Here are some ways they might have forgotten:
501. End teacher bashing and disparagement by politicians and the media.
502. Require NJDOE executives to have real teaching experience before they dictate policy from on high. (Not four years in a private school or no experience at all - Please read my Friday, December 9, 2011 piece - "It Takes One to Know One!" ).
503. Require NJDOE executives to come to schools and demonstrate how it is to be done (preferable inner city schools).
504. End the constant state testing. (Stop the flow of huge sums of money to EST)
505. Stop the constant educational scheming (T&E, QEA, NCLB, QSAC, etc. - Please read my Tuesday, February 14, 2012 piece "Cooked Up Schemes and Catchy Titles") and the funds required for their implementation. Let's use the money to actually educate children.
506. End administrative appointments based on cronyism and patronage.
507. Require all those who make classroom observation to have knowledge and experience teaching the subject they observe.( - Please read my Sunday, March 25, 2012 piece "The Power of Observation").
508. End the constant push to privatize public education.
509. Stop listening to the rants of the self appointed "education experts" (Michele Rhee, Cami Anderson, etc.)
510. Stop claiming that schools are riddled with "poor teachers".
511. Remove "poor" tenured teachers (and administrators) using the tenure laws that currently exist. (The cost could be very low if BOEs didn't always hired high priced law firms to pursue them. Please read my Feb 19, 2012 piece - "$100,000 Questions About Tenure").
512. Encourage respect for teachers and the teaching profession. (How can children respect and learn from teachers when they are continually disrespected by politicians and the media?)
513. Stop trying to squeeze in religion and religious beliefs into the school curriculum under the guise of valid scientific theory.
514. End the front page exposés of teachers "accused" of crimes. What ever happened to "innocence until proven guilty?
515. Start making pension payments instead of tax breaks for the rich.
David Hespe – Chief of Staff
ReplyDeleteDavid Hespe is formerly the Co-Executive Director/Vice President for STEM Education at Liberty Science Center. Prior to that position he was the Interim Superintendent for the Willingboro School District having previously served as Assistant Superintendent. He was a faculty member in the Educational Leadership Department of Rowan University and served five years as department chair prior to becoming a school administrator. David also served as NJ Commissioner of Education from 1999 through 2001. Prior to that position, he was the First Assistant Attorney General for the State of New Jersey. He also served as Assistant Commissioner of Education. He began his service in the Executive Branch of State Government as Assistant Counsel for Education and Higher Education to Governor Whitman. He also served in the Legislative Branch as Associate Counsel in the Education Section of the Office of Legislative Services where he was the Committee Aid to the Assembly Education and Higher Education Committee. Prior to that position, he was in the private practice of law. In addition to serving as Chief of Staff, David served on the Governor’s Education Transformation Task Force, which reviewed all statutes and regulations that affect public education, and recommended a new accountability system that grants more autonomy to schools while maintaining strict accountability for student achievement, safety, and fiscal responsibility. He also served on the College and Career Readiness Task Force, comprising K-12 and higher education practitioners and business community representatives. Mr. Hespe received both a juris doctor and a bachelor of arts degree from Rutgers University.
from
http://www.nj.gov/education/genfo/overview/staff.htm