Teachers’ talk with gov. touches on many topics
PHOTOS BY VERONICA YANKOWSKI Gov. James E. McGreevey held a Teacher Town Meeting Jan. 29 at Red Bank Regional High School, Little Silver.
Mentoring, charter schools, class size among issues for local educators
By libby kesil
Staff Writer
LITTLE SILVER — Gov. James E. McGreevey made it clear from the start what he wanted to talk about at the Teacher Town Meeting at Red Bank Regional High School Jan. 29.
Kevin Coyle, (r) a fifth-grade teacher at Ocean Avenue Elementary School, Middletown, and Pat Dolan, a teacher at Middletown High School North, listen to Gov. McGreevey speak during the Teacher Town Meeting Jan. 29.
The governor opened the meeting by stating that the focus would not be on financial resources or state aid, but on teaching.
"We are focusing on what it is our teachers need to make them better teachers, to provide them with more time, to provide them with a more collaborative experience," said McGreevey. "What is it that we should be doing to focus on teachers, whether it is ending intellectual isolation, providing more time for collaboration, providing more time for continuing education, focusing on helping teachers be even more effective, and ranging the gamut between testing, professional education and opportunity."
The governor’s statements aside, it did not take long for the subject of money to come up.
Nancy Paulson, who teaches at Rumson-Fair Haven High School in Rumson, said that approximately two and half years ago the state had plans for mentoring new teachers with a two-year model.
"It was presented in the spring but by the time it came to the fall and the opening of school, we found out it was watered down to a one-year model," said Paulson. "I truly think teachers deserve two years of mentoring, and I would like to see the state go back to that."
Her comment drew applause from many in attendance.
"Obviously we have a very difficult budget this year. We have a $5 billion deficit," said McGreevey. "We have money for mentoring in this budget. We haven’t fixed the final number, but obviously we want that money to be preserved, but we’re also working cooperatively with the National Governors Association to prevail upon the state Legislature to keep that in.
"We are looking at the disconnect between the public preparation of teachers and schools and what’s happening in our public schools," he continued. "We looked at some of the best states in the nation where preparation of educators and public schools is totally integrated. That is not happening in New Jersey. What state Commissioner of Education William Librera has done is sit down with four-year colleges and universities and discuss the need to have clear standards across the board. We can arrive at these standards in different ways but [we] have to have common agreement of what needs to be taught. And, second, we have to be working on how to integrate preparation of teachers and mentoring in the classroom."
Lucille Davy, the special counsel for education who accompanied McGreevey to the meeting, said that there will be a uniformity of standards and expectations for every student preparing to be a teacher.
"Every student has to take the same amount of coursework in these areas so we know they are all getting an adequate amount of preparation," said Davy. "The mentoring is obviously very important. Being a teacher myself, [teaching your own class for] the first time is a really hard thing to do. Unless you have someone to work with who can tell you the little things, such as ‘What do I do about Johnny who never comes with books to class?,’ I don’t think they prepare you for those things when they are preparing you to be a teacher. I think we understand the critical importance of mentoring."
Deputy Commissioner of Education Dwight Pfenning, who also accompanied McGreevey to the meeting, said his office has been working with two-year and four-year partners to develop programs for alternate route teachers "to get them in front of kids prior to their first day of work."
Marjorie M. Boyd, president of the Eatontown Teachers Association, questioned the approval of a new charter school while programs were being cut in the public schools in her district.
"We lost our summer school program. We lost our curriculum coordinator. We have had a lot of cutbacks," said Boyd. "Two weeks ago the commissioner of education approved the application of the Jersey Shore Charter School. While we have not yet been informed of our district’s obligation to the formation of the school, we are expecting the tab to be extremely substantial. This comes just at the point when our board was considering reinstating a much-needed summer school program and at least a part-time curriculum coordinator. At this time of great fiscal concern at the state level, at the local level, in our homes, how can the state justify, to the hardworking people of my community, the removal of their tax dollars for an experimental educational program when the current education program, provided under their elected officials, is a shining star of public school success? And what do you say to our excellent teachers who now feel they have been dealt a serious blow?"
McGreevey said, "The first thing is, we have to abide by the law. That being said, we are acutely aware of the impact, particularly the financial impact, of what happens, and we have had ongoing internal discussions within the department. Within one year’s time, we will go back to the state’s Legislature and ask for clarification on the Comprehensive Educational Funding Act (CEFA) formula. The original legislation did not provide for the necessary elasticity. We hope to return to the state’s Legislature [about CEFA]."
CEFA, passed by the state Legislature in the 1990s, dictates funding formulas for the state and sets up how charter schools are funded.
"The whole CEFA formula is something we are working on," added Davy.
Diane Swaim, president of the Middletown Teachers Education Association and a teacher at Bayshore Middle School, asked the governor what he was going to do to reduce class sizes, stating that it would be the single most important reform in education.
"I have a class of 29 students," said Swaim. "Nine of them are in-class support students. Governor, that’s just too many kids. What is going to be done to address some kind of limit? We all know that the research points to 15 being the optimum number."
McGreevey agreed that there was a need for smaller class sizes, stating that the National Governors Association has formed a task force to deal with the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) reauthorization.
"We think this is the most critical issue facing education," said McGreevey. "We have a school construction program that’s appropriating $8.6 billion for the Bergen and Essex school districts. We believe the IDEA legislation must address this critical issue."
McGreevey ended the meeting by thanking the teachers for attending and sharing their concerns and suggestions, and encouraging them to suggest ideas for best practices "to provide ideas for a more entrepreneurial approach.
"Teaching is a respect-challenged profession," said McGreevey. "We understand the importance of teachers, not only within the school but within the fabric of our society. All of us understand how important and valuable teachers are. They are essential to a democracy. They are essential to a community."
McGreevey is planning to meet with teachers in every county in the state to explain the administration’s 21-point educational reform plan and establish an open dialogue with teachers on education issues. Wednesday’s meeting was the fifth in a series of such events. Pfenning attended in Librera’s place.