By John Tredrea, Special Writer
Gov. Chris Christie’s ambitious plan to cut the amount of regulatory “red tape” facing school districts in New Jersey was well received by area educators at a roundtable discussion at Hopewell Valley Central High School Monday afternoon.
Attending along with the Governor were David Heske, chairman of the state’s Educational Transformation Task Force, other state education officials and several school superintendents, including Hopewell Valley’s Thomas Smith.
The topic of the discussion was a report on how to cut red tape and improve accountability and performance in schools around the state.
Dr. Smith had good things to say about the session and what engendered it.
”Over the summer, I had the opportunity to meet with the task force that developed this report,” he said. “Their recommendations, specifically the reduction of the “red tape” that high achieving schools are burdened with, will allow us to focus on the things that really matter, providing a better education for the students of Hopewell Valley.”
The superintendent added: “The governors office choose Hopewell Valley because of the quality of our schools, and for that recognition we should be proud. Prior to the roundtable meeting, the Governor walked the halls and interacted with some students — which they seemed to enjoy. In addition, two classes were invited to attend the roundtable discussion. I think it was a great opportunity for our students to be recognized and experience the governmental process first hand.”
The governor called the initial report of the Education Transformation Task Force a strong first step in the process to develop a new accountability system for New Jersey schools, and to reduce the regulatory burden in order to make it easier for schools and educators to focus their efforts on innovation and results for children.
These recommendations, to be followed by a final report submitted by the task force on Dec. 31, form what the Gov. Christie calls the four “Building Blocks for Success” in New Jersey’s schools, including reforms to address performance and accountability, academics and standards, talent, and innovation in New Jersey’s education system.
”This report confirms that we need to provide a new accountability system that works for our educators and students, and that sensibly moves us toward a system that values educational results over bureaucratic red tape,” the governor said. “Every aspect of our education system must be centered around ensuring that every one of our children has the opportunity to get an effective education that prepares them for a successful future. These recommended changes to our accountability system mark a first step toward additional education reforms that we will be pursuing to modernize the fundamentals of our education system and our schools,” Gov. Christie said.
The task force was commissioned to study how well New Jersey’s education system is helping all students graduate from high school and get ready for college and/or the workforce.
Its two basic tasks were to examine ways to eliminate burdensome regulations so the state’s educators would be given the freedom they need to employ the best strategies in the classroom, and to review accountability systems — including the state’s Quality Single Accountability Continuum (QSAC) and federal No Child Left Behind (NCLB) law.
The report — discussed Monday in Central High’s packed media center — includes 45 recommendations to reduce red tape in New Jersey’s public education system, changes the task force says would help schools to streamline their operations and focus every possible resource on critical priorities, like student learning and performance.
”State government should be in the business of supporting the great work being done in the vast majority of our state’s schools, rather than just overseeing a web of rules and regulations that monopolize time, energy and resources from our educators,” the governor said.
”The 45 regulations identified for elimination in this report are a down payment on this reform to our state’s teachers and administrators and an indication of my Administration’s commitment to getting out of the way of excellent schools and prioritizing classroom results over paperwork, while still ensuring that standards and accountability are high and that the safety and fiscal integrity of our education system are uncompromised,” he added.
”Alleviating onerous regulations would give school leaders the flexibility they need to drive innovation in the classroom and deliver quality educational outcomes for New Jersey’s 1.4 million students,” said Christopher Cerf, acting commissioner of the state’s Department of Education.
”To do that we must refine the partnership between accountability for results and the empowerment of educators to determine the right strategies to achieve those results,” the acting commissioner concluded.
