A veteran provides some insights

By Walter Brower

Ask parents what they expect of our public schools and their answer will undoubtedly be: “We want schools that are excellent; schools that offer a high-quality education for all students.” They may add, “We also have high expectations of those who administer and teach in our schools.” No one should be surprised at those responses. They certainly reflect how all of us would probably respond.

Since everyone wants and expects excellence in education, we should ask another question: What do we expect of those who serve on the more than 600 boards of education in New Jersey? Board members establish policies and regulations that affect every student. Do they understand that the most important aspect of their board membership is our expectation that their top priority will be their focus on students?

Boards of education are confronted with a variety of pressing issues that call for committed and enlightened leadership from those who are privileged to serve on them. We should expect that board members will commit themselves to making the board efficient and effective in meeting its responsibilities. Having served as a member of two such boards, I am motivated to share the attributes of those boards that led to excellence. I do so because I believe they are of value for all who currently serve and particularly for new board members. I strongly suggest that board members seriously consider the following characteristics, which will contribute to a board’s effectiveness.

1. The board of education makes the rules and regulations for the district. It does not administer schools. Membership on a board of education must not be interpreted to mean its members are empowered to become school administrators and to micromanage the district. Professional educators are hired to administer the schools. Failure to understand and adhere to this long-standing principle of board membership serves only to obstruct the work of the board.

2. The power of the board of education resides solely in the entire board membership making decisions as a unit at a regularly scheduled meeting. An individual board member has no power. Individual board members are in no position to direct anyone in the district to do that which the board member believes should be done.

3. Members of the board must refuse to be pressured by groups, individuals, and even fellow board members. When individual board members receive complaints and/or pressure, they should immediately refer the issues to the superintendent. Likewise, it is incumbent upon board members to refrain from pressuring district administrators and fellow board members to act upon their complaints or ideas or on projects that solely represent the board member’s personal desires and beliefs.

4. There is no acceptable substitute for teamwork. It is a fundamental operating principle of an effective board. Board membership is a collegial arrangement wherein board members and the superintendent and his or her administrative staff work together to achieve the board’s mutually developed goals and objectives. A most important aspect of board membership is that its members should support the superintendent. Of course, there will be times when disagreements will occur. Such differences are when those on each side of the issue must work together to arrive at a mutually acceptable solution.

5. Members of a board of education must refuse to be part of partisan politics. It has long been understood that our public schools are not to serve, to further, or to be influenced by the interests of partisan politics, regardless of party affiliation.

6. It is the board member’s responsibility to be prepared for board meetings by being knowledgeable about the items that will be on the agenda when the board meets. The importance of being able to intelligently contribute to the discussion and voting on each item cannot be emphasized too strongly.

The lay control of public schools is a unique American phenomenon that is often misunderstood by those from other countries who wonder how such an arrangement could possibly work. The boards do work, and they are indeed a valuable and essential part of the structure of the American system of education. Those elected to board membership have the responsibility, individually and collectively, to contribute to making local boards more effective and increasingly responsible to the needs of education.

The six points of effective board membership I believe to be of importance to a board of education and to the district are among the many lessons I learned from the boards with which I was affiliated. A community that has a board of education, elected or appointed, whose members subscribe to these few principles, among others, will know it has a first-rate board of education.

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Walter Brower was a member of the Mount Holly Township Board of Education for five-and-a-half years and the Ewing Township Board of Education for six years, where he served as president for four years. He is also dean emeritus of the School of Education at Rider University. This article was adapted with permission from one that ran in the Trenton Times in April 2009.

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Know Your TEAM

Understanding the working style of fellow board members can make meetings go more smoothly

By Theresa Lewis and Susan McCusker

Joe sighed and scratched his head. It had been another long evening at the school board meeting discussing the same two issues. One member kept requesting additional information on the topic. Another seemed content to continue to try to think up “creative” ways to tackle a problem. Joe felt the board had spent enough time considering alternatives and that it was time to take a vote and be done with the matter. Although there was plenty of discussion, once again, no decisions were made. Everyone left in a sullen mood. Joe was dreading the phone calls he would receive tomorrow from frustrated board members. They were a great group of people, from varied backgrounds with a lot of expertise. They all had the best interests of the district in mind. Why couldn’t they come together as a team when it was time to make critical decisions?

The answer to that question might be found by taking a close look at the personality traits and working styles of the various board members.

Understanding and appreciating the different working styles of individuals within a group can shed light on why people act the way they do, lead to improved relationships and communication among team members, and enhance the decision making process.

That’s where the TEAM Personal Inventory program comes in. TEAM is a program that is designed to identify the different working styles of individuals within a group. The acronym comes from the four dominant working styles described by the process- “taskmaster,” “enthusiast,” “analyst,” and “mainstay.”

A working style is a characterization of the way a person absorbs and processes information, makes decisions and solves problems. Most people have one or two dominant working styles and in some situations, even use all styles. But under stress, as in a difficult situation, most people will resort to their dominant style.

The TEAM Personal Inventory, facilitated by NJSBA field service representatives (FSR), will enable board members to gain insight not only into their own working styles, but also into those of the other members. FSRs have board members answer a questionnaire to discover their dominant working styles – whether they are a “taskmaster,” “enthusiast,” “analyst” or “mainstay.”

It is important to note that none of the working styles is a preferred style, nor is one better than the other. The categories are designed to describe how an individual is most comfortable working, not judge the individual.

Take the taskmaster, for example. Taskmasters always come to meetings prepared. They read their packets ahead of time and prefer tightly structured meetings. Prior to the call to order, you can expect them to say something like: “judging from the agenda, we should expect the meeting to conclude at 8:30.” They are logical and decisive and usually have a strong work ethic. There is no grayscale in their view of issues, only black and white. Every board needs at least one “taskmaster,” as those are the people who keep meetings moving and prevent the proceedings from getting bogged down. They sometimes need to be held back from moving the entire agenda with one motion.

The “enthusiasts” in the group are the eternal optimists. Expressive and visionary, they generally have a great sense of humor and are willing to provide input on any subject. Enthusiasts are out-of-the-box thinkers who often come up with new and original solutions to problems. They thoroughly enjoy brainstorming and embrace change. Enthusiasts can get caught up generating ideas and possibilities simply because they enjoy the process. They have no problem spending an entire evening – perhaps even into the wee hours of the morning – discussing a controversial topic. They are not detail-oriented and harbor no particular fascination with long-term goals. Enthusiasts have a tendency to balance their decision-making process, voting yes this time and no the next.

Proficient and task oriented, “analysts” work for improvement. They are logical and concise, embrace structure, and will strive to give all data the attention it deserves. They prefer clear, measurable goals and timelines with milestones to measure progress. As perfectionists, analysts sometimes will prefer data in different formats, arranged in a more logical order for their review. Facts and data will determine their decisions in issues. In extreme situations, they may irritate others by delaying decisions while requesting more information.

A school board can expect to find several “mainstays” in their group since mainstays make up approximately 50 percent of the population. Their qualities are sincerity and empathy; they listen well and are very stable. They prefer more relaxed meetings and take care not to offend others. Mainstays like acceptance and generally do not like to offend others. This poses a challenge in meetings as they would rather discuss a topic at length than make a controversial decision, which could cause meetings to run late. But in difficult situations, mainstays are the ones who are most likely to serve as the peacemakers who work to bridge the gap between opposing sides of an issue.

For any board member, recognizing your own working style can be tremendously valuable. Board members who know they are “mainstays” can acknowledge that they are uncomfortable offending others, but know that sometimes it is necessary to do so. Enthusiasts and analysts can understand that their weakness is confronting the moment when it’s time to set aside the possibility of other alternatives and make a decision. Meanwhile, taskmasters can remind themselves that other members aren’t as quick to feel comfortable moving to a decision point, and that valuable suggestions can come from further discussion.

In Joe’s case, recognizing the dominant working styles of his board would have been beneficial in helping the board come to a consensus. The other members weren’t intentionally trying to impede progress. They were simply operating in a manner that was true to their dominant working style. Recognizing and valuing the working styles of group members reduces stress and enhances communication. This enables the team to function in a spirit of mutual respect. And boards that have members who respect each other are usually well-functioning boards.

It is important to remember that it is not only inevitable that a board will be comprised of various working styles – it is desirable. People with different working styles bring different strengths to the board in the same way people with a variety of professions and backgrounds do.

