Slogan
For Franklin Township
I’m strictly motivated by wanting to see the best for all Franklin Township School stakeholders; children, teachers, parents, and community members. I spent a number of years on Wall Street and am now a small business owner. My previous career required professionalism at all times, an independent and critical thinking process, and a collaborative attitude. I think that should be required of all board of education members as well.
Outside of hiring the Superintendent of a school, school board members are the fiduciaries of taxpayer dollars and the stewards of good decision making for the school that inevitably affects the wider community.
I believe that parents play an essential role in their children’s education and schools function best through open communication and collaboration between families and educators. As I understand it, the Board of Education hires the Superintendent who in turn hires the Director of Curriculum who is the decision maker for what educational materials are used within the school.
Three items I feel are a priority are strong core academics, fiscal responsibility, and community engagement. I think there has been positive steps towards all of these items in the last year with positional changes at the school and increased communication. I would want to work in partnership with the existing board members to determine what initiatives have been considered to support these goals and strategize to come up with a longer-term plan if there isn’t already one.
While of course previous employment and qualifications need to be considered, I think a Superintendent candidate would need to have a collaborative spirit, a can-do attitude, and are transparent while upholding ethics. I think these characteristics are critical to someone who will be effective in the role.
Slogan
Change is Needed
Involvement in Community
I have coached local soccer teams for the past four years. I ran for BoE last year and with my running mate highlighted many issues with the school and the BoE, all of which I continue to stand by
For years Franklin Township School has had declining performance and increasing financial issues. Last cycle my running mate (Matt Naughton) and I advocated for a platform of change, accurately highlighting a variety of issues that the BoE had failed to address. These ranged from financial issues at the school, declining performance, bussing issues and the failure of the BOE to communicate effectively. I believe that further change is needed and that I can play a positive role in bringing that about.
My career as a senior manager at a major pharmaceutical company positions me well to approach running a school effectively. I am experienced in managing and operating within large budgets, evaluating and communicating alternate proposals for addressing issues, and working as part of a team when under pressure to deliver the best outcome.
The Board of Education:
- establishes the policies, rules, and regulations that guide how the district operates. This includes defining educational goals and strategic objectives for the district.
- hires the superintendent and evaluates their performance annually against agreed-upon goals.
- reviews, revises, and approves the district’s budget.
- approves the curriculum, textbooks, and instructional materials for the school
- ensures that the district follows state law, state education codes, and federal laws
- oversees the maintenance of school facilities.
- should represent the interests of and communicate clearly with the community.
By law in New Jersey the BoE is responsible for selecting and purchasing textbooks and determining the curriculum. Textbooks must align with state standards, be age-appropriate and developmentally suitable.
With that said, parents and other community members have a critical role to play in setting the material available. They have the right to review curricula, books, and other instructional materials that are made available to students, provide input through public comment or discussion, and if they feel it necessary they should have a mechanism to challenge material. The BoE should listen carefully to the opinions of the community, while understanding that there will always be diverse opinions and that the loudest voices are not necessarily correct nor are they always representative of the community as a whole.
1. Place the school on a viable financial path.
Close collaboration with the school’s administration in projecting the actual funding levels. No more minimal increases that don’t reflect the operating needs, or “one-time” large tax increases that do not address the operating budget gap. The community deserves the truth on what it costs to give the students a quality education.
2. Transparency with the community on bond requirements.
The BOE’s forecasts $20M in investment over the next five years but has only called for $2.8M in bonds. It is certain further bonds are required and the community is owed a clear explanation of what is needed.
3. Address the decline in performance of the school.
As I stated last year the school’s performance places it in the lower half of the county. I am confident in the new administrative staff and will strive to provide them with the resources required to improve the grades while working within the available budget approved by the community.
Should we need to (and I hope not) replace our current Superintendent I would look for:
1. Strong educational experience.
This not only reflects an understanding of how to teach children but also leads and inspires the staff.
2. A track record of financial and operational success.
I want to see the operation of FTS as if it was a business. We need excellent production (student performance and development), cost efficiency, high morale and performance (both staff and students) and a focus on the shareholders (our community). As the effective CEO it is the responsibility of the Superintendent to deliver on these.
3. Communication and community engagement.
Along with the BOE President the Superintendent is the primary conduit of information to our community, and sets the tone for how the staff communicate with the parents and community. It is critical that the recent improvements be continued and built upon to address many of the valid concerns the community has had in recent years.
The children of Franklin Township motivate me to run for this office. As a mother of 5 children, three who have graduated and two that are currently attending FTS, I know firsthand the immense impact on a child's life that their school experience has.
