Advocating for Equitable Education for ALL
We’ve heard the word ‘equity’ used in at least a dozen different contexts over the last few years. I’m not quite sure what the district defines as equitable because it seems to be the “go to” phrase to support any new initiative – who can argue with equity? I would define ‘equity’ as being synonymous with ‘fairness.’ When it comes...
ONE MORE REALLY LONG ARTICLE ABOUT PROFICIENCIES AND METRICS
BOE Members and Residents have been discussing the issue of proficiencies for some time now, and the same is true for metrics. Proficiencies were part of the discussion during last year’s election season. They came up again in the public debate surrounding the Budget earlier this year, and then again three months ago during a BOE meeting as a result...
PEELING BACK DR. vARLEY’S POLICY RUSH
Given the number of policy updates in recent months during BOE meetings, and with a questionable decision about the League of Women Voters ability to host a candidate debate at Governor Livingston, Berkeley Heights parents expressed concern over the number of policy updates and their content. In response, during the September 22, 2022 Board of Education meeting, Dr. Varley had...
Sliding Grades and Proficiencies
The historical trend of Governor Livingston High schools Math proficiency scores shows a disturbing pattern, and Science also appears to be in troubled waters. Many parents in the community are questioning how we got here. The short answer – one reason we are here is that measurement, for whatever reason and for the longest time, has been incorrectly viewed as...
Goals, PerfoRmance, and Metrics
Metrics should be embraced, not feared There has been much discussion recently about goals, metrics, and student performance in the community as well as at the Board of Ed meetings. After reading through comments and listening to differing opinions, I wanted to clarify my view on the topic. I believe in the use of meaningful metrics because we need a way to...
A PLAN IS NOT A GOAL
The dictionary lists the definition of the word “goal” as “the object of a person’s ambition or effort; an aim or desired result.” “Budget” is “the amount of money needed or available for a purpose.” Let us focus on the first word for a moment. A school district defines the goals to set its ambition for the students and then...
THE HOW MANY GENDERS GAME
I need you you take a deep breath here and hear me out. I’m writing this after sitting back and not reacting to what has been a two day series of events that has become quite predictable in our community as the private messages rolled into my inbox: “why is he in your Facebook group” or “why didn’t you like...
FOLLOW UP TO DISTRICT POLICY CHANGES – BOE MEETING 09/22/2022
-Shauna Williams Now that the dust has kinda sorta settled from the last BOE meeting let’s take a look at one of the specific issues that arose. Dr. Varley said that the policy changes are required by the state (or another outside agency?) and that they haven’t been updated in a decade or more. That leaves me with the following...
Hot Topics and noteworthy Board agenda items for 9/22/22
Here are the highlights to the agenda and attachments for the BOE Meeting tomorrow night. There are 199 pages of attachments in addition to the lengthy agenda – it’s a lot, so here’s the good stuff: ADMINISTRATION: Resolution A – District Policies – Study and First Reading P0163: Quorum; policy was updated in February 2021, as part of a settlement...
FAILING TO PLAN IS PLANNING TO FAIL
Let us talk about the busing challenges that our District faces this year. Busing children is among the essential services most school districts provide their students. Working parents rely on bus transportation by the school district to manage their schedules and have the peace of mind during pick-ups and drop-offs that their children are being transported safely. Children make new...
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