Your NJSBA field service representative can conduct a TEAM inventory for your board. To arrange such a service, contact your FSR or Cathy Ewart of the Field Services department at (609) 278-5255.

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Theresa Lewis is a field service representative for NJSBA and a former board member and board president for the East Greenwich school district. She can be reached at tlewis@njsba.org. Susan McCusker, a field service rep, served on the Mountain Lakes Board of Education for ten years, including five as its president, and also served on the Eatontown school board. She can be reached at smccusker@njsba.org.

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News You Can Use

Knowing how to work with your local news media will help your board get the real story out

By Frank Belluscio

Last month, I was asked to update an article I wrote some time ago about school boards and media relations for School Leader. My first thought was: with so much consolidation in the newspaper field, is the topic, “working with reporters,” still relevant to school district officials? After all, it’s likely (or so I thought) that newspapers aren’t even sending reporters to local school board meetings very often.

At a recent gathering of the New Jersey School Public Relations Association, I took the opportunity to test my hypothesis. I asked three school communications practitioners from suburban northern New Jersey the following question: “Do reporters still cover your local school board meetings?” Their answers surprised me…and then some.

Not only did they reply with an affirmative “yes,” but the number of media covering their school districts and their boards of education has actually expanded.

In this era of reduced newsroom staffs, diminished ad revenue and shrinking news holes, the news-gathering industry has morphed into a hybrid Web- and print-based information source. Not only is the state’s largest daily newspaper again sending reporters—albeit now employed by a private contractor—to school board meetings, but several Internet news sites have also popped up. Some are initiated by traditional news organizations, such as The New York Times; others are local ventures, oftentimes providing unbiased information, sometimes not.

School districts today are dealing with more reporters, who have extreme variations in journalistic experience and skill, and who also have a need to post information immediately. So, the key lessons of accessibility, promptness and patience—the focal points of my original article—remain as critical today as when I wrote it more than a decade ago.

What follows is my article, updated and still relevant.

Does your school district (choose one)—

(a) Contend with the news media.
(b) Put up with the press.
(c) Work with the reporters and editors who cover your board meetings, your district’s schools, and its students.

The answer, of course, should be (c). Your school district’s relationship with the news media is a vital component of its overall public relations program. For that relationship to be effective a district must make a genuine effort—and then some—to provide information to the local news media that cover the district. In effect, it should work with the people who work for the media.

Why? Your board’s image—as conveyed by the news media—can have a dramatic impact on how the community views the schools and its level of support for public education.

It’s about planning and policy Media relations is a vital part of a year-round communications plan, which every school board should have in place. (For more information on year-round communications planning, contact the NJSBA Field Services Department at 1-888-886-5722, ext. 5255.)

Who in your district talks to the news media? Under what circumstances and when? What type of written information is available to press?

As a school board, your role is to make policy. A legally sound, well-thought-out policy on school-community relations, including relations with the news media, will guide you in answering these questions. It will also serve as the foundation for effective communications with the press. (NJSBA’s Legal and Policy Services Department or your NJSBA Field Service Representative can provide information on school-community relations policies.)

It’s about communication You can assure the accuracy of information and proper context on your district’s Web site and in other district-sponsored communications vehicles, but that’s not enough. A major challenge rests with media relations. It’s a component of your public relations program that has an impact both inside and outside the school community. Every newspaper article, every radio report, every blog and Internet posting has the potential not only to reach parents, students and school staff, but also non-parent taxpayers, municipal officials, and residents of neighboring school districts.

How do you establish effective communication through the press?

Meet the press Let’s look at a regular board meeting. Often, it’s the first place a school board and the news media cross paths.

For a minute, put yourself into the shoes of a recent college graduate attending your board meeting. Your last direct contact with public school was as a high school student. You know little about the school district in particular. And other than the broad “textbook” descriptions provided in political science classes, you know little about school board operations.

Imagine that, in addition to being a recent college graduate, you are the reporter who will file a story about the board meeting.

Now step back into your own shoes. Any board action, any comment by you – or by any other board member – could find its way into the reporter’s article. In fact, anything that happens at the board meeting could turn up in an online news site that same night--not to mention in print in the following morning’s newspaper.

The local community beat is often a new reporter’s first assignment. And the public school district, which typically receives more than 60 percent of the local property tax dollar, is of intense interest to local cyber observers – knowledgeable and novice alike.

Consequently, school districts often have to work with reporters who have limited knowledge of local government operations. As a board member, you may feel as if you are sailing uncharted waters.

It’s also likely, however, that the reporter got his job because an editor found him or her to be a “quick learner” who could write about complex matters in an understandable way. Therefore, while on uncharted waters, you may be able to set some direction.

What to do Above all else, the news media want to be accurate. That’s a goal they share with your school district. To achieve this goal, your board and your school district should establish procedures to ensure a reliable flow of accurate information.

To begin working effectively with the news media that cover your meetings, follow several practical communications steps.

First, identify a “press contact” person whom a reporter can reach before, during and after the meeting. At one time, reporters needed information as soon as possible. In this age of cyber-journalism, their need for information has become I3 (that is, immediate to the third degree). So, accessibility to a district-designated information source is critical to ensure accuracy and to foster a sound relationship with the news media.

While the official spokesperson for the school board is its president, the availability of a contact person to provide background information and to explain the issues on the board’s agenda is valuable—both to the reporter and to the school district.

New Jersey school districts handle this function in a variety of ways. For example, some employ full-time staff members whose job descriptions include substantial public relations responsibilities. Others may tap an administrator to serve as liaison with the media. Identifying this function and making sure it is carried out will benefit your school board’s communication with the news media.

In addition to identifying a press contact person, steps to promote accurate news coverage include the following:

• Provide agenda materials. Also, never underestimate the power of the press release. A well-written document, objective in nature, will help a reporter accurately frame complex issues facing the school board.

• Publish a fact sheet in electronic format for posting on your Web site and in print (black and white, no glossy paper, please). The document should include key information about the district and its schools, including enrollment, building principals, test scores, student achievement, and financial information.

• Develop a “Welcome to the Board Meeting” pamphlet. Such a publication can list the names of the board members and key administrators, the board’s policy concerning public comment, and key information about the district’s schools.

• Identify the superintendent and all board members clearly by placing placards or name plates on the table in front of their chairs. This step may sound simplistic. Not taking it, however, can make a reporter’s job difficult. (As a young reporter, I once received a last-minute assignment to cover a board meeting in a small Morris County district. It was my first visit to the community. Neither the board members, nor the superintendent, were identified. I spent most of my time after the meeting tracking down names, instead of getting additional information about the issues discussed.)

Take the initiative Away from the board meeting, your district’s media contact person should establish a solid relationship with the reporters who cover your district, as well as with their editors. He or she should reach out to reporters and editors to identify the needs of their news organization. Daily newspapers, weekly newspapers, Web sites and the broadcast media all operate differently.

Effective school public relations professionals ascertain reporters’ deadlines, as well as story lines that would be of interest. They also explore opportunities for guest columns by, and interviews with, school district leaders.

What Is News? In talking to school board members about press coverage, I often hear complaints that the media “just doesn’t get it.” Reporters focus on the wrong element of the board meeting (usually negative), they say, instead of the real story (usually positive).

Step back for a minute and think about what kind of stories you read when you surf the Internet or pick up a newspaper or magazine. When you do, you may understand why a reporter wrote that article about your board meeting.

What Makes News?

• Political decisions that affect the newspaper’s readers, the Web site’s visitors, and their children.

• Conflict

• Breakthroughs/“Firsts”

• Human interest.

When you turn to the sports section, you find “conflict,” “breakthroughs/firsts,” and “human interest.” Even if you turn first to “Dear Abby,” you are reading a column that attracts followers because of its “human interest” element.

The same factors apply to the media’s coverage of your school district and the board of education. Recognizing these factors can help your district communicate about positive developments in the schools in a way that will attract the news media’s interest.

Four ‘B’s’ of Effective Press Relations At NJSBA, we respond to more than 1,000 unsolicited media inquiries yearly. We’ve built sound relationships with reporters by striving for accuracy and promptness in responding to their questions. Based on our experience, here are four simple guidelines that could help school districts respond to news media inquiries:

• Be Responsive. Reporters are working on ever-tightening deadlines. Many “print reporters” now have the additional responsibility to post same-day and same-hour stories on newspaper Web sites. So deadlines are becoming earlier. Get back with information or comments as soon as possible. Responding quickly sometimes gives you an advantage in getting your district’s point of view into the story.

