What REALITY is made of!

When I think of what a 21st Century School looks like, feels like and teaches like...this is what I see:

http://cli.gs/D9PsAG

This is worth every minute!

You CAN NOT look at this video and NOT BE Changed, Encouraged, Hopeful!

May this gentleman and scholar reignite the many reasons why we each chose to teach, parent, learn and exist.

For more information about Larry Rosenstock and High Tech High log onto: http://www.mobilelearninginstitute.org/21stcenturyeducation/films/film-larry-rosenstock.html

Calling On Some Leadership!!!

Mr. Abdul-Haaq, Ms. Henderson, Ms. Westbrook, Mr. Williams, Ms. Hollis and Mr. Ruffin Sr. --

This is an extraordinary venue for the six of you to collaborate on efforts and create activities that promote the general welfare of our parents; it's about empowerment through knowledge brokering.

Please do not become disheartened and allow your passion for our children and your commitment to this community to wane. Each of you has been positioned “for such a time as this”!

Take this opportunity to truly show Plainfielders your level of dedication to our children and their education.

Parents Empowering Parents need
YOU to take it to the next level!

Thank You!

Where do I begin, or rather how do I begin? I guess --like all good talks -- you start out with the positive. With that said, I want to thank the following individuals for taking the time to join the PEP Meet and Greet Social held last evening:

Board Representation - (50%)
Pat Barksdale
Wilma Campbell
Brenda Gilbert
Lisa Logan Leach
Katherine Peterson

City Representation (11%)
Adrian Mapp

Community Representation - (<1%)
Connie Buwa
Herb Green
George Rivera
Carol Williams
The Young lady w/the Beautiful multicolored outfit (email me your name and I’ll post it)

Schools/Teacher Representation (~1%)
Brenda Logan

Parent Representation (<1%)
Terence McLeod
Denise Riley – Emerson PTO President

Our Children (~1%)
7 Children were present

If I've missed you, my sincere apologies -- please email your name and I will certainly post it!

I invited over 150 persons from the school district and the community-at-large, and I want to say thank you to the many who sent their regrets and offered "Keep Up the Good Work" words of encouragement and support. It is greatly appreciated.

PLAINFIELD -- take note and pay attention to those who come out in support of the "small" things when there are no T.V.s or Cameras or Reporters. For these are the ones who will certainly ride out the storm and be there with the blanket, bowl and warm fire.

In fairness to the "City Council" I did not personally invite anyone of them; I did however invite our mayor and assemblyman. And again -- although I did not invite a specific council person other than the two city official positions I spoke of -- one out of the nine managed to find out. I rather like someone who has their 'ear' to the ground and knows what is going on in the city...!

I have been supporting parental involvement efforts through my local school's PTO and PEP for the last 4 years and in the last year as President of PEP and via my personal funds. My term ends effective June (the last day of school) 2009. I have reached out to many members in the community in hopes of identifying a team of individuals who would be willing to lead PEP onward.

When asked last evening if there were any parents and/or community person that would be willing to step up -- I paused for several seconds and I came to the realization that in fact -- I know of six such persons. Six people who have eloquently spoken of their love and commitment to our children and who have publically declared not only the necessity for parental involvement throughout this city, but the need to increase it, encourage it and yes support it for the betterment of our schools.

So to Mr. Abdul-Haaq, Ms. Henderson, Ms. Westbrook, Mr. Williams, Ms. Hollis and Mr. Ruffin Sr. -- although the citizenry did not support your run for the BOE; please do not become disheartened and allow your passion for our children and your commitment to this community to wane. Each of you has been positioned “for such a time as this”! Please take this opportunity to truly show Plainfielders your level of dedication to our children and their education.

Parents Empowering Parents need YOU to take it to the next level!

Don't Forget

TONIGHT's COMMUNITY AND BOE
Social MEET & GREET
6:30-8:30
Washington Community School
Darrow Avenue
Plainfield, NJ

Join us for refreshments and light conversation!

Please Join Us!

