By

Ray Pinney

As Diane Lein, a Greenwich Township (Warren County) board member, spoke before the NJSBA Legislative Committee, it was obvious by the inflection in her voice and by the pained look in her eyes that she was in a bit of distress. The kids in her district were going to be hurt by (more…)

 By Ray Pinney

When the Anti-Bullying Bill of Rights legislation was passed, I wrote a blog entry,  A Student Solution to Bullying, that described a situation when my son stood up to a bully and I was very proud of him. I worried he’d be one of those kids who got picked on.

I’m sure that the fear that my son would be bullied was something that all parents can sympathize with. But there is another fear that never crossed my mind. It’s one that some parents are now dealing with – that your child is labeled as a bully. Two recent events have indicated to me that a there is a new concern with labeling a young person a bully.

The first concerned the Commissioner of Education ruling on two appeals of district action taken under the anti-bullying law. Interestingly, in both cases, the appeal was brought by the parents of the student accused of being the bully.

Second, the New Jersey Anti-Bullying Task Force, which was established by the law to study the law’s impact, released its preliminary report on January 26, 2013.  We are eighteen months into the implementation of this law, so it is a good time to take a look at it and see how it is working and maybe how it should be amended.

As I stated earlier, (more…)

By

Ray Pinney

“Don’t it always seem to go
That you don’t know what you’ve got ‘til  it’s gone

Joni Mitchell

I always thought that Joni Mitchell’s lyrics were so true: it’s only after something (or someone) is gone from your life that you realize its importance.

I know I am not the only one feels that way, but Hurricane Sandy reminded me that sometimes you don’t realize what you have until it is tested and demanded of you.  In four ways Hurricane Sandy dispelled some myths that persist about public education in New Jersey.

The four commonly-held myths are as follows: First, that our politicians are divided along party lines and more worried about scoring political points and helping their own political party than their constituents. Second, that local control is so strong that each district is an island and they do not collaborate enough. Third, that the adults in education, like teachers, school administrators and board members are too focused on adult issues and not the kids.  And last, that the general citizenry is apathetic and its support for public education and schools is lukewarm at best.

As we discuss public education policy in New Jersey, we operate under these myths. I believe Sandy washed away these myths just as she washed away boardwalks and beach houses.

Let’s examine each myth. (more…)

By

Ray Pinney

For what I believe is the first time in history (or at least modern history),  in a few weeks most New Jerseyans will have the opportunity to vote for school board members in a November election, rather than in a separate April election.

A board member friend of mine sent me the sample ballot for some districts in Middlesex County.  Since this is the first time that they will have non-partisan school board elections on an essentially partisan election ballot, it took work by the County Clerk to arrange the ballot to separate the elections. On this ballot, and I am sure it will be very similar in other counties, the top of the ballot, of course, is the presidential race followed by Senate, Congressional and county races, then ending with local elections. The non-partisan school board election is separated from the rest of the ballot and has its section at the bottom.

Now I have a modest proposal. I am sure it will go nowhere, but what’s the point in having a blog if you can’t stir things up every once and a while? Here goes: (more…)

By

Ray Pinney

What is good leadership worth?  We all recognize the value of a good leader, but the compensation for such a leader, whether he or she is the chief executive officer of a corporation or a superintendent of a public school district, usually comes under attack from the public at some point.  But anyone who has worked in an organization with poor leadership recognizes the value of a good one.

I have a few hard and fast rules and one of them is that almost no matter who you are—a CEO, a sports star, a Hollywood star and a school superintendent—if there is a debate over your salary in the media, you rarely win the public perception battle.  Most likely, that’s because the vast majority of the readers and listeners are making less than the public figure in question. They usually have very little sympathy for individuals making six figures or more.

While the public may grumble about the compensation given to a sports star, actor or CEO, they really have no say in the matter. It’s a different story with public employees, however.  Against the backdrop of a stagnant economy, the Christie administration adopted the salary cap regulations.  In terms of public perception, it was an easy move, generating almost no pushback.

While there are differing views on whether the cap is good or not, the real issue is this: (more…)

By

Ray Pinney

It wasn’t too long ago when I said I would never need a cell phone.  I didn’t need to have access to everyone at all times, I thought.  Now I have two cell phones and I have a hard time not glancing at my Droid every ten minutes.  I had the same reservations about Facebook and now I check that site nearly every day.  So when I think about the major reservations I have about New Jersey’s foray into virtual charter schools, I wonder if I’m just resisting new technology again?  Is the push-back against virtual charter schools just a fear of change?