• Be Accurate and Direct. If you do not know the answer to a question, say so. (Never speculate.) If you cannot provide the information asked for, say so.

• Be Accessible. Make sure the news media can reach a district spokesperson after meetings, in the evening, and when schools are closed. The district’s public information officer or press contact person should give reporters out-of-office contact information, e.g., district and personal e-mail addresses, cell phone number, home telephone number. In addition, all district-issued press materials should include the direct office telephone number and e-mail address of the media contact person.

• Be in Touch. After responding to a press inquiry, keep the reporter informed of any developments that will affect the story.

Taking the necessary steps to help reporters in covering your school district could have a positive impact on its image. Most important, it will encourage balanced and accurate reporting. That’s a goal shared by the school district and responsible news organizations.

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Frank Belluscio is director of NJSBA’s Communications Department. He can be reached at fbelluscio@njsba.org.

 

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And we’re rolling…

Board TV? The Merits (and Drawbacks) of Televised School Board Meetings

By Michael Yaple

School board members typically want the community to have a better understanding of the hard work they do. So what better tool could there be than local public-access television?

Certainly, the main reason why some boards videotape their meetings is civic-minded community outreach. It allows more people to view the proceedings. While people at home can’t participate, televised board meetings can at least let residents witness their school board in action.

No one keeps track of how many school boards videotape meetings for local access cable, although many do.

Webcasts Some tech-savvy school districts place their meetings online, which means the proceedings – or the antics – at the board meeting are disseminated globally. Some districts, such as Flemington-Raritan Regional and Ridgewood, webcast their meetings live.  Others, such as the Hopewell Valley Regional Board of Education, post video of past meetings online.

So why don’t all boards broadcast their meetings? Like most things in education, it’s not a one-size-fits-all answer.

For instance, some districts have pulled the plug on their videotaped board meetings (and, once or twice, at the urging of state education officials). Why? Sometimes, unfortunately, the school board becomes the “best show in town” if meetings degenerate into chaos as citizens, board members and school officials play to the camera and use the meetings for personal and political attacks.

Some school boards broadcast their regular meetings, but not their work session meetings. The state’s Open Public Meetings Act makes no distinction between a “work session” meeting and a “regular” meeting – any quorum of school board members to conduct board business is a meeting.

Since the public can attend and provide comments at all board meetings, some may question why a board would want to televise “regular” meetings only. The work session may even deliver more insightful information to citizens than a regular meeting. For instance, a work session might have presentations, background and healthy debate about a particular issue. By the time that issue makes it to the board’s regular meeting, the issue has already been discussed – which doesn’t provide residents with much meaningful background.

Unintended effects On the other hand, the camera in the meeting room can bring some unintended negative effects. Some might argue that the very nature of a work session is to promote open discussion, and even board members and staff might be less likely to brainstorm or speak freely if they feel their comments are held up to a different level of permanently recorded public scrutiny.

The camera may also generate a chilling effect if parents, students or staff are reluctant to speak in public, knowing that their image and their words will be broadcast into every living room in the community. Not all people are bold about public speaking. Boards with televised meetings should be prepared to encourage residents who might feel embarrassed if they don’t fully understand education issues or if they want to discuss a sensitive matter.

Ultimately, it’s up to the board to decide whether to videotape. It may work well in some communities, but not in others.

School board members who do televise meetings may want to heed some suggestions:

• Watch body language: People will pick up on nonverbal cues more than anything. Pay attention, or the camera will catch you slouching, tapping your toes, whispering to fellow board members, or (heaven forbid!) yawning.

• Words matter: Speak clearly, and talk to people, not the camera.

• Image matters: There is nothing to prevent you from wearing your “I went to Cabo” T-shirt at the board meeting, but is that the image you want to project? Decorum matters, too. We’ve become desensitized to political attacks at the state and national level, but a savvy sense of diplomacy and discourse will provide your local board with a more professional image.

• Look in the mirror: Watch the show afterward to assess yourself.

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Michael Yaple is public affairs officer at NJSBA. He can be reached at myaple@njsba.org.

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“ No One Should Doubt My Commitment to Education” An Interview with Chris Christie

By Ray Pinney

In a few short months, NewJersey will vote for a governor to lead this state for the next four years. In this edition of School Leader, we are pleased to present the following interview with Republican gubernatorial candidate Chris Christie.

New Jersey has some of the finest public schools in the nation, but there are also some school districts that do not have a good record. As governor, how would you address the issue of poor student achievement?

I think there are children that are in failed districts. Obviously what we’re doing now is not working for many, many of those children. I think we need to look at what models are working in urban settings and try to replicate those models. Let’s look at successful charter schools in urban districts and try to replicate them. Let’s also create more charter schools. Let’s look at those approaches that change the atmosphere in our public schools. I’ve talked about this a lot, because until we actually improve urban education, our cities are not going to be able to recover economically or spiritually, and we are going to continue to throw good money after bad. But for me, the money issue is secondary. The fact is that we are consigning these children, because of where they live, to a permanent second-class status in our society because they are not well educated and that is unacceptable.

You favor increasing the number of charter schools, and you also have said you favor school choice. How do you see choice and charter schools working in your administration?

I see them working in concert. You mentioned earlier that New Jersey has some of the best public schools in the country. I am a product of what I consider to be one of the best public school systems in the country, the Livingston school district. I don’t think families in Livingston need vouchers. They have a great public school system available to them. I think the issue of vouchers becomes necessary in failed districts where you have economically disadvantaged people who do not have the option to remove their child from what they consider to be a failed school or a failed district. The way I see the voucher system working is that it would only happen in failed districts.

It could be used to go to a parochial school, it could be used to go to a private school, and it could also be used to go to another school inside or outside the district. No district would have the obligation to receive children from outside the district, but if they had the space and it was something they wanted to do, then the state aid would follow the child to that district. That’s the way it would work. Choice would provide competition which hopefully would improve the public schools as well. They would have to compete to survive.

You have made it clear that you are looking for an education commissioner that would be a supporter of charter schools. What else would you look for in a commissioner?

I want an aggressive commissioner of education, who is going to bring all stakeholders in education to the table at the same time to facilitate change. I also want someone who is going to demand quality from the people who work for him or her.

For the charter school movement, I would like to see a commissioner who sets a tone at the department, that those people who want to come in and try to establish charter schools are not the enemy, and that the Department of Education should be a resource to help them.

One third of the state budget is devoted to K-12 public education. What is the state’s responsibility in providing a system of education for its children? What degree of support should the state provide for communities in financing public education?

New Jersey spends as much as anyone per student in the country on its K-12 education, and by some measures the results we have gotten are proof our investment is well spent. In other ways, it is proof that we have presided over a system that did not achieve what it needs to achieve. In terms of what I think our citizens deserve, our constitution puts it very well: it says every child is entitled to a “thorough and efficient” education. There have been a lot of arguments over time on what “thorough and efficient” means, but that’s in essence what we need to do. I would add to that we need to prepare children for the evolving and changing world that they are entering into.

I can’t come up with a level or a dollar number sitting here because, candidly, I don’t know what kind of a mess I’m going to be left with. I know it’s going to be a mess. I just don’t know how big it will be. The dollars will be a product of what I’m left with but, as a product of public schools in this state, no one should doubt my commitment to education.

The New Jersey Supreme Court recently declared the school funding formula constitutional. Do you have an opinion on the funding formula?

I thought it was a small step in the right direction but that it did not go far enough.

As I have said, I think the money should follow the child and so I think the court’s acknowledgement of that principle is a good first step. But the opinion, in my view, is diluted by a lot of the other requirements that the court establishes over the next few years, in terms of the transitional funding and all the rest. I am a little concerned that we’re just on a bit of a temporary hiatus from more edicts from the Supreme Court.

You did not seek the NJEA endorsement and you did not get it. But you did say in your remarks that to get that endorsement, both you and your opponent would have to make promises that neither one of you can keep. Can you explain that statement?

When you get into that setting as a candidate, there is, at times, an irresistible impulse to pander. You’re sitting across from them and you’re asking them to help you and support you. You want to give them the answers they want to hear.