And The Winners Are!!! (Maybe)

Patricia I. Barksdale* - 854

Brenda L. Gilbert - 694

Lisa Logan-Leach* - 664

Katherine Peterson - 566

There you have it ladies and gentlemen our newly elected school board along with current seated members Rivers, Cathcart, Campbell, Cox and Estevez.

Would love to sponsor a meet and greet next Monday...Holla if you're interested! This could be the beginning of a beautiful and meaningful relationship!

Be Well!

PS: Yes I know the official swearing in doesn't occur until 5/5; I'm talking about a simple INFORMAL meet and greet...no questions, no format -- simply smiles and conversation! We must learn to relax people...

And then there were 10!!! Happy Voting!!

In order of appearance we have:

Abdul-Haaq...Barksdale...Gilbert...Hendricks...Hollis......

....Logan-Leach...........Peterson.............Ruffin, Sr.....

...........................Williams..........Westbrook.....................

La Ultima Pregunta!

Please identify 1 ISSUE facing our children that YOU as a Board Member will commit your term service to insuring it is resolved?

Ok so -- here’s where I got a lot of information but with what I felt was very little “actionable” substance.

Most candidates spent the first few seconds of this question commenting on how there are really more than ONE issue we are currently facing in our district. But once they finished wading through and/or enumerating the many things that needed to be addressed they did pick one. Safety, Relationships, Parental Involvement (YEAH), Curriculum and Instruction (Yeah – Again), Tools and Materials and highly-qualified /certified Teachers were among those things listed.

Before we go on -- take a look at list. There are conclusively at least 6 items that surfaced. Now had the candidates really internalized the question they would have realized that although they were asked to own and commit to the resolution of one…if in fact each one did that (Own and Commit to the RESOLUTION)– then each cycle/term/year of the BOE would produce at LEAST 9 resolved issues facing our children. Now THAT’S what I’m TALKING ABOUT!!!!

Nevertheless we move on…

What lacked in the response to this question was a simple line or two on just how they would tackle the issue they identified. Before folks go getting all upset – SOME did provide a window into just how and what that would look like, but the majority of replies missed the mark. I know they only had a minute but that’s how debates/forums/discussion sessions work. I certainly would expect each of them to have at least one issue and one resolution in their head and hearts – note the phrase – “at least one”…ready to be shared with the public.

By now I imagine you all realize that I will not be PUBLICALLY endorsing anyone, group or affiliate. Voting is a personal and private chance, ergo the curtain and booth set-up. My goal here is/was to provide you the public with information I’ve gathered, from my perspective, in hopes that you the readers, voters and public of Plainfield will/would find yourself better able to make an informed decision after having been exposed to “my” truths.

I believe there are certainly 4 worthy candidates vying for this awesome task and appointment; I am privileged and honored to have had the opportunity to meet with, speak with and hear from each of them.

Vote YOUR conscience, party, friendship line – the important thing is to just VOTE!

Question Numero Dos!

What are some of the educational issues facing our growing Latino population and how will you address them?

I have to say I found this question to be quite telling with regard to each candidate's awareness of the dynamics not only within the Plainfield public schools but also our city in general.

All candidates shared an absolute need to embrace the diversity in this city, specifically that which is represented by our Hispanic brethren. Many also remarked that it is not the relationships between the children that need to be fostered and natured, but rather it is the adult set that can use some culture sensitivity training. I agree with this assessment.

One remark I found most eloquently profound was the pronouncement that Latino chidrens' needs are no different then African American Children, Asian Children or any other child. The educational needs of children transend cultural barriers.

Finally -- what I gleaned from the majority of comments to this question-- is that overall the candidates believe we need to embrace, develop and implement more culturally diverse activities that not only engage all ethnicies in our city, but in addition offer both our Spanish speaking population that need to learn English as well as our English speaking population who wish to learn conversational Spanish opportunities to do just that. A few suggestions included reestablishing night-time classes. I, for obvious reasons -- believe this is the ultimate win-win provision our educational system could provide for our Queen city.

That's it for today...until tomorrow - Be Well!

Proud to Be a PLAINFIELDER!!!

It’s been a minute since I’ve been able to make such a declaration!

