By TAPinto Bernardsville & Bedminster Staff
PublishedSeptember 29, 2023 at 7:00 AM
PEASPACK GLADSTONE, NJ - Want to know more about the candidates running for Somerset Hills Board of Education? Each week leading to the November 7 election, the candidates running for Somerset Hills Board of Education will answer question(s) that will be run in a series on TAPinto Bernardsville & Bedminster
The Peapack Gladstone candidates for the one three-year seats for Somerset Hills Board of Education are incumbent Heather Santoro and Robert Weible.
Week 2 Questions:
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What do you believe your role as Board of Education member serves?
What changes do you think are necessary in the schools?
How would you rate the schools with respect to student achievement?
Heather Santoro responds:
What do you believe your role as a Board of Education member serves?
A Board Member’s role is already well defined so that Boards can operate efficiently, allow Administration to perform their responsibilities, and together, make a positive impact on behalf of all of our students. Key responsibilities of a board member include communicating the ideas and concerns of community members to district administration, communicating the needs of students to the district and community, setting policy, and making sure the schools are well run. Board members should always consider student achievement and well-being when fulfilling these responsibilities.
Board members should seek input and involvement from all members of our communities, including taxpayers without students in the district. We strive to receive this input through various mechanisms including public comment sessions at Board meetings, public involvement in the strategic planning process, surveys, and general outreach and availability to our constituents. As a district we should institutionalize these mechanisms to enable continuous feedback and communication. One of the formal mechanisms we utilize is the community-based strategic planning process that is conducted every 3 to 5 years. This process includes community sessions, which are vital to understanding the community’s vision for our district and drive decision making for the Board and the Administration.
Additionally, in early 2023 we conducted formalized input sessions for our community members, staff, and students in our search for our Superintendent. This process yielded invaluable information for the Board as we evaluated resumes and conducted interviews to select the most appropriate candidate for this role. Throughout the entire process, we were guided by the priorities for a superintendent determined by the wider community. As a board member I am committed to working with our Administration to find additional formalized mechanisms to receive input that the district can make actionable.
While improvements are being made in the state with the passing of Bill S-33.92 for students’ voices to be heard within their districts, it is critical for Board Members to recognize that we represent the voice of the student. Consequently, our decisions should always be guided by the best interest of students. I have always made my decisions with the best interest of students in mind and will continue to do so for as long as I serve on the Board. In my years as a board member, I have observed the student experience through my own children, worked with educational experts employed by our district, and obtained training and education from various organizations available to us as board members. This experience has enabled me to examine decisions from a perspective of what is best for all learners. We are tasked with representing ALL students when considering policy and curriculum and I am committed to this endeavor.
Schools are governed by policy and regulation. It is the Board's responsibility to ensure that our policies and regulations reflect the vision and direction of our district. Some district policies are mandated as they are based on NJ law. It is the sworn responsibility of Board members to uphold these policies. There is a process by which State mandated policies are passed and all residents in the state of NJ can participate in this process through the Department of Education in Trenton.
The role of the Board is to ensure our district is well run. It is not the responsibility of the board to monitor or implement the day-to-day activities of the district. The Board is responsible for hiring and evaluating a Superintendent. The Superintendent in turn is responsible for all day-to-day activities within the district. Each year the Board completes a robust evaluation of Superintendent performance, including goal achievement and a variety of performance measures related to curriculum, personnel, facilities, operations, and finance that are critical for our success. This is the Boards’ formalized opportunity to reflect, provide input, and determine areas of improvement based on data and observation on how well the Superintendent is running the district. In order for a district to operate efficiently, board members need to understand their roles, which are distinct from those of school administration.
What changes do you think are necessary in the schools?
As a Board member, I am tasked with understanding the desires of our community with regard to their vision for our schools. Consequently, the changes I am committed to are those directed by the community input we received during the Strategic Planning Process. The Administration has developed detailed plans that support these goals and provides the Board and community with frequent updates. While all are important to the success of the district, I will specify a few that I believe will propel us forward and significantly impact the overall success and well being of our students.