I had no expectation I was going to get the endorsement, but I felt as a matter of principle, it didn’t make sense to place myself before the temptation of the pander. I also said to the teachers union that I was happy to meet with them any time and have a full and complete discussion of the issues. They haven’t invited me yet.

I am very pro-teacher. These are people who went into teaching in the first place because they get a sense of satisfaction in using their skills to watch children learn. This is not about being anti-teacher. It’s about being a manager of a $30-plus billion dollar enterprise that is desperately in need of management.

The current administration is pushing school district consolidation and regionalization. What are your views on regionalization and the state’s role in the process?

I think that we should encourage shared services, and we should encourage consolidation or regionalization where communities involved think it makes sense. But I have to tell you, the idea of having the Department of Education or Department of Community Affairs sitting down in Trenton and deciding for themselves which school districts or which towns should be merged or consolidated just gives me a chill up my spine, because I don’t think they’ll do it right. I leave it in the hands of the taxpayers who are paying the bills. It should be studied by people who are interested in looking at the regional approach or consolidation, but I’m not somebody who thinks Trenton should be forcing that down people’s throats.

Often you speak at American Legion Boys’ State. How should public schools promote knowledge of and participation in government?

I think there is very little that is more important than teaching children about where they live and the rights and responsibilities that come along with being an American, and I think we should put more of an emphasis on that than we do. We have to make sure children know how to read and write and how to add and subtract and multiply and divide, and all the things you need to do to function as a human being. But we also need to feed their sense of patriotism and their sense of public service.

I wouldn’t be talking about new regulations. As governor I would try to be inspirational. I’d like to inspire school boards and school administrators to think more about how we train kids to be better citizens.

Many people have had teachers or someone in education who inspires them – was there anyone who was a role model or inspiration for you?

I had so many great teachers growing up that it’s hard to single out just one – but I will mention one. My fifth grade teacher in Squiretown School was a woman named Ruth Manishin. I was a pretty smart kid and I think she suspected I had not been pushed much until then. I spent the year getting pushed. She made me a much better student not only for sixth grade, but she made me a better student in college. Some of the things she stirred up in me, and the methods she used to push me, remained with me throughout my academic career.

Click here to see more from the interview.

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Ray Pinney is grassroots coordinator/lobbyist for NJSBA. He can be reached at rpinney@njsba.org.

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Heads Up

Concussions can do lasting damage to student athletes. Schools must understand the dangers – and take steps to help students

By Gerald Tramontano. Ph.D.

An estimated 300,000 concussions or mild Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBIs) occur every year to young men and women involved in sports-related activities, according to the Centers for Disease Control. Even more troubling, studies reveal that as many as 20 percent of all high school football players annually sustain concussions.

Proper diagnosis, management and treatment are all necessary to protect adolescents from the long-term effects of these injuries. These lasting consequences can include deficits in attention, concentration, orientation and “executive functions” (like problem solving), as well as emotional, social and interpersonal problems.

The good news is that coaches have grown more educated about concussions. The days of patting the athlete on the backside who has had his “bell rung” and sending him back into the game are apparently gone. Yet, it is not enough for a student to simply wait until the “fog clears” or even take a cautionary week or two off. There is no way, unless certain tests are run, to know if the player’s brain has returned to normal. Similarly, results from an MRI or CT scan do not offer any conclusive evidence that an athlete’s brain has returned to normal after such an injury.

Baseline Testing The only way to know whether a student who has suffered a concussion has recovered is to be able to compare a “before” and “after” assessment of the student. That requires baseline testing.

Schools should consider giving every athlete playing a “collision” sport – including football, hockey, soccer, basketball, lacrosse and wrestling – a battery of neuropsychological tests before the season to offer a baseline. These kinds of tests are very sensitive to brain injury and provide a way for specialists to compare the athlete’s brain before and after a concussion and determine if the player is ready to return to his or her sport. Simply put, the student should not return to playing that sport until his or her brain returns to what it was before the injury.

As part of the initial evaluation, a medical history needs to be taken to determine the athlete’s future risk to head injury and long-term prognosis should she or he sustain a concussion. Those who have suffered from past concussions or have an existing condition (like attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, seizures or bipolar disorder) or a familial disposition, such as those who have a family member with a psychiatric disorder, are considered at greater risk for post-concussive syndrome, which involves symptoms that can continue long after the injury appears to have healed.

In the baseline testing that my organization does, we test psychomotor speed/reaction time, cortical tone, inhibition, and sustained attention. We administer a brief IQ assessment which is needed to interpret the test, test some executive functions and conduct an emotional assessment. The battery of tests takes about 80 minutes, and the typical cost is $400. While we aren’t aware of any school districts that use our tests to routinely screen student athletes, individual families have chosen to do so.

(There are also other testing services available. See box at right.)

The “Invisible” Post-Concussive Syndrome The initial symptoms of a concussion are well documented – headaches, dizziness, vomiting, at times unconsciousness, and temporary amnesia. Diagnostic tests (CT scan and MRI) and treatments (observation, rest) are well proven. Yet, the public, as well as many school athletic administrators, trainers and coaches, seem to know little about the possibility of post-concussive or “invisible” syndrome.

These disorders can be very disabling, but since they can’t be visualized like a broken bone or a tumor, they are easily missed. Weeks, months, or even years later, the patient can suffer from problems with concentration, attention, and emotional regulation, like moodiness, irritability, depression and impaired frustration tolerance.

After the initial symptoms have abated, an injury needs to be managed by taking the scholastic athlete out of his or her demanding environment. This allows the brain to devote all its resources to healing. A number of physiological changes accompany a brain injury. There is damage to the brain itself, and its’ various systems, which includes harm to the brain cells (neurons), as well as chemical and vascular changes. The dust, metaphysically speaking, needs to clear so there is less risk of permanent problems later on.

This can take several weeks, during which time the athlete may need to continue on “short-term disability.” Then, after being integrated back into school, the student should be re-tested. If there is a marked deviation from the baseline, cognitive rehabilitation needs to begin.

The brain does not have regenerative properties in the same way other organs do in the body. It’s like pruning a tree. The branches, or in this case the brain cells, are generally gone forever. But neuropsychological therapy promotes cortical re-organization and can provide collateral cortical support. It teaches people with concussions to understand the problem, and learn how they can adapt and avoid exposure to the triggers that cause their symptoms.

Rehabilitation Neurocognitive rehabilitation falls under three headings – remedial (i.e. trying to fix the brain system that has been broken), adaptive (which teaches the brain new strategies to adapt to the brain changes) and compensatory (to compensate for deficits).

Remedial treatment might involve the use of neurofeedback or medication to re-activate cortical tone, such as pre-frontal systems. Adaptive therapy could entail teaching processing skills that allow the patient to better pull information out of a lecture or chapter so the brain captures the essentials and is uncluttered with superfluous information given its reduced capacity to process information post-injury. Compensatory treatments might mean using a tape recorder or providing accommodations for the student who has problems with processing or psychomotor functions and so is unable to listen to the teacher and take notes at the same time or finish assignments in a timely manner.

The good news is that most young people have more brain plasticity than adults, and usually do quite well cognitively at the end of three or four weeks from mild TBIs and won’t need further treatment. Still, they need to be carefully watched and monitored, and measured against the baseline.

Yet, even if these students do function well at school, they may be vulnerable to “organic personality syndrome.” This involves a reduced capacity to handle life and deal with daily stressors, mood swings and social or interpersonal problems. Treatments for this may include psychopharmacology interventions (e.g., SSRI medication) and psychotherapy.

Mild traumatic brain injury can be accurately diagnosed and treated in an attempt to minimize long-term cognitive, behavioral and emotional consequences from these injuries. But these injuries need to be better understood and managed by those individuals – such as school administrators and coaches – who are closest to the athlete.