Last night’s candidates’ forum sponsored by Plainfield’s LWV was very well attended, in fact as one candidate remarked --it had the most attendees of all the forums held!

Now, on to the discussion that ensued – although I cannot begin to offer you the candidate’s verbatim responses, or lack of response specific to the question – I’ll instead give you my take on the caliber of responses specific to the (3) questions I submitted and were asked last night.

For today we will deal with Question Numero Uno (My FAVORITE Topic!)

Can you tell me if the Plainfield Public School District has a Parental Involvement Policy? And if so – tell me (3) key areas covered in the policy that speak to parental engagement. And if not -- do YOU think there should be one and would you be willing to support and/or push this initiative forward?

Most of the candidates agreed that Plainfield SHOULD have a parental involvement policy. A few remarked that in addition to the need for such a policy, the process should also include parental/ community stakeholder's involvement in the development phase of the policy, and a few others even suggested that PEP not only has but should continue to charter the efforts to draft such a policy.

None said emphatically that a current parental involvement policy exists, and so none offered any key areas of the policy that actually promotes/encourages parental involvement.

Some candidates interpreted the Parental Involvement Policy as a mandate and insisted that parents cannot and should not be forced to participate based on anyone’s precepts of what involvement entails. I wanted to jump up and clarify/testify, but of course personal outbursts were discouraged at the onset of the forum with the said penalty being ejection, and as outspoken as I am -- I am not into making scenes – only a DIFFERENCE!

So -- I will take this opportunity to clarify what a POLICY is and does. A policy provides persons of interest with a construct for engagement/dialog/interaction. It does not demand – but rather provides a roadmap, rules of engagement if you will for effective relationship building and partnering. It eliminates the affects of preferential treatment, groupthink, who knows and who likes whom. Parents can be assured that there is a level playing field from school to school no matter who is in charge and can get involved based on the policy guidance document and their level of interests.

The overall feeling I got from what was shared by the candidates last night is that EACH and EVERY ONE of them believes that PARENTAL INVOLVEMENT is KEY to a SUCCESSFULLY run School district! And at the end of the day – that’s what matters to the parent of child in the Plainfield Public schools, as well as the President of a citywide Parent Group – whose ONLY focus is to Empower Parents to ADVOCATE effectively for their children and their education.

Be Well – My Plainfielders!

BOE Ballet Alert

ALL;

Apparently the line number assigned to the candidates running for 2-year Terms are inaccurate on the sample ballot forms mailed to Plainfield residents.

Please note the following Correction:

Terrence Williams - 8A
Katherine Peterson - 9A
Tammy Westbrook - 10A

NOTE: I personally DO NOT use line numbers, but rather look for the individual candidate's name...my suggestion is that you all do the same.

Questions For The BOE Candidates

1. What is the most urgent problem facing the school system and what specific solution do you have to address it?
2. What are some of the educational issues facing our growing Latino population and how will you address them?
3. Can you tell me (1) BOE initiated program or process that has been implemented in the last 3 years; How would you support and/or remediate this initiative?
4. Please identify 1 ISSUE facing our children that YOU as a Board Member will commit your term service to insuring it is resolved?
5. Do you find the current structure of the BOE public meetings customer-friendly/ community-centric? If not? Why Not? And How would you fix/change it? And if so – in what way(s)?
6. How will YOU ensure that the public is encouraged to participate in the educational process of this city?
7. If you had $1,000,000 to use for your child’s education – Would YOU enroll your child into the PLAINFIELD Public Schools?

Keeping the Main thing -- THE MAIN THING

The League of Women Voters ~ Candidate's Forum

April 16th

The Plainfield Public Library
7 PM – 8:30 PM

What's In It for YOU?

Ok...so you Do Not want to meet the New BOE?!!!?

Plainfielders -- you Confound me...
Astound me...
Absolutely amaze me!
la, la, la, la, la, lah to KORAaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaH!

I guess if you show up then you have to be accountable to something or someone more than yourself or your anonymous ranting. How sad it must be to live behind the veil never truly giving credence to your voice! I thank GOD for the freedom to BE… to be Seen, to be Heard, to be ABLE TO!

