A few years ago at my brother’s house, my nephew came up to me and asked “Uncle Ray, do you like your job at New Jersey School Boards?”  I was surprised because (a) I didn’t know that my nephew knew where I worked and; and (b) I was not sure why he even cared.  After all, it was not part of our normal banter. I responded to him by saying, “Yes Frankie I do.  Why do you ask?”  He then told me that his CYO basketball coach was now a board member and had heard my presentation at New Board Member Orientation. The coach commented on my apparent enthusiasm for the job and told my brother and nephew that I seemed to really like my work.  I took this as one of the best compliments I’ve ever received. The coach was right: I do love my work.

In my 13 years with NJSBA, one event has always energized me and recharged my enthusiasm: Workshop. We conduct Workshop primarily for our members to become better trained and informed.  However, I have also found that Workshop energizes NJSBA staffers.  I know that it does so for me.  You can’t have a great educational system without enthusiasm. And enthusiasm, most times, starts from the top. So I believe that increasing the enthusiasm that school leaders feel has a positive effect.

If you are a new board member, or even a veteran who wants to be reenergized in your role, I highly recommend attending Workshop. To help you “revive, recharge and reimagine education” in your school district, here are my tips on how to get the most out of Workshop 2011. (more…)

If you read my blog last week, I spent some time talking to myself as I read through the Education Transformation Task Force’s Initial Report.  Yes, last week I was very supportive of some of its recommendations, and I still am.  But two little things have kept me talking to myself about the report.

One that gnawed at me was when the report emphasized the achievement gap and used it as a reason to accept the task force’s report.  As I stated earlier, I agree with many of the recommendations, and I believe that the achievement gap is a national problem that we cannot ignore. That being said, the report seems to give the impression that the achievement gap is solely the responsibility of the education community and that there are no other factors that affect student achievement other than what transpires inside the school building. We all know that one of the greatest indicators of student achievement has nothing to do with teachers or the curriculum. It has to do with the student’s economic situation. There is a clear link between poverty and academic achievement. Yes, this link is intractable and persistent but ignoring it does not make it go away. (more…)

* Sign found hanging on my son’s bedroom door

When I went up the stairs to ask my son a question, the handwritten sign, “Talking to Myself – Do Not Disturb,” hung on the door and I laughed.  He actually was talking to himself but there was a reason for it (he was making a podcast for his friends), so I went along with his wishes. Besides, I was a bit jealous that I had not thought of it myself, because I know that I could use the sign. I would find the sign especially useful when I am reading a task force or other government committee report.  In fact, as I was just reading the Education Transformation Task Force Initial Report, released on Sept. 12, I had to watch myself as I was both cheering and arguing with the authors’ observations and conclusions.  I could have used a sign like my son’s to better explain my behavior.

It’s not that I thought the report was off base – far from it.  The idea of reducing mandates and paperwork should be lauded. It always drives me crazy that a basic and fairly simple concept that we all agree on can be turned into 40 pages of unreadable regulations (the best use of those regulations is as a cure for insomnia).  I realize, however, that in our society, regulations are a necessary evil. But sometimes, in trying to solve one small, isolated problem, we create a system that is unwieldy. 

I also don’t want anyone to get the wrong idea and think that I am just coming to this realization. (more…)