Resources for Boards

The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has extensive online resources that school coaches, administrators and board members may find useful. The “Concussions in Youth Sports” page also offers materials free of charge, including fact sheets for parents and students about concussions, information for coaching staff, and posters and wallet cards that detail concussion symptoms. The materials can be ordered at www.cdc.gov/ConcussionInYouthSports. Below is a sampling of the information available: recommendations on what coaches should do if they suspect a student has had a concussion. WHAT SHOULD A COACH DO WHEN A CONCUSSION IS SUSPECTED? Remove the athlete from play. Look for the signs and symptoms of a concussion if your athlete has experienced a bump or blow to the head. Athletes who experience signs or symptoms of concussion should not be allowed to return to play. When in doubt, keep the athlete out of play. Ensure that the athlete is evaluated right away by an appropriate health care professional. Do not try to judge the severity of the injury yourself. Health care professionals have a number of methods that they can use to assess the severity of concussions. As a coach, recording the following information can help health care professionals in assessing the athlete after the injury: Cause of the injury and force of the hit or blow to the head Any loss of consciousness (passed out/knocked out) and if so, for how long Any memory loss immediately following the injury Any seizures immediately following the injury Number of previous concussions (if any) Inform the athlete’s parents or guardians about the possible concussion and give them the fact sheet on concussion. Make sure they know that the athlete should be seen by a health care professional experienced in evaluating for concussion. Allow the athlete to return to play only with permission from a health care professional with experience in evaluating for concussion. A repeat concussion that occurs before the brain recovers from the first can slow recovery or increase the likelihood of having long-term problems. Prevent common long-term problems and the rare second impact syndrome by delaying the athlete’s return to the activity until the player receives appropriate medical evaluation and approval for return to play.

Making an Impact

More than 120 New Jersey public and private high schools currently use a computer software program called ImPACT (Immediate Post-concussion Assessment and Cognitive Testing) that administers baseline concussion testing. The test, which was developed by the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center’s sports medicine program, takes about 20 minutes to complete and must be monitored by a team coach, athletic trainer or a physician. The test assesses attention span, working memory, sustained and selective attention time, response variability, non-verbal problem solving and reaction time. If a student athlete is injured and a concussion is suspected, post-concussion testing is recommended within 48 to 72 hours of the injury. After post-injury testing, a clinical consultation with a physician at the UPMC Sports Medicine Concussion Program is free. The cost of ImPACT varies, depending on how many students will use the software, but it is in the $500 to $1,000 a year range. In 2006, the Brain Injury Association of New Jersey (BIANJ) made matching grant funds available for 100 schools to purchase a three-year subscription to ImPACT. This year, Mountainside Health Foundation of Montclair, along with BIANJ, will spend $40,000 to fund the purchase of ImPACT subscriptions for schools in northern New Jersey. Twenty-one schools are eligible to receive the grants, including high schools in Bloomfield, Clifton, Montclair, and West Orange. For a complete list of eligible schools, go to www.sportsconcussion.com. –Janet Bamford

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Gerald Tramontano, Ph.D., a neuropsychologist, is the medical director of the NeuroRehab Institute in northern New Jersey. He is an assistant professor at UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School and St. John’s University. He previously served as director of Clinical Neuropsychology and Cognitive Remediation at the Kessler Rehabilitation Institute. He can be reached at (973) 601-0100 ext. 22 or via e-mail at gtramontano@neurorehabinstitute.com

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Formula for Change

Workshop 2009 shows school board members how change can benefit their districts

By Mark Bonjavanni

Change Is Something That School Board members know a thing or two about. Boards have always grappled with changing student problems and issues, changing enrollment and demographics in their districts, and curriculum, administrator and technological changes.

But in the last few years, it seems like the pace of change has accelerated. Districts are still adjusting to the advent of the accountability regulations, and the New Jersey Quality Single Accountability Continuum (NJQSAC) monitoring system. There are new high school graduation requirements and new executive county superintendents with expanded powers. Regionalization recommendations are coming. The state’s school funding system has just been implemented and declared constitutional.

The NJSBA/NJASA/NJASBO annual Workshop and Exhibition, taking place October 28 through October 30 in the Atlantic City Convention Center, can help board members stay on top of, and benefit from, these changes.

Workshop’s theme this year, “Formula for Change,” is especially timely. The event returns to a Wednesday, Thursday and Friday format, with the Exhibit Hall floor open on Wednesday and Thursday. Training programming runs a full day on all three days.

The New Jersey Department of Education has again issued a waiver of the travel regulations, allowing board members and administrators living more than 50 miles from the convention center to be reimbursed for up to two nights stay (Wednesday and Thursday) to attend Workshop. Members and administrators may not be reimbursed for the night prior to or after Workshop.

Training Opportunities As in past years, Workshop begins with New Board Member Orientation, a required course for any new members, in the first year of their first term in office. A full-day program, orientation takes place from 9:30 a.m. to 4:15 p.m. on Wednesday. NJSBA staff will address key areas of board member responsibility including the School Ethics Act and Sunshine Law, policy-making, finance and budget development, student achievement, labor relations, evaluating the chief school administrator and legislative activity. Advance registration is required by October 16. Your school district’s business office can sign you up today.

Experienced school board members can also attend specific required training sessions, allowing them to meet the mandates of the School District Accountability Act. The Act requires that board members receive training on NJQSAC in the second year of their first term in office (Governance I). Members in the third year of their first term in office are required to attend a program on School Finance (Governance II). Board members who are elected to additional terms are required to receive training during the first year of any subsequent term; the training covers changes in the law that have occurred during the past three years (Advanced Training: Legal Update).

The New Board Member Orientation is Wednesday only. However the other three programs will be given on both Wednesday and Friday afternoons. While all of the sessions are free to registered Workshop attendees, prior registration is required by October 16.

Board Member Academy training is planned for Wednesday afternoon, while clinics for legal, policy and labor relations are planned for Friday afternoon.

Action Labs and Group Sessions will be presented all three days at Workshop. Action Labs, which have been extremely popular in the past, will include sessions that are perennial favorites, such as “Strategic Planning for School Districts;” “The Board’s Role in the Budget Process;” and “Superintendent Search: The Process.” “Analyzing Salary Guides,” another popular choice, has been packed every time it has been offered.

Wednesday will also include a Labor Relations Mini-Workshop, the School Public Relations Mini-Workshop, and the State Legislative Update Session. On mid-day Wednesday, Curriculum Fair and also Question and Answer Roundtables will take place, allowing attendees to sit down and talk to presenters face-to-face in a casual setting. On the Exhibit Hall floor, the Floor Stage Mini-Group Sessions will provide members the opportunity to participate in hourlong group sessions without ever having to leave the Exhibit floor.

On Wednesday, after a full day of training, join your fellow attendees at a welcome reception hosted by MetLife. It takes place at the Sheraton Atlantic City Conference Center Hotel, from 5:15 to 6:45 p.m. This event provides members with a chance to share ideas with board members from other districts in a relaxed atmosphere.

Wednesday evening ends with a Dance Party, from 9 p.m. to 1 a.m., at Harrah’s Resort, the hotel which is conference headquarters. Running in conjunction with the Dance Party (also at Harrah’s Resort) is a Dessert/Cordial Reception, sponsored by Spiezle Architectural Group.

Thursday continues with Action Labs, Group Sessions and Floor Stage Mini-Group Sessions. A special Urban Boards Group Session is planned, in which Dr. Stanley Pogrow of San Francisco State University will focus on the topic “Closing the Achievement Gap.”

Thursday features two very special sessions. The first is a “Conversation with the Commissioner.” Commissioner of Education Lucille Davy will discuss factors affecting education in New Jersey today and share her vision for the future. A half-hour after Commissioner Davy’s program ends, “A Conversation with the Executive Directors,” will give attendees a chance to hear the executive directors of NJSBA, NJASA and NJASBO react to Commissioner Davy’s comments, while also addressing their associations’ goals and plans for the future. These two sessions are not to be missed.

Friday morning’s schedule includes more Action Labs and Group Sessions, joined by a special session presented by the New Jersey Department of Education. Alan November will present “Creating 21st Century New Jersey Schools.” This is part of the department’s statewide model for continuing professional learning and growth.

Friday wraps up with repeats of the Accountability Act training: Governance I and II, and Advanced Training: Legal Update.

General Session Speakers General Sessions will be held on both Wednesday and Friday.

On Wednesday, Marian Wright Edelman, founder and president of the Children’s Defense Fund (CDF), will be the keynote speaker at the opening session. She has been an advocate for disadvantaged Americans for her entire professional life. Under her leadership, CDF has become the nation’s strongest voice for children and families. The Leave No Child Behind mission of the Children’s Defense Fund is to ensure every child a “Healthy Start, a Head Start, a Fair Start, a Safe Start, and a Moral Start” in life and successful passage to adulthood with the help of caring families and communities.