(I’m feeling like Jill Scott here ---> Been told I look like her…reckon the next step is to talk like her…now if only I could SING!!!)

This Deserves Its OWN POST!

Anonymous said...

Hi, Renata,

Please, please urge voters to come out to the LWV forum. Last year, I was one of only 7 (yes, 7!) people who was present at last year's BOE forum. In a city of more than 50,000 stakeholders and 7,000 students, it was truly demoralizing.

When I peruse the online forums, I see a lot of talk about the BOE, Dr. Gallon, the teachers, the parents, the staff, and so on. Where are all these people when they have an opportunity to hear from the candidates?

The forum is well-publicized with an ad in the paper, a web presence, email notification, and so on.

Please send out additional notices during that week.

---------------------
I could not agree more with these comments...So Here You HAVE Folks...
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The League of Women Voters ~ Candidate's Forum

April 16th
The Plainfield Public Library

7 PM – 8:30 PM

1000 HITS!!!

1000 Hits in 4 Weeks...OUTSTANDING!

Hear Ye BOE Candidates!!!

-- PLAINFIELD Residents are TUNED IN! --

Use OUR Time Wisely!

Got an Idea...What Do YOU Think?

HEY Plainfield!!! -- What do you think about using PEP’s next meeting as a Meet and Greet to welcome our Newly Elected Board Members and the Newly formed Board of Education?

The election is the 21st and PEP’s meeting is the following Monday April 27th. The timing couldn't be more perfect!

What a wonderful opportunity this could be for parents and community folk alike to “hob knob” with our BOE! I think far too often we allow our differences to alienate us instead of simply respecting the right of each one to be right in his or her own right without anyone necessarily being wrong… You Follow?!? Agree to Disagree without being Disagreeable!

So what do you say?

Current Board Members, Board of Education Candidates – as well as my fellow Plainfielders – are you up for it? Write me back either via the comments tool, the chat tool over on the righthand toolbar, or email me directly at: rannette439@verizon.net.

Let’s start off in the spirit of teaming and unity!

I’ll update you all as to where we stand for this event. We can do a simple Pot Luck Appetizer and Beverage menu where everyone can bring a treat to share this way the cost is a wash!

Be Well!

Don't Forget!!!

Greetings Plainfield Citizenry

By now I trust you all have read or perhaps even had the opportunity to meet and hear from our prospective BOE members. Well if not --you got 1 MORE OPPORTUNITY.

The League of Women Voters will hold their candidates forum on:

April 16th

The Plainfield Public Library
7 PM – 8:30 PM

Remember No Excuses, No Alibis – You can’t hold them accountable if YOU don’t participate in the process!

Be Well!

Meet BOE Candidate #10

Rasheed Abdul-Haqq

I am obliged as a board member to insure that all Plainfield public school children receive adequate resources that produce students capable of functioning at high academic and socially acceptable levels.

I am obligated to respect and be responsible to the needs of the children of the district employees and citizen of Plainfield including the State of NJ.
Accomplishments


Attended Board meetings; addressed honestly and fairly all issues affecting all stake holders. Studied continuously to better understand and overcome district problems; hired a qualified superintendent.

Other Accomplishments

Served as a member of the following Plainfield organizations:

• Plainfield Head Start Board
• Police Community Activity League (PAL) Board
• Mayor’s Crime Prevention Task Force
• Plainfield High School (PHS) PTO President (4 years)
• PHS School Leadership Council (8 years)
• Parents Empowering Parents (PEP)
• Parents Organizing Parents (POPs)

Received Leadership training from NJ Community Foundation under its Neighborhood Leadership initiative (NLI) Program.

Awards

Received award from local NAACP chapter
Received resolutions from Plainfield City Council and Union County Board of Freeholders commencing my work to repair the NJ Transit train overpasses in Plainfield

Goals

Hold the Superintendent accountable to achieve the goals of the district. My priority, if elected is to insure that the necessary respect is accorded by the board to all stake holders, especially teachers in order for all of us to succeed.