Over my tenure with the Franklin BOE since 2016, I have gained considerable experience and knowledge that enable me to help guide a considerably newer board. I am calm, professional, respectful, and open minded which are important qualities for a collaborative board. In my professional capacity, I am a business director which requires me to have strong problem solving, communication, and leadership skills.
A school board is responsible for representing the concerns of students, parents and community members to the school administrators. The board is a policy-making body, we do not run the school but see to it that the school is well run. The board holds the superintendent accountable for implementing district goals and policies.
Parents have the right to know what is being taught to their children. Parents should have the option to refrain from teachings or materials that conflict with their moral or religious beliefs.
My top three priorities are ensuring fiscal responsibility, advancing student achievement, and improving community relations.
We are in a very tough fiscal position as are many, many of the school districts (both small and large) in NJ. We have to make tough decisions. Wildly escalating special education costs, healthcare/benefits costs, and reliance on temporary Covid funds are several contributors that have placed the district in very difficult position. The board has recently restructured the administration to be fiscally responsible and ensure the best people are in place to achieve the above mentioned goals. I am confident the administration will explore all options to present the board and community with a fiscally sustainable budget. There are a lot of great things going on at FTS and improving community relations and communication will highlight all the things to be proud of at Franklin as well as give more opportunity for input and involvement.
Three qualities that I consider important are an effective communicator, strong leadership skills, and drive to over-achieve. Without consistent and clear communication, a school district cannot be successful and this applies to students, parents, and community members. Strong leadership is essential. The superintendent needs to work collaboratively with the staff to build a shared vision and goals. Morale of the staff is of critical important to the success of the district. Lastly, the drive to over-achieve will take a district from good to great. Not only crafting goals, mission statements, and strategic plans but constantly working (alone and in concert) to achieve them makes all the difference. Simply putting things down that sound good on paper has no impact, it's in the execution that we soar.
Slogan
Moving Education Forward
In the past 6 months there has been quite a lot of great changes at FTS but theres a long road ahead of us. FTS needs a BOE member who can read curriculum and help the school change the students academically. My experience makes me the ideal candidate. For over fifteen years I ran a private day school where I oversaw, planned and cared for a two story school facility that hundreds of students grew up in. I was in charge of researching and creating a curriculum. I created and updated policies to address concerns as well as to follow state mandates. It's because of this career that I fully know what a well run school must look like and I feel that is currently missing. At FTS over the past year, I volunteered to restore the FTS library. Through the PTA, I ran this years Scholastic Book Fair. I’m the chairperson for the PTAs cultural committee which organizes and selects school assembly presenters. I worked with administration to create Author Day where I organize a fun-filled day filled of presentations, lunch ins and Q&As with local children’s authors. Of all, I’m most proud of helping the theater program to create the set decorations.
The principal responsibilities of the Board is to ensure the school is well ran and to create policies to ensure our children have a safe place with the best education.
In elementary school parents have the right to know what occurs daily within the school. We need to know what impacts our children’s education, social, physical and mental well being. If a child is struggling with their school work, the parent needs to know. If a child is not making friends, the parent needs to know. If a child seems anxious or depressed, the parent needs to know about it. Primary school is critically important to a child’s development. In these first few years of their education it is very important that the school and families work together to create an environment where every child can thrive academically, socially, and emotionally. The selection of educational material and books should continue to be done at the recommendation of our administration, teachers, librarian and state mandates.
Reading, Writing and Arithmetic. Lets go back to basics! Our children are so overwhelmed with trying to keep up with educational trends that we are forgetting the most important subjects of all. Improvements in ELA & Mathematics scores would be my top priorities for the children. Our performance scores remain stagnant, there needs to be more ideas and discussions coming from places like the curriculum committee. For example success can be achieved with ideas like having a full time librarian to help students focus on love of reading. The more a student reads the better they’ll write. I’d suggest funding for more writing workshops, additional math tutoring programs, classroom improvements and staff development. Help form district goals for slow but steady improvements.
Superintendent of schools need to possess three important qualities to be able to lead a school to succeed.
Empathy: A superintendent needs to care. Care for the students, parents, and community. It’s through empathy that we are able to understand one another and are able to get to the root of every problem.
Communication : A superintendent is in charge in making sure everyone in the district is on the same page. From student to parent to teachers to the community. The superintendent needs to have the ability to quickly communicate information with clarity and positivity.
Goal orientated: A goal without a plan is just a wish. A superintendent not only needs to have a clear set district goals but they also need to create and execute actionable plans to make them happen.
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