I do not believe so. The reservations I and others have are definitely more than a fear of change or being unnecessarily afraid of new technology.  In fact, as anyone who reads this blog knows, I have been a user of the new technology such as blogs and podcasts for a while now.  I am not afraid of technology. I see its benefits but I am also aware of its pitfalls.

What really concerns me is that we are entering the field of virtual education with a system that was designed for brick and mortar buildings. The virtual charter schools being proposed are currently governed by the old charter school law which was drafted fifteen years ago and did not really deal with the issue of virtual education. Some might even argue that the existing law is a bit antiquated even for brick-and-mortar charter schools, but that is a separate issue.  (more…)

By

Ray Pinney

The young man of 15 walked up to me. His shoulders were straight and his posture almost had a military bearing. He extended his hand and introduced himself with a firm handshake.  He asked if I wanted to know about his district’s SEALS (Students Empowered for Advocacy and Leadership Skills) program for students who are eligible for special education services.  I was impressed with his poise, and with the poise of a young lady who is also in the program, as they talked about how much better they feel being a leader and active participant in their own IEP meetings. They had gained the kind of confidence and ease with advocating for themselves that all students—not just special education student – would benefit from.

I was at the Innovations in Special Education awards ceremony and 10 New Jersey schools were being honored for having creative and effective special education programming. The awards are jointly sponsored by NJSBA and ASAH, a non-profit organization that represents private schools serving students with disabilities.

As I wandered the hotel lobby looking at the impressive array of programs that were on display, (more…)

At the beginning of this week, I thought I might write a blog about the Governor’s State of the State Address. Then I got a reminder about an event in January that I did not want to overlook and an email from a board member that triggered a thought.

For those who want to know what happened in the State of the State speech, here is an abbreviated synopsis of the governor’s message for the education community:  Tax cuts are good. Tenure is bad and must be changed.  Charter schools are good and we need them, especially in our districts that are not performing. The Abbott Court rulings are very bad and unfair.  The practice of Last in First Out (LIFO) needs be eliminated when districts have to reduce staff. We need the Opportunity Scholarship Act (voucher bill) passed now.  None of this is new, but it is important for us to know that the governor has made education reform a priority this year.

I am not trying to minimize the importance of the governor’s words but something else came across my computer which I felt was more timely.  Plus I am pretty sure that over the course of 2012 I will have ample opportunity to address the governor’s education agenda.

I was corresponding with a board member about some legislative issues, as well as trying to convince her to get more involved on an NJSBA committee. She said she would think about getting involved more, but she first has to decide whether or not to run for reelection. She said that the six years she has spent on her board had been very time consuming and been hard work, so she was undecided. Then she told me “You do a terrific job and I am very honored to be able to work with you.” As I read those nice words, I also had a page about January being School Board Recognition month up on my computer screen.  I thought that the board member, Angela, who emailed me those kind words, had it backwards. The honor is mine, not hers.  So I replied to her “Angela working for dedicated volunteers like you makes my job seem worthwhile. So the honor is mine to do my best to represent you and work on your behalf.”  I really mean what I said to my friend Angela and let me explain. (more…)

First they came for the communists,
I remained silent;
I was not a communist.

When they locked up the social democrats,
I remained silent;
I was not a social democrat.

When they came for the trade unionists,
I did not speak out;
I was not a trade unionist.

When they came for the Jews,
I remained silent;
I wasn’t a Jew.

When they came for me,
there was no one left to speak out.

Rev. Martin Neimoller

I had almost finished writing my latest blog entry when I flipped on the television after coming home from a very informative meeting on the Anti-Bullying law.  I was thinking about something one of the speakers said: In most instances even when people (not just kids) see something wrong, they don’t speak up.  I flipped the channel to ESPN to see if there was a college basketball game on when I saw the press conference announcing the firing of the legendary Penn State football coach Joe Paterno.  It was then that it hit me how much our society is changing and that silence is no longer an option, not even for legends.

While school administrators, board members, and teachers are all fretting over the implementation of the anti-bullying law, it should not be lost on us that silence is considered an offense in itself, especially when it involves not reporting incidents that victimize children.

That thought brought to mind the Rev. Neimoller’s quote, which I opened with.  It was written about Nazi Germany, but its lessons are timeless. It was a quote that my father had hung prominently in our house as a reminder to not be afraid to speak up when others are silent in the face of injustice. (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…)