Letters to the Editor

From the June 29 edition

His comments on district

‘off course’
To the editor:
   
Mr. Schemelia states last week, in his ongoing tirade, that his claims regarding the school district are not "based on a spreadsheet." He further undermines his own arguments by asking questions that would be answered by reading the state report I referenced in my letter. If he had taken that responsibility before launching his criticism, he would have understood why the state chose to report their data the way it did. But he goes on to restate his claims that somehow we are "getting less" and that we are "way off course," with no supporting evidence.
   It’s this dialogue that’s way off course. Our direction is student achievement, and our administration is firmly at the helm and maintaining that direction for all 5,000 students in the district. That’s how our administrators have been evaluated and compensated. And that’s where our success has been.
   Teaching children successfully is not a simple matter of having teachers "interact with children." It requires intelligent curriculum development, aggressive professional development, and relentless evaluation of results. That’s been the foundation of our success since we hired Mr. Bolandi and the basis for our future success.
Bob Laverty
East Windsor Regional school board
Many thanks come

from After Prom group
To the editor:
   
On behalf of the Hightstown High School 2007 After Prom Food Committee, we would like to express our heartfelt appreciation to the vendors and retailers in our community who once again enthusiastically supported our effort. Every restaurant and store we visited could not have been more helpful and willing to donate food and paper items to the Twentieth Annual After Prom Party held on June 3rd. This traditional event has once again succeeded in providing a safe environment for our children to celebrate their special night.
   Thank you to all of the parents who worked the food area during that evening and special thanks to our committee members who worked tirelessly for months before the event: Andy Astarita, Bill Kluxen and Edgard Garcia. Of course, extra special thanks to our retail partners who made it all possible: 7-11, Americana Diner, Anthony’s, Atlanta Bread, Barone’s, Brothers Pizza, Cafe Capuano, Central Perk & Bagel, Charlie Brown’s, Chicken Holiday, Chili’s, Clairemont Diner, T.R. Deli, Dominos, Dunkin Donuts, Famiglias, Friday’s, Hightstown Bagels, Hightstown Diner, KFC, Longhorn, Mannino’s, Mastori’s, McCaffrey’s, McDonalds, Panera Bread, Prestige Diner, Red Robin, Rita’s, Royal Orchid, Ruby Tuesday, Salad Works, Sal’s Pizza, Scotto’s, Shop Rite, Subway, Super Fresh, Theo’s, Tiger’s Deli, WaWa and Wendy’s.
Linda Pecsi, Debbie Ortega
co-chairwomen
After Prom Food Committee
Hightstown High School Parents Association