Evaluating, updating, and improving our learning environments, particularly in the area of Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Mathematics (STEAM), will provide enhanced and/or improved facilities that will enable our students to optimize learning through hands-on engagement. Additionally, it affords us the opportunity to continue to improve and evolve our curriculum in this ever-changing field. Upgraded and updated STEAM facilities will directly impact 100% of our students from kindergarten through twelfth grade.
Our district can also benefit from improved communication, including improved internal communication among staff and personnel and improved communication to parents, guardians, and the entire community. This communication should be two-way and done with consistency. The district has made recent progress in this area with the introduction of our school newsletter, Pathways to Success, outreach to the community with regards to topics that might impact their residences, inviting the community to information sessions and allowing for comment and feedback outside of board meetings. Communication allows for the district to provide vital information to the public and will allow for us to hear from community members on topics that are important to them.
Providing diverse pathways to student success is critical as students are increasingly considering careers that are not always connected to a traditional post-graduation educational path. The district should develop curriculum that provides career exploration opportunities, partner with programs and organizations that create connections towards identified careers, and expose students to programs that allow for a deeper exploration into these various areas.
To ensure that children can learn optimally, they need to feel safe, secure, and part of a greater community. The district needs to continue to focus on the health and wellness of all of our students. This can be achieved through a unified K-12 culture and climate program that provides children the opportunity to develop empathy, take leadership roles, embrace each individual's uniqueness, and work with their peers for a connected sense of belonging and purpose. This type of program/curriculum does not replace core academics but should be embedded in every aspect of the students' experience. It should also foster the development of a school culture in which kids are comfortable, feel safe, and are willing to take educational risks that will serve to push them past their perceived boundaries.
How would you rate the school with respect to student achievement?
Rating the school with regards to student achievement is a difficult task. Achievement is measured differently for each student and family. The public often points to published school ratings and those ratings can be helpful and should be considered for growth and to provide guidance for areas of improvement year over year; however, they can also be limiting if not used appropriately. The district's responsibility is to provide as many opportunities for our students as possible to support them in achieving their individual goals. Whether it be rigorous and robust core academics, alternate pathways for career exploration and experience, or acclimation and proficiency for all learners, the district must continually evolve to address the needs of our specific learning communities.
While there is always room for growth and improvement and it is part of our job to be dynamic and constantly evolving, SHSD is on solid ground academically. SHSD has been able to show growth in most areas since the return from the pandemic and this is a huge accomplishment given the circumstances we all endured. During the pandemic we were able to implement curriculum and programs that will strengthen the academic achievement of our students and show improvement and success over time. The district implemented a new standards based math curriculum at the middle school and implemented the associated i-Ready tools. These tools allow for real time assessment of student progress through reports and individual data so we can provide more individualized education for each student. Seeing marked success with the math curriculum, we implemented i-Ready in literacy as well. We just implemented a new K-2 phonics program to supplement our existing ELA curriculum. The need for this was determined by data from standardized and school benchmark data. We have added study skills at the middle school and high school, additional math time for every student at the middle school, a new civics course, social studies course, as well as honors engineering and multivariable calculus.
Using standardized data including, but not limited to, NJSLA and AP results as well real-time individualized based assessment informs the district where we need to focus our energy and make investments to drive results for our kids. We can only rate achievement based on the district's ability to understand student achievement gaps and needs and provide robust curriculum and academic support to promote success for all of our students.
Related article: Get to Know the Somerset Hills Board of Education Candidates; Heather Santoro for Gladstone-Peapack Somerset Hills Board of Education
Editor's Note: The opinions expressed in the answer are the candidate's alone, and do not reflect the opinions of TAPinto.net or anyone who works for TAPinto.net. TAPinto.net is not responsible for the accuracy of the information supplied by the candidate. Email [email protected] with inquiries.
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