More important than rankings, is the “below average” WW-P Report Card for character education and diversity appreciation programs that currently exist in our school district.
We are so hyper-focused on academics, rankings, and grades that we forget we are doing a huge disservice to our teachers and students in not creating humane human beings. Last I heard WW-P was doing “an inventory” of our character ed programs. Ewing, Lawrenceville, and Hamilton schools win both state and national awards for creating humane students in elementary, middle, and high school; WW-P can’t even put forth an application to compete. Shouldn’t we study nearby school districts in Mercer County to see what they are doing better?
It’s time to put less focus on “rankings” and more emphasis on respect for all persons, kindness, civility, diversity appreciation, anti-bullying, victim empowerment, and going beyond simple “community service.”
Lynne Azarchi
The writer is the director of the Kidsbridge Tolerance Museum and the parent of two WW-P students.
