The recent events involving Rutgers University students have taken center stage in the media. The West Windsor-Plainsboro Regional School District has been overwhelmed with requests for interviews from local and national newspapers and magazines as well as national blogs and television shows around the country. Our response to all of these requests has been “no comment.”
We do not think that it is our place to promote media attention over this issue. As the superintendent of schools for the West Windsor-Plainsboro Regional School District, it is an honor and privilege to lead 10,000 students and 1,500 teachers and staff of this successful school district. We are focusing on the education of our students and not on the media.
We are a community of diversity, and our schools are filled with students born in New Jersey and around the nation and world. And, within this microcosm of society, we endeavor to lead students to become passionate, confident, lifelong learners who have the competence and strength of character to realize their aspirations and thoughtfully contribute to a diverse and changing world.
I believe that we achieve competence and strength of character through the richness of our academic program and extracurricular activities, including clubs and athletics, which expand learning beyond the classroom. The schools provide an environment that motivates students to learn and requires them to exercise imagination and collaboration in solving problems.
I can easily report on the many activities that are in place in our in-depth guidance and counseling program: Responsive Classroom, Challenge Day, Character Education, Parenting Circles, Cultural Diversity groups, Pirate Players performances, community service events, no name calling week, and more.
I can remind parents of the myriad programs offered on student success, peer pressure, bullying, internet safety, and college preparation. I can talk about the policies and regulations that are supported by the Board of Education, from sexual harassment/cultural diversity guidelines to regulations for technology use. I can discuss community activities with the local police departments, recreation offices, and religious and business organizations. I can review our Academic Integrity Code and Student Code of Conduct Forms, the Athletic Behavior and Fan Rules, the crisis management team planning, and events for school violence awareness week.
Fulfilling the mission statement and core values is not an event, it is our ongoing work, it is a process and it is dependent on our partnership with our parents and community. Together, we work to teach our students and ourselves, the core values determined by this community and I am honored to work with the Board of Education, all administrators, faculty and staff, parents, and community members in this important endeavor.
Victoria Kniewel, EdD
Superintendent, WW-P School District
