To the editor:
My name is Chris Carpenter. My home is in the Brandon Farms section of the township. I have resided in Hopewell Township for nearly 25 years in two locations. When my family moved, we moved across town. We stayed in Hopewell.
My adult children went through the Hopewell Valley Regional Schools. I credit their success while in school and professionally, as adults, in large part to the teachers who connected with them personally while attending HoVal public schools. The topics and careers that interested my children were identified and encouraged. Paths to careers in those fields were encouraged by the professional educators and the innovative curriculum of this excellent school district. Yes, by all accounts, this is an excellent school district.
There are many parts of your responsibilities as members of the board of education that I do not understand. But here’s the thing I totally understand: everything teachers do in the classroom all day should matter to you, because the work of each and every school in this district should be focused exclusively on what is best for the kids they are teaching, and you should understand, the way teachers understand, that those kids and their needs change from building to building, from room to room, from day to day. Because of this, we should value and support and encourage and inspire and recognize and push and protect the people doing the most direct work of educating our children.
Great teachers are your greatest asset. When our teachers are good, we should reward them. When our teachers speak up we should listen. When our teachers are tired we should help them. When we have teachers that connect with our students, that value our families, that have earned the respect of their colleagues, we should do everything, we/you should do anything to keep them. Otherwise, you are not performing the role of a member of the board of education and the only important role you perform in the process, deciding what is best for our students, has been neglected.
Christopher Carpenter
Pennington