The state takeover of Camden public schools and new guidelines for implementing teacher evaluations have dominated local headlines recently, as well as the continuing concern for school safety in the wake of the Newtown tragedy. To discuss those issues, NJ Today turned to Richard Bozza, Executive Director of the New Jersey Association of School Administrators (NJASA).
When Gov. Christie announced the state takeover of Camden City schools last week, few were surprised. Some lawmakers like Sen. Donald Norcross (D-5) said it was only a matter of time. Bozza told Senior Correspondent Desirée Taylor that he was surprised that it took the state so long to intervene.
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“We’ve had some of the lowest achieving scores with students in Camden for quite a while, we’ve had charter schools there, we’ve certainly new initiatives to try and bring changes there but we haven’t succeeded.”
The state’s performance when it comes to taking over schools hasn’t been something to tout, as evidenced in Paterson, Newark and Jersey City. Bozza says no one should be expecting any quick turn around.
“I think if we’re going to make the changes that everybody would like to see and I know the residents there in Camden would like to see them as well as the other cities I think we really have to engage the community in ways we haven’t before.”
Bozza cited specifically Union City’s turnaround from a troubled school district that was close, at one time, to being taken over by the state. One public policy expert partly attributed Union City’s success to the community’s pride in its schools.
“We got to focus on how do we get that community engaged and involved in the education of their kids whether it’s through traditional public schools or charter schools and how do we get to these schools earlier. If we know that they’re going to fail let’s not wait long to intervene.”
Security at public schools have been on the minds of parents and school administrators since the Newtown massacre. Bozza said that Newtown’s school superintendent came to New Jersey to speak about the experiences of the tragedy and how to balance school safety issues with the need to provide an academic environment that demonstrates freedom.
“The reality about schools is that they are open environments. I think if you were to ride with me at lunch time you would see kids on playground, kids getting on buses coming to schools, walking to schools, out on the athletic fields and gymnasiums and other places,” said Bozza. “So we’re trying to learn from what happened at Newtown, we’re trying to learn from our colleagues around the state and nation, talking to security experts … people from the Department of Education, architects to say what can we do in a reasonable way to protect our children.”
In the aftermath of the Newtown tragedy, Marlboro posted an armed police officer for each of its nine public schools. According to Bozza, other school districts have expressed a desire to have police officers at schools.
“Parents and staff are really anxious abut what’s happening, but we know that an armed guard alone is not the answer,” he said. “Whenever there was a tragedy whether it’s superstorm Sandy or something of this terrible nature we see that schools are the heart of the community and people rally toward them to try to protect and support them.”
Last month, the Christie administration released its proposal for carrying out the new teacher evaluation system. The NJEA expressed its displeasure over the proposed guidelines, saying that they place too much emphasis on standardized tests. Sen. Teresa Ruiz (D-29), the legislator most credited for the new tenure law, also expressed some concerns as well. Bozza said he thinks the state is rolling out the guideline too hastily. There are still too many unresolved questions, according to Bozza.
“What we’re talking about is do we have the resources, both human and capital, to get this done well, should we be focusing on those schools that need the most help rather than the most successful,” he asked. “Let’s watch carefully the role of the principal because that’s where he or she really has the toughest job in the year ahead.”