School Leader

After two tumultuous years that have tested all of us personally and professionally, the New Jersey School Boards Association is thrilled to be back in-person for Workshop 2022 at the Atlantic City Convention Center.

What if, Dr. Saul Rubinstein asked, instead of being goaded into angry confrontations, school board members, teachers, superintendents and parents all worked collaboratively to improve schools and help kids?

New Jersey is facing a dire teacher shortage – and unless the education community acts, there will continue to be a lack of qualified educators to teach the state’s children.

What has remained constant for the past half century is School Leader’s relentless focus on helping local board of education members effectively fulfill their responsibility to govern their districts. 

This year, programs from five schools were honored: Summit High School, Transitions at Burlington County Special Services School District, New Road School of Ocean County, The Calais School and Benway School.

This year, I am happy to undertake a new Workshop task – introducing and welcoming NJSBA’s new executive director, Dr. Timothy Purnell. As you may know, he was the unanimous choice of the NJSBA Executive Director Search Committee. 

In this latest issue of School Leader, you’ll find articles that will help you navigate these challenging times, including an issue I’m particularly passionate about: easing the teacher shortage. 

This fall, NJSBA’s county school boards association meetings will continue to be hybrid — with board members able to attend in person and virtually.

Courts have struggled to distinguish religious-themed activities and symbols that cross the line from those with enough secular significance to pass constitutional muster.

Comparative data can provide boards with a sense of what other districts are doing. It can also provide board members with a sense of how competitive their district is in various areas.

Periodically, the FSRs, who are all former board members themselves, share with School Leader magazine some of the questions they’ve recently fielded. This article includes a sampling of some of the latest queries. 

When Ocean Township High School (Monmouth County) drama teacher Chelsea Gower was planning for the 2020-2021 school year, she was determined that her students would have the opportunity to perform and showcase their talents.