Board president’s focus on civic duty
By: Emily Craighead
WEST WINDSOR Complaints about having too much homework aren’t always met with sympathy in the household of Hemant Marathe, president of the West Windsor-Plainsboro Regional Board of Education.
He spent his school days in the rigid structure of a 5,000-student school in Bombay, India. In classes of about 60 students, everyone studied the same subjects: math, science, history, geography and civics, as well as Marathi (his mother tongue), Hindi, Sanskrit and English. Elective courses and extracurricular activities were not offered in school.
"When my kids complain that they have too much work, I can say, ‘Look, this is nothing compared to what kids in other countries go through,’" Mr. Marathe says.
Attending school in India gave him a different perspective on education, though he is well-acquainted with the ins and outs of the U.S. educational system.
"I probably know the schools better than most parents, simply because I’ve been involved for so long," he says.
His involvement in the school district, beyond his role as a parent to children in grades three, six and 10, began in 1995, when he joined a technology committee charged with bringing computers and Internet access to all of the district’s schools.
He has been a member of the school board since 2001. This is his second year as president.
"Every person I’ve worked with has been very good to work with," he says. "Since I’ve been president, it has been a very united board."
Mr. Marathe conducts school board meetings with quiet efficiency, and the mutual respect among board members, administrators and community members is apparent.
Some of the most significant decisions he has been involved in during his tenure on the board include bringing change to the middle school and high school schedules, and replacing several year-long high school language-arts courses with semester courses on more diverse topics.
Those decisions were the result of lengthy discussion and debate.
"I’m not intimidated easily," Mr. Marathe asserts. "I speak my mind. I can move ahead and I never hold a grudge."
Another trait he says has served him well on the school board has been his ability to keep an open mind.
"I’m very analytical, so if a logical case is made, I’m willing to change my mind," he says.
In the third week of November, two pumpkins sit on the front step of the Marathe house, and Christmas lights already are up, hung earlier in the month for Diwali, the Hindu celebration of a new year. Mr. Marathe, 43, who works from home, sits in the living room drinking coffee, discussing his past and his role on the school board. He wears a Miami Dolphins sweatshirt, a switch from the business-casual attire he wears to school board meetings.
Like many Indians who have immigrated to the United States over the past few decades, he came to pursue a graduate degree. In 1984, he began studying at the University of Washington in Seattle, where he earned his doctorate in electrical engineering.
From there, his wife’s job in the pharmaceutical industry took the family to Syracuse, N.Y., and, in 1994, to West Windsor. In his work as a consultant to utility companies, he draws on his training as an electrical engineer.
"When I went to school, everyone wanted to be a doctor or an engineer," Mr. Marathe says. "Those were the jobs that paid well."
Indian students had no assurance of getting into college, and scoring well on examinations was essential to moving on to higher education in a lucrative field.
"In this country, if you’re good in any field, you can make a good living," Mr. Marathe says. "Here, you see Indians going into diverse fields."
The range of viable career options, reflected in the variety of classes and extracurricular opportunities, is one aspect of the U.S. education system Mr. Marathe appreciates.
"It’s good, because if you want to concentrate on math, you can, but you don’t have to," he says. "In that sense, it’s better."
Still, he said, U.S. students could benefit from a greater emphasis on math and science. Mr. Marathe’s experiences also have led him to value foreign-language education.
"I would rather have kids learn languages than just take it to put on a transcript," he said.
Reading Thomas L. Friedman’s "The World is Flat" recently, he has become even more convinced that these skills will be essential for U.S. students to be able to compete in a world made increasingly smaller by technology and fast, inexpensive communication.