Mrs. Edelman, a graduate of Spelman College and Yale Law School, began her career in the mid-60s when, as the first black woman admitted to the Mississippi bar, she directed the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund office in Jackson, Mississippi. In l968, she moved to Washington, D.C., as counsel for the Poor People’s Campaign that Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. began organizing before his death. She founded the Washington Research Project, a public interest law firm and the parent body of the Children’s Defense Fund. For two years she served as the Director of the Center for Law and Education at Harvard University and in l973 began CDF.

She served on the Board of Trustees of Spelman College, which she chaired, from 1976 to 1987, and was the first woman elected by alumni as a member of the Yale University Corporation. She has received many honorary degrees and awards including the Albert Schweitzer Humanitarian Prize, the Heinz Award, and a MacArthur Foundation Prize Fellowship. In 2000, she received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian award, and the Robert F. Kennedy Lifetime Achievement Award for her writings, which include nine books.

At Wednesday’s General Session, NJSBA presents its School Board Member of the Year award. Presentations to the Teacher of the Year, the Superintendent of the Year, and the Business Administrator of the Year will also be made.

Wavelength, an educational comedy troupe, will be featured Friday mid-day at the second General Session. Wavelength’s presentation will be on “Seven Habits of Highly Ineffective Educators.” In 1980, Jim Winter, a former high school English teacher, created Wavelength after sitting through one-too-many boring in-service days. Since then, Wavelength has won acclaim from audiences across the country and around the world, as well as numerous awards for its comedic focus on the serious issues in education.

In addition, Wavelength has been a featured presenter at several national conferences; the group has performed for over one million people in over 1,000 educational organizations worldwide.

Wavelength features a diverse cast of actors with varying cultural, ethnic and educational backgrounds. The group has been featured on CBS and ABC-TV, WGN radio and the NPR affiliate in Chicago, and in publications such as The New York Times, the Washington Post, the San Francisco Chronicle, Teacher magazine and USA Today. The Chicago Tribune called Wavelength “…a comedy troupe in a class by itself.”

The second General Session will also highlight recognition awards for individuals who have earned Board Member Academy designations such as Master Board Member, Certified Board Member or Certified Board Leader. Awards will also be presented to boards that have completed the training required for Board Certification, Recertification or Master Board Certification.

Exhibition Hall The exhibition hall at the Convention Center will be open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Wednesday and Thursday. With more than 500 exhibitors, the hall provides an easy forum for learning about the latest in educational products and services.

While on the floor, make sure to visit the CAL Café, where light refreshments will be available. While at the CAL Café, walk across the aisle to meet with officers and staff at the Association Central Booth, where NJASBO, NJASA and NJSBA have their booths.

Everybody likes a free lunch. Thanks to various vendors and NJSBA, a free box lunch will be available on Thursday at the back of the exhibit hall. After lunch, take a moment to walk over to the Cyber Café and check your e-mail.

In the midst of change, it’s nice to know what endures: board members’ dedication to providing the best education possible to their students, and NJSBA’s dedication to providing board members with everything they need to achieve their board’s goals. For more on Workshop 2009, including housing and registration information, go to the “What’s New” section of www.njsba.org.

Accountability Act Training at Workshop

NEW BOARD MEMBERS: Orientation Wednesday, October 28 FIRST TERM, SECOND-YEAR BOARD MEMBERS: Governance I – NJQSAC Wednesday, October 28 Friday, October 30 FIRST TERM, THIRD-YEAR BOARD MEMBERS: Governance II – Finance Wednesday, October 28 Friday, October 30 SUBSEQUENT TERM BOARD MEMBERS: Advanced Training – Legal Update Wednesday, October 28 Friday, October 30 PLEASE NOTE: Unlike all other programs offered at Workshop 2009, the training sessions are not open to all Workshop registrants. Qualifying board members must be pre-registered to attend. There will be no on-site registration. Ask your Business Administrator to register you no later than October 16 by calling (888) 886-5722 ext. 5217.

Thanks to Our Workshop Sponsors

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Mark Bonjavanni is training specialist for NJSBA’s Association and Business Development Department. He can be reached at mbonjavanni@njsba.org.

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Life Lessons for Special Children

Meet the ten outstanding programs honored with 2009 Innovations in Special Education awards

By Lisa Ann Deon

All schools aim to prepare their students for the challenges that await them in life. But such a goal takes on a particular importance for the more than 244,000 special-needs children in public and private schools in New Jersey.

Many of the dedicated teachers and administrators who guide these children have designed and instituted creative programming to meet the needs of their students and help prepare them for their future. For eight years, the New Jersey School Boards Association and ASAH, a non-profit organization of private schools and agencies for children with disabilities, have co-sponsored the Innovations in Special Education awards to honor these professionals and their programs.

This year there were 44 submissions to Innovations in Special Education; 10 were selected to receive special recognition at a ceremony during Special Education Week in New Jersey in May.

The judges included representatives of NJSBA, ASAH, the New Jersey Department of Education and Willis HRH, an insurance brokerage firm which is a corporate sponsor of the awards. In choosing the winning programs, the judges assessed programs’ degree of innovation, effectiveness, parental or community involvement, and evaluation strategies.

“The selected programs demonstrate how hard work and creativity are preparing our children with special needs for fulfilling and productive lives,” said NJSBA President Harry J. Delgado. “They embody this year’s theme, Opening the Door to Success.”

Camp Achieve Counselor-in-Training Program
Chester School District, Morris County

An extended school year program serving preschool to grade eight, Camp Achieve allows students to participate in active, hands-on classes. The students use computers to practice their writing skills and to use the Internet. The middle school children volunteer to assist the younger “campers” as counselors-in-training. To become a counselor-in-training, students must apply by writing a letter of application and must be interviewed by the director. The judges felt that this program gave students the opportunity to participate in a practice employment process, including resume writing and interview experience . These experiences provide the students with lessons that will be useful for a lifetime.

Contact: Jeanette Krone, director of student services, (908) 879-6004;
Jeanettekrone@chester.nj.org

It’s Time to Shine
Florham Park School District, Morris County

A two-day program includes both student and parental participation specifically designed to assist special needs students’ transition from the fifth grade to the middle school. Fifth-graders have the opportunity to practice being middle school students – complete with lockers, schedules, mock classes and other activities that help them become acclimated to the middle-school environment. Anxious parents are given the opportunity to discuss their fears and apprehensions with the middle school staff and to learn what will be expected of their children.

Contact: Steven Caponegro, director of special services, (973) 822-3888, ext. 4006;
Steve.Caponegro@fpks.org

Beads ‘n’ Me
Franklin Lakes School District, Bergen County

This program creates an original, integrated, real-world learning experience for middle school students ages 11-15 who have learning and multiple disabilities. Beads ‘n’ Me is a self-sustaining “business” where students are given hands-on learning opportunities in sorting, patterning, money exchange, spreadsheets, databases, measurement, teamwork and self-esteem. Students manufacture and sell over 30 different styles of custom-made lanyards, necklaces and eyeglass chains. The judges felt that Beads ‘n’ Me presents an excellent way to teach curriculum standards using real world applications.

Contact: Marcy Pryor, Ed.D., teacher, (201) 891-0202 ext. 51; mpryor@franklinlakes.k12.nj.us

Coffee House Poetry
Midland Park School District, Bergen County

The Coffee House Poetry program, recognized by the National Schools Project, introduces students to poetry by having them read a variety of poems. Students are then asked to write their own poetry “from the heart.” Students select three of their best poems for submission to the National Schools Project and are given an opportunity to recite their poetry in a coffee house atmosphere reminiscent of the 1960s beatnik era. Although students are not required to recite at the coffee house, many students who have difficulty expressing themselves verbally find this to be an opportunity to express themselves without judgment or criticism.

Contact: William G. Shlala, interim director of special services, (201) 444-7400, ext. 228;
wshlala@midlandparkschools.k12.nj.us

Learning Tools
Plumsted Township School District, Ocean County

Kindergarten students are endlessly inquisitive. When they are students in an inclusionary class where special needs children use special tools for learning, the questions can be numerous. The Plumsted teachers decided that even the everyday items used in a classroom could be teaching tools, including reading glasses, calculators, a step stool and a highlighter. Each tool is shown and its use explained to the entire class. This very simple concept puts all students on the same playing field.

