is a strong one.
Chromebooks used in the “1 to 1 initiative” began last year as a pilot in fifth grade. Each fifth grader in the pilot received a Chromebook. About 180 students participated in the pilot at both Village School and Millstone River School. This year Chromebooks rolled out to all fifth and sixth grade students in the district. Students use the Chromebooks to manage learning, build digital skills and implement the PARCC assessment. Students communicate with one another in person and online in a safe online classroom environment. The district’s plan is to continue to roll out the use of Chromebooks into seventh grade next year and into eighth grade in 2016-’17. Teachers have ongoing training in how to use the devices in instruction.
The district is also continuing to build its technology infrastructure, so that all devices can be used at the same time without bringing the network down. The district recently hired an external technology auditor. The audit report, available in about a month, will provide outside input on how the district should manage its technology infrastructure.
5.) I have participated in meetings with the Howard Hughes representatives to discuss the impact that this proposed development will have on our district. The Board will continue to be involved in development discussions with both townships, as well, to plan for the future impact of proposed developments. The Board will have to project the number of school-aged children that will come from these possible developments and determine where the district will place these students.
6.) The biggest challenge facing the district is the potential population growth that will likely occur over the next several years. This could impact the school building infrastructure, the configuration of schools, the feeding of neighborhoods to schools, transportation, the quantity of teachers and training of teachers.
7.) An ongoing issue for the district is consistency across schools and grade level. The district strives to ensure that a student’s experience is very similar in the same grade level, in each school. There is always room for improvement.
#b#Yingchao ‘YZ’ Zhang#/b#
1.) Briefly explain your background. What experience, expertise, or perspective would be most useful on the board?
2.) Is there a person/book/event that inspired you to serve public education?
3.) What is your opinion of the common core standards and the accompanying PARCC test? Do you believe that standardized test scores should be part of teachers’ evaluations?
4.) The PARCC test will be administered online. How is the district adapting to evolving technologies and how will it prepare for this test specifically?
5.) The Hughes Corporation is considering a request to add housing to the possible uses of that 600-plus acre property. Other new developments are planned near Old Bear Brook Road and Forrestal Village. What can or what should the board do now?
6.) Beyond the perpetual need to balance quality education with budget realities, what’s the biggest challenge facing the district today?
7.) Are there any other issues you feel should be addressed?
1.) As a school board candidate from last year’s election, I have been attending board meetings over the past two years, and learned the major challenges and issues facing our district. Earlier this year, I took an initiative to collect parents’ concerns over the troubled biology pilot program in High School North, and led a group of parents to the board meeting to get the district’s attention on the issue. I then played an important liaison role between the parents and the district administration to help resolve the issue to the satisfaction of all major parties. I see my capacity to be a great advocate for the parents, teachers, and the entire community, and I believe this is the most useful and valuable to the district when I am on the board.
As a scientist by education, and the only PhD on the school board when I am elected, my analytical and mathematical skills will allow me to quantify decision making whenever plausible, such as budget planning.
As a technologist by profession, I am capable of advising the technology introduction and evolution in our schools, from pros and cons, costs and benefits perspectives.
As a salesperson in operation, I deal with customers and internal development teams regularly, and learned how to work together with people of different opinions and agendas to find win-win solutions.
As a musician with passion, I exemplify “life-long learner” as stated in our district’s mission. I always tell students when performing my one-man-band in schools that I self-taught myself to play music as an adult, and they should not stop learning after they finish school.
As a devoted public servant with compassion, I am motived to make our district and our community a greater place, and have been volunteering at the grass-root level organizations since I moved to West Windsor in 2000. When serving two terms of Huaxia Chinese School board chair, I was instrumental in resolving some major conflicts, introducing financial rules and regulations and enhancing bylaws that are critical to the long-term wellbeing of the school.
Visit my websites: yz.skyfz.com/; www.facebook.com/YZforBOE; www.youtube.com/user/yingchaozhang
2.) My middle school math teacher inspired me to quest knowledge in math and science, and to pursue a career in teaching and research. I have always dreamed to become a professor and educator since I met him in the sixth grade. I learned through the experience that teachers with passion in what they teach, and with compassion in how they treat young children, can truly do wonders to the students.
I believe strongly that education is the foundation of our society, which the future of our nation, and the whole world, are built upon. And I have the utter most respect to teachers, as I see their job being the most important and impactful to the world.
Even though I ultimately got into technology and business world, I always wanted to be involved in education, and have been serving the weekend Huaxia Chinese School since my children entered the school in 2003. In recent years, Prof. Yibao Xu, the late school district board member from Plainsboro, was the very inspiration for me to step up to the next level of public service. I look up to him and wish to fill in his shoes to become a passionate yet pragmatic and responsible board member as he was. I truly hope to gain your support for me to fulfill that dream.
3.) There is a need to establish a standard across the country for all public schools, especially those in less advanced states. To my knowledge, that was really the motivation to establish the common core standards in the first place. I believe it is necessary as we are facing a global competition, which depends heavily on the quality of education for all students across America. An equalization of the education standard across the country will help our nation’s future workface become more knowledgeable, adaptable, and competitive.
