I was watching TV while doing my morning workout on the treadmill Monday when all the news stories opened with speculation that Governor Christie may enter the presidential race.  A little while later, I opened my morning paper and it confirmed the TV news: the speculation that Governor Chris Christie might seek the Republican nomination for president has gone from lukewarm to red hot.  It got even hotter when former Governor Tom Kean fueled the speculation by saying “I think the odds are a lot better now than they were a couple weeks ago.”  (For his part, Governor Christie has consistently stated he is not going to enter the 2012 presidential race.)

All of this got me to thinking about why the rumors persist and who benefits the most if Governor Chris Christie enters the presidential race?   The name that came to mind shocked me because it is not an organization that would support Governor Christie’s agenda.  In fact, it has opposed most of his agenda—and strongly.  It is precisely because of this level of opposition that the NJEA may very well be the force behind this movement.  I know, I know, you are thinking I am crazy, but let me explain. (more…)

I remember standing in line at Disney World waiting to get on the Rock’n’Roller Coaster that features the music of the 70’s (and beyond) rock band Aerosmith. I grew up in the 70’s and remember the image of both Aerosmith and Disney back then.  Aerosmith was hard rock, anti-establishment and a little raunchy and Disney was, well, it was Disney –squeaky clean. I thought to myself, ‘if you would have told me when I was in high school that Disney would have an Aerosmith ride in its amusement park, I would have laughed.”  Yet there I was, standing in the line (before breakfast, I might add) with my two kids who were born about 20 years after Aerosmith’s first album.

It is at times like that when you realize the world has changed in ways you could not have imagined years ago.  I was reminded of that when I recently read the Education Transformation Task Force’s Interim Report and one of the recommendations was that “The Department and State Board should seek to amend this regulation to focus on student learning rather than hours of professional development seat-time.” I thought back to more than ten years ago, when the battle in education was about enacting the requirement for 100 hours of professional development for teachers.  I am struck at how much the focus of the conversation has shifted from then. (more…)

As you may know, I recently interviewed Governor Chris Christie for NJSBA’s podcast show “Conversations on New Jersey Education.”  When the interview was first announced, I could tell from some member responses that they wanted me to debate the governor (debating a former U.S. Attorney?  Good luck with that!), or at least focus the conversation on those areas on which our policies do not line up.

When it comes to education, folks on all sides of the issues are very passionate. It’s hard not to be passionate about matters that involve our children’s future, not to mention large amounts of public funds.  We can get so wrapped up in winning an argument, that we lose focus on what is the best strategy for influencing education policy. Our passion can even rise to anger when we disagree with an individual, particularly someone like Gov. Christie, who can have a blunt style.

My job in writing for NJSBA’s BoardBlog is to (more…)

By Frank Belluscio

It wouldn’t be right to let the 10th anniversary one of the most tragic, and most unifying, moments of our lifetime to go by without some acknowledgement on NJBSA’s BoardBlog. Where you were on the morning of September 11, 2001 will be etched in your mind forever.

Two years ago, I posted a blog, recounting that morning at NJSBA headquarters. On the 10th anniversary, I’d like to share it again.

Remembering…
September 11th, 2009
By Frank Belluscio

The call came in just after 9. It was my assistant’s daughter, asking for her mom, but eager to tell somebody–anybody–that a plane had crashed into the World Trade Center and that they (the news people, the police) thought it was an accident…until a second plane crashed into the other tower.
Terrorism. We knew that’s what it was. When I first heard the news, I thought small private planes were used, not missiles in the form of fully fueled jumbo 767′s. From then on, the morning looked like this: newspaper and radio Web sites were clogged; our steel-encased headquarters building did not allow for AM radio reception; and clear television reception was not possible (in a cost-cutting move, we had cancelled our cable television account). Finally, someone hooked up a TV on the third floor, providing shadowy, snowy images of lower Manhattan.
All the while, the staff members kept at their jobs, as news came in through phone calls and emails. But then, after the Pentagon was struck and United Flight 93 crashed in western Pennsylvania, the tide had turned, and by midday the executive director decided it was best to close the office.
From school districts, the stories unfolded: the elementary school students in Hoboken who witnessed the destruction through their classroom windows; the teachers who rode the buses after dismissal, making certain that the children had parents at home; and the many families of schoolchildren who suffered losses in the tragedy.
Then-NJSBA President Patti Pawling expressed her concern for the children in the face of the traumatic event.
This week, school districts throughout New Jersey commemorated 9/11 through moments of silence, days of service, and even tree plantings. Educators are facing the challenge of how, in the future, we will teach students about the event. Many students will be too young to remember, or were not born at the time. As a result, today, several New Jersey districts are piloting a new 9/11 curriculum.
In America, we went through a period of collective grief in the year following the attacks. Of course, for those who lost loved ones in the tragedy the pain can never go away.
And, for all of us, neither should the memory.
There are the heroes of the day–the first responders; and the police and firefighters, many of whom lost their lives and many of whom today are suffering physical consequences as a result of their service on 9/11 and in the days and weeks that followed.
There was also the unity. On Newsradio 880 this morning, CBS newsman Bob Schieffer recounted his memories of the attacks. What stood out, he said, was the unity that existed in the country in the weeks that followed 9/11. He provided the example of the U.S. Senate, two days after the attack, putting aside partisan differences and passing an appropriations act unanimously. Obviously, such attitudes cannot survive long in Washington, or in Trenton. People are not elected to public office to agree, but certainly, they are not elected to undercut, chastise and play politics for the sake of politics.
Two years from now, when America recognizes the 10th anniversary of the attacks, perhaps that sense of unity and common purpose in government will again be part of the picture.

I will never forget the dazed and confused look on the man’s face as he answered my brother’s rather generic question: “How are things?”  Obviously, things weren’t great. He lives in the same neighborhood as my mother and we were there to rescue her from the quickly rising floodwaters in Lincoln Park.  This is an area that in recent years has grown more accustomed to severe flooding. Local residents are resilient and prepare well for possible flooding.  But we knew this time the flood was different when the man answered “the foundation of my house just collapsed.”  He had the look of a man who had prepared for the worst possible scenario only to find that his past experience and his imagination’s worst scenario was no match for the flooding from Hurricane Irene.  He was not alone.

As my brother and I waded through the floodwaters to get to the boat we encountered many people with similar looks as that first gentleman.  Some women were holding back tears, some were not and the men were just shaking their heads or looking with a blank look in their eyes. It was as if they were seeking answers as to what to they do next and the answer was out there somewhere but they could not see it.

My brother and I finished our mission and got our mother out. (more…)