Contact: Jennifer Miller, special education teacher, (732) 232-0028; MillerJ@newegypt.us

Care and Share Program
South Bergen Jointure Commission, Bergen County

The South Bergen Jointure Commission’s 91 students – ages 13-21, with autism and behavioral and multiple disabilities – are given the opportunity to engage in community service activities with the non-disabled population. Students participate in a valuable school-to-work transition and develop vocational skills which will lead to independence.

Contact: Jamie E. Ciofalo, principal, (201) 531-1420; jciofalo@njsbjc.org

Serving the School Community through Digital Storytelling
The Children’s Institute, Essex County

Digital storytelling pairs the art of oral storytelling with modern technology. Students with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) at the high-school level are paired with preschoolers to bring picture books to life. Using digital cameras, the students take pictures of the pages of the book, which are then uploaded onto MacBooks, where the secondary students use their language arts skills to produce a script of the story for the pre-school audience. The pairing of the preschoolers and the secondary school students provides the ASD students with an appreciation for altruism.

Contact: Carolyn Gretchen, staff development coordinator, (973) 509-3050, ext. 262;
cgretchen@tcischool.org

Arts in the Workplace
The Rugby School at Woodfield, Monmouth County

Students in the Arts in the Workplace program at The Rugby School experience teaching an art lesson by preparing an appropriate activity for a specific group and then carrying out all aspects of the lesson. The majority of the interactions are with senior citizens. The students learn the limitations of their “students” and use their organization, presentation and artistic skills to teach the class. The program is designed to ready the students who are artistically gifted to further their education or to enter the workforce.

Contact: Delores DeSanto, executive director, (732) 681-6900; ddesanto@therugbyschool.org

Project Egg: Everything Grows through Growing
Washington Township Public Schools, Morris County

Project Egg promotes social connections by pairing disabled preschool students with first-graders, effectively combining strategies to promote language development through expressions of needs and desires. Students, teachers and parents are involved in raising animals, which are usually housed at a local farm. Most recently, the children have been “parents” to a baby wallaby, which resides in a playpen in the classroom. The children are involved in the care of the wallaby, including feeding and tracking its physical growth.

Contact: Denise Scairpon, special education teacher, (908) 876-4172; dscairpon@wtschools.com

The Ultimate Bridge Challenge
Waterford Township Schools, Camden County

Students in the Ultimate Bridge Challenge take on the project of building a toothpick bridge in a project that incorporates independent research, timeline development, computer use and interaction with classmates. Students construct their bridge after consulting with accountants, architects and general contractors. Each student is required to review building codes and requirements, and can be “fined” for a messy work site. The program culminates with each toothpick bridge being tested to see how much weight it can hold. Awards are presented to students in several areas related to design, cost and use.

Contact: Kenneth I. Hall, supervisor of special services, (856) 767-5365 ext. 3021; khall@wtsd.org

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Free Speech and Your Students

Yes, students have free speech rights. But there are limits.

By Carl Tanksley Jr., Esq.

In the now famous 1969 case of Tinker V Des Moines, the United States Supreme Court noted it “can hardly be argued that either students or teachers shed their constitutional rights to freedom of speech or expression at the schoolhouse gate.” This phrase has been repeated so often in student speech decisions that it has almost been elevated to a law in and of itself. But the quoted language does little to clarify the speech rights that students retain as they pass through the schoolhouse gate. It is useful to review some important court cases for guidance on what types of student speech can be restricted.

In Tinker, two students wore black armbands to school to protest the Vietnam War. After being suspended, the students filed a civil action, alleging that their First Amendment rights had been infringed. Ultimately, the Supreme Court found that the students were engaging in political speech, using the armbands to express their disapproval of the Vietnam hostilities and by their example, to influence others to adopt those same views. By contrast, the Court found that the school district limited the armbands in order to avoid the discomfort and unpleasantness that always accompanies the expression of an unpopular viewpoint. The Court held that the district’s interest in avoiding discomfort and unpleasantness was not enough to justify the ban of a silent, passive expression of opinion, unaccompanied by any disorder or disturbance. Therefore, the Tinker standard requires that districts allow such expression where there is no disruption to the educational environment.

Closer to home, in Sypniewski v. Warren Hills Bd. of Ed., the local board was faced with an escalating level of racial tension in the local high school surrounding student displays of the Confederate flag. Immediately after the board adopted a new anti-racial harassment policy, a student who wore a Jeff Foxworthy T-shirt inscribed with “redneck” jokes to school was suspended pursuant to that policy. The Third Circuit found in 2002 that the T-shirt did not cause any disturbance nor was it related to the Confederate flag controversy. Therefore, the Court held that the district’s generalized fear of disturbance was not enough to overcome a student’s right to freedom of expression. The Court also noted however, that a district is not limited to prohibiting and punishing conduct only after it causes a disturbance. Where a district has a history of disruptive incidents based on disruptive expression, a ban on a range of related expression may be justified. However, in this particular matter, the Court determined that the T-shirt did not fall within that range because the “redneck” jokes were not sufficiently related to the Confederate flag controversy. Therefore, Sypniewski stands for the proposition that even where a district has clearly identified issues that have led to an educational disturbance, district administrators must critically review questionable speech before relating it to that disturbance.

In DePinto v. Bayonne Bd. of Ed., in 2007, the District Court of New Jersey allowed two students to wear lapel buttons that protested the school district’s mandatory uniform policy. The buttons imposed the phrase “No School Uniforms,” with a slashed red circle overlaying a photograph of Hitler Youth. Asserting that some members of the Bayonne community found the buttons to be highly offensive, administrators banned the buttons. Not surprisingly, the students filed suit, alleging a violation of their First Amendment right to freedom of speech. The Court found that the school district failed to show that the buttons had caused a reasonable fear of disruption at school; and further found that the buttons were not vulgar, lewd, obscene, or plainly offensive; the photograph was not profane and did not contain sexual innuendo, and therefore could not be barred on either basis. The Court concluded by finding that stifling the students’ protected expression constituted irreparable harm. The students therefore, were allowed to wear the buttons, but were not allowed to distribute the buttons at school. Still, the DePinto decision teaches that even without a fear of disruption, administrators may forbid student expression that is lewd, vulgar, or plainly offensive, such as profanity.

While the above discussion may lead one to conclude that controlling student speech is complicated and costly, such is not always the case. In J.F. v. Pemberton Twp. Bd. of Ed., in 2000, J.F. was suspended for writing a note to her teacher on the last day of school that read, ““Have a nice summer. I hope you die” and “To Mrs. L., Roses are red. Violets are black. Why is your chest as flat as your back. (sic) From M. and S.” When J.F. appealed the suspension, the Commissioner first reviewed district policy that forbids “abusive behavior.” He then indicated that a wish that someone would die raised a legitimate pedagogical concern and determined that such an expression may be subject to reasonable restrictions, such as a prohibition against abusive, offensive behavior directed toward a teacher. In June, 2000, the Commissioner of Education subsequently upheld the suspension. J.F. therefore illustrates that a board may punish student speech that is abusive.

School-Sponsored Speech Despite the holdings in Tinker and Sypniewski, it is important to note that these cases do mean that districts cannot regulate student speech unless it is accompanied by a disruption to the educational environment. During his senior year of high school, in a school assembly, Matthew Fraser, a Washington state student, gave a nomination speech for another student who was running for a student government office. The speech was filled with graphic and explicit sexual metaphors; accordingly, he was suspended. Subsequently, Fraser filed a complaint alleging that the district violated his freedom of speech rights in imposing the suspension. In Bethel School District v. Fraser, the Ninth Circuit rejected the school district’s argument that it had a duty to protect students from lewd and indecent language during a school-sponsored event, despite the fact that no disruption had occurred. In 1986, the Supreme Court promptly reversed the Ninth Circuit and upheld the suspension finding that “[t]he undoubted freedom to advocate unpopular and controversial views in schools and classrooms must be balanced against the society’s countervailing interest in teaching students the boundaries of socially appropriate behavior.” Therefore, according to Bethel, a school board may properly censure lewd or indecent speech at a school-sponsored event, even without any fear of disruption to the educational environment.

In Hazelwood School District v. Kuhlmeier, students protested the deletion of two articles from the school newspaper prior to publication. One of the articles dealt with teen pregnancy while the other dealt with divorce. The paper was fully supported by the board and was a part of the journalism curriculum. The school district asserted that the stories were pulled out of privacy concerns of certain individuals that were subjects of the articles. In 1988, the Supreme Court concluded, “that educators do not offend the First Amendment by exercising editorial control over the style and content of student speech in school-sponsored expressive activities so long as their actions are reasonably related to legitimate pedagogical concerns.” The Supreme Court upheld the district’s censorship, indicating that privacy of individuals was a legitimate concern for district officials.