The accompanying PARCC test is useful to evaluate the performance of the students, as well as their teachers to assess how well common core is implemented. However, common core itself is not a curriculum, nor an implementation plan. And its standard may not fit our academically more advanced district entirely. It will need to be materialized to detailed curriculum, and customized to our schools, teachers, and students to achieve the desired goal.
To that extent, standardized tests should be part of teachers’ evaluations, but cannot overweight the evaluations based on observations from supervisors, and feedback from students and parents.
4.) Our district has been adapting technologies in the classrooms relatively fast, in part due to the consideration of future standard test, such as PARCC, to be administered online. I believe technology has been playing more important roles over the years, and the trend will continue. My three high school children do most of their homework in computer or online. On the other hand, the pace of the technology introduction needs to be carefully managed to take into account the budget constraints, as well as the technology’s true benefits to the classroom teaching. Technology is not going to replace the passionate teachers in front of the students. Human interactions should remain as the most important part of students’ learning experiences in our schools.
5.) School overpopulation is a big challenge for a great district like ours that attract families seeking high-quality education for their children. Additional housing will definitely add more residents and school age children to the district. The board should make a projection of the students in the different grades based on estimated number of new residents and new students in the new developments. The board can then make a more accurate prediction of the classroom sizes and plan the budget accordingly. The board should also work closely with the two townships to give advice, and also provide recommendations to the developers.
I would like to learn more details on this issue. I believe my balanced views and pragmatic approach on issues like this will help bridge all parties working together to find solutions that are not just acceptable, but beneficial to all parties involved.
Related to this topic, when I visited senior citizens during my door-to-door campaign, I always expressed my sincere appreciation for their tax contribution to the school district, which families with children benefit from. Most of them expressed their willingness to stay around and support the district. I think we need to show more appreciation at the district level regularly to encourage the seniors to stay. One of the things we can do is to encourage parents taking their children to visit senior homes to do volunteering work or perform.
6.) I will put curriculum design and adjustment as my top challenge and concern for the school district. We need to shape our curriculum to cultivate both academic excellence and creative brilliance in our students. It impacts directly on how well our students learn, and on how well our schools rank. While the school ranking itself does not necessarily reflect the high quality education of our district, it does affect the value of our home properties, and set the trajectory into the future of our district. The biology pilot program introduced in High School North in the past a couple of years is an example of negative impact on students’ learning experiences when not handled properly.
Based on the lessons learned, when introducing curriculum changes or new teaching methodologies, we should take into several considerations:
• Have broader involvement and contributions from the teachers when making major changes or pilot new programs.
• Keep communication channels open to all stakeholders in the process, including the teachers, the students, and the parents.
• Take feedback from all stakeholders tentatively and seriously during the change or pilot.
• Do not assume success until we can support ourselves with solid results based on scientific and statistical analysis of the data.
It is said that it takes an entire village to raise a child. Given the tremendous parental support we are getting from this school district, and the high quality teachers in our schools, it will be a waste of resource if we do not leverage the passion, knowledge, talents and experiences from our entirely community when it comes to making major decisions, besides curriculum changes. When we can truly utilize the resources in our community and surrounding educational institutions and advanced industries, we will be able to empower our teachers and students to teach and learn above and beyond their classrooms.
Once elected to the board, I will work diligently as a responsible representative of our entire community, and a vocal advocate for the parents to make the decision-making processes more scientific, transparent, and based on more public input.
7.) The following items are not necessarily issues, but include suggestions to improve our district. The order does not necessarily reflect importance or priority.
• Special education is an area I would like to learn more about and see what can be improved at the district and school level to accommodate those special need children. We should teach them to discover their special ways of learning individual, which will help them cultivate their unique talents to be successful when they move on to colleges and future workplaces.
• Extracurricular activities help strengthen, broaden and inspire our children. We should continue to support programs in this area, including important school trips, academic clubs, and sport competitions, music activities, outdoor education, etc.
• We should fully embrace and take advantage of the diversity in our community. The learning experiences in a diverse school will instill tolerance, understanding and appreciation of all cultures and traditions in our students. This will help them better understand the evolving world, and become more collaborative and competitive in the future global market place.
• We should support the expansion of multi-lingual offerings as they prepare our students to embrace the international community, and help them become global citizens. The decision to introduce new languages or expanding an existing program should be made based on public input and trending analysis.
• We should enhance our ESL programs to help our international students to catch up their English skills that are essential to learn other subjects in our schools.
• As mentioned before, we should better leverage local businesses and communities, including Princeton University, high tech and pharmaceutical companies, to apply for more corporate resources and gain stronger support.
• We should support continued maintenance and improvement of existing facilities. It is less expensive to maintain than to fix a bigger problem or to build new buildings.
• We should evaluate some really old lab equipment in high schools and potentially replace them gradually with newer generation to improve our students’ learning experiences in the lab.
• We should video-broadcast or record school board meetings, so that public can view or review them at their convenience on local TV channels. This will increase public awareness and involvement in the school district matters.
• We may look into school bus transportation and optimize the routes and combine buses whenever possible to potentially save some money in this area.
• We should encourage teachers to participate in PTSA activities, so that teachers and parents have the opportunities to interact, socialize, and gain appreciation to each other’s efforts to provide the best education to our children.