However, the Hazelwood decision should be contrasted against Desilets v. Clearview Regional Bd. of Ed., where a junior high school student objected to the censure of his review of two R-rated movies. The Clearview Board had a policy indicating that material that advocated the use or advertised the availability of any substance believed to constitute a danger to student health was deemed to be unprotected by the right of free expression. In this particular case, the R-rated movies were deemed inappropriate for middle school students who were not old enough to see the movies without supervision. In ruling for the student, the New Jersey Appellate Division determined in 1994 that the sole reason the movie reviews were censured was because the subject of each review was an R-rated movie, and the district’s subjective conclusion that all R-rated movies were inappropriate for all middle school students. The Court distinguished Hazelwood by noting that the issue in Hazelwood was the district’s ability to censure the style and content of the publication; in Desilets, the censorship pertained to the subject, not merely the style and content. Therefore, Desilets teaches that boards of education may not adopt policy that censures student speech simply because it addresses mature subject matter.

While the legitimate pedagogical concern premise is necessarily subjective, it may not be applied to every situation involving questionable student expression. In fact, in O.T. v. Frenchtown, O.T. contested the school district’s decision to prevent her from singing a religious song at a school-sponsored talent show. In 1996, the District Court of New Jersey determined that the legitimate pedagogical concern test identified in Hazelwood only applied when a student’s speech could be viewed as the speech of the school itself. The Court determined that the song constituted a temporary after-school display of private speech that would have occurred during a public talent show; therefore, a reasonable observer would not conclude that the school district explicitly approved the content of the song. Therefore, where the speech cannot be reasonably attributed to the school district, application of the test would not be appropriate.

Finally, the School Ethics Commission determined that a board member did not violate the School Ethics Act by calling a student at home in response to student’s letter to the editor criticizing the board. In I.M.O. Smith, Hazlet Twp. Bd. of Ed., the commissioner found that the board member did not seek any unwarranted privileges or advantages in placing the phone call disagreeing with the student. The commissioner also indicated that a board member does not sacrifice his right to voice disagreement upon becoming a board member. The commission dismissed the complaint.

The above cases illustrate the point that students maintain the right to freedom of speech when they attend district schools. School administrators must respect the rights of students to engage in public discussion of controversial issues, so long as that discussion does not threaten to disrupt the educational environment, is not lewd, obscene, or plainly offensive. When students are engaged in school-sponsored speech, school administrators have the right and duty to censure speech so long as they can point to a legitimate pedagogical concern for imposing limits on a student’s right to exercise the constitutional guarantees of the First Amendment.

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Carl Tanksley, Jr., Esq. is counsel and manager of NJSBA’s Member Services department. He can be reached at ctanksley@njsba.org.

EDITOR’S NOTE: In previous articles, the author has addressed board member speech in dealing with members of the public (Sept.-Oct. 2008) and board member speech in dealing with school district employees (Nov.-Dec. 2008). Both articles are available in the School Leader archives at www.njsba.org/school-leader.

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More From NJSBA’s Interview with Chris Christie, Republican gubernatorial candidate

School Leader had a limited amount of space to devote to the interview NJSBA’s Ray Pinney had with Chris Christie in mid-July. Below are additional excerpts from the conversation.

RP: There is a lot of question on how much is spent on education. Local school districts are struggling to hold the line on costs in these difficult economic times. In the average school district, staff compensation makes up about 75 percent of the budget. How should the state help local boards control costs and would you advocate for changes in the laws to strength school boards’ position in collective bargaining?

Christie:  I think we need to look at the entire way we deal with all public employment across the board. It makes no sense to me that in this state, we have collective bargaining and civil service existing at the same time.

Public employees are playing both systems against each other. You don’t like the results you get from collective bargaining, go to the legislature and get a bill passed to be able to increase your pension, or to do something different on health benefits.

I have proposed already that we need to set up unitary system of dealing with public employees.  By that I mean either we’re going to a civil service system or a collective bargaining system but we can’t have both anymore.  It doesn’t make sense and it hamstrings the governor’s ability to be able to manage state work force the same way it hamstrings the superintendent’s ability and the school board’s ability to be able to manage their workforce.

I think the time has come that we need to make a choice as to which way we’re going to do this.  I am open to discussing either side with the interested parties but what I realize is you can’t continue on this path, because this path is leading to a greater and greater expenditure of public tax dollars that we simply can no longer afford.

 

RP: There have been rumors about Governor Corzine’s lieutenant governor selection, and the deadline is looming.  Could you tell us what you would look for in a lieutenant governor and what do you think the proper role is for this position? (Editors’ Note: the interview was conducted in mid-July, before either candidate had announced his lieutenant governor selection.)

Christie:  There are four criteria for me. First the person has to be ready to be governor.  There can’t be on-the-job training. Second, it has to be someone that I am philosophically compatible with. I use the word compatible with and not identical.  This doesn’t mean we have to agree on everything, but it means that in general, if the people vote for me and something was to happen to me and my lieutenant governor was to take over, they deserve to have someone who brings the same general philosophy of government to the citizens.

Third, I have said I want someone I am personally compatible with. This is particularly important to me since, as you come to know me, you will realize that I don’t have a lot of veneer.  I tend to wear my heart on my sleeve, so if I don’t like somebody they know it pretty soon. 

Fourth, the person needs to have shown at some point in their career that they know what leadership is and that they’ve executed it.  It doesn’t mean it needs to be an elected official or public official; it could be a business person or someone in a non-profit. But they have to show that they understand that leadership is not just tinkering under the hood. 

I don’t subscribe to the idea that you have to pick someone from a particular region or a particular ideology because that presupposes that people are going to vote for the lieutenant governor and I don’t believe that.  They vote top of the ticket.  I think that what your choice for lieutenant governor shows is a little bit of what your judgment is all about.

RP:  You stated that in the area of charter schools, you saw the New Jersey Department of Education’s role as a collaborative one.  Is that how you envision the role of the NJDOE in other areas too?

Christie:   Sure, because that’s the essence of what local control should be. The state should be there as a partner in the process.  The state can offer incentives if the state thinks it makes sense to do it and then maybe there are strings attached to those incentives, but it shouldn’t be a sledgehammer approach.  That is what I think we are seeing now. I think those types of decisions are best decided at the local level. 

RP: You made a name for yourself in the US Attorney’s office prosecuting local officials who broke the law and broke the peoples’ trust. Board members are elected officials. How do you view their role and their responsibilities?

Christie:   We did some school board cases.  I think school board officials should be treated no differently than mayors and council people freeholders, county executives, members of assembly and senate-they are public officials that have a public trust. I don’t see a difference between a school board member and a member of the state legislature. I know their responsibilities are different and a member of the legislature gets paid, but on this issue of compliance with the law and ethics there should not be two different standards or six different standards. School board members should have to comply with that standard.

RP: Do you think that school board elections should stay non-partisan elections? 

Christie:   I think they should stay non-partisan.  I don’t think there is any reason to put Republican or Democratic labels on it.  Whenever you would have the elections, I don’t believe school board elections should be partisan. Those labels would become a distraction. Now we should not kid ourselves, in many school board elections, the aroma of politics and party politics is heavy. 

RP: President Obama is a proponent for preschool education particularly for urban and at-risk students and there is some evidence to show that it does have an influence on student achievement.  They are looking to make preschool  a requirement –do you agree?

Christie:    No, I do not believe in mandatory pre-K, in part because we have a thriving private pre-K industry in our state that I wouldn’t want to see destroyed. If you made public school pre-K mandatory, it would destroy private pre-K immediately because why would anybody pay – or very few people would pay –to send their children to private pre-K if they could send them to public pre-K.  Second, we simply don’t have the money to do it right now.  With the challenges we have in K-12 education; with the challenges we have in higher education we’re now going to take on something else?  How about we fix what we’ve got before we start taking on more responsibilities.  I’m not opposed to pre-K on the basis that I somehow think pre-K isn’t a good thing.  I think it is, but I am opposed to mandatory pre-K paid for by the taxpayers in every municipality and state taxpayers in N.J. 

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