April - May 2002 Edition

Fair Lawn's Schools    Along with two other current Board members, John Mancinelli is running unopposed for re-election to three seats on the Fair Lawn Board of Education.  Fair Lawn News talked with him about our schools.    1. Do you think Fair Lawn Schools are better than they were a few  years ago? Fair Lawn schools are definitely better than they were a few years ago.  For example, the elementary level literacy and reading efforts have improved scores and performance.  The elementary world language program is a model for New Jersey and other states.  At the high school, the technology-based curriculum delivery has made applied science more effective and courses like AP Music Theory possible.   However, a question like this one can be misleading because the schools, like the town, are a constantly changing environment with constantly changing problems.   2. What issues does the Board of Education need to focus on? The Board and the Administration have been working on a vision and an educational program for the 21st century.  We recognize that both the students entering our system and the world for which we are preparing them will be different.  In the short term, change is being driven by new graduation requirements and mandatory benchmark testing.  In the longer term, enrollment increases, maintaining variety and challenge in the curriculum, keeping our teaching staff engaged and at the top of their game, and remaining proactive in addressing the needs of a more diverse student population must be our focus.   3. Are you pleased with recent results of standardized test scores? Yes, very much.  At this time our student body is performing very well on the ESPA, GEPA and HSPT.  Furthermore, I am not particularly worried about the implementation of the HSPA, except that it will, at first, throw relative comparisons into chaos.  Most worrisome is the trend toward overtesting, especially with high stakes testing.  If this trend continues, it will force curriculum to homogenize and it will make it difficult to do those things that make Fair Lawn unique and exceptional.  Providing the enriched educational experience that has been the Fair Lawn legacy may not be possible.   4. What would you like to accomplish during your next term? In the next three years I would like to initiate some of the changes the Board has been formulating to support its vision for the 21st century.  Some of these initiatives are reflected in the proposed2002-03 budget, such as the teaching academy and an improved ESL program.  Some of the initiatives are being incorporated into the District's long range facilities plan, such as providing sufficient classroom space at the high school for an expanding enrollment and an enriched curriculum.  Other initiatives, such as alternate approaches to early childhood education and efforts to reduce elementary class size, will be discussed with the community in the near future.   5. What should the priorities be for fixing and expanding buildings and facilities? An in-depth study of the needs of the entire District, which was done as part of the Long Range Facilities Plan, indicates that the high school has the most critical need for additional space.  The combination of projected increasing enrollment and the space demands created by new graduation requirements will reduce the high school to an overcrowded basic skills institution unless space is renovated and added at the high school immediately.  The combination of additional space and a reorganization of the curriculum and the high school schedule, called the "Paradigm for Change", will accommodate the increased enrollment and the needs of the new graduation requirements, and will preserve the enriched and varied curriculum that has been a tradition in Fair Lawn.   The next highest priority lies at the elementary level.  The deficiencies and space needs at this level are widespread.  Several long range solutions are possible, but require more study and community discussion to resolve.  However, the greatest crowding and most critical deficiencies are found at Warren Point and Radburn.  An immediate expansion at these two schools is required.   The plan to address these high priority space expansion and renovation needs will be presented to the community for a possible referendum vote in September.   6. Are the schools preparing students for tomorrow's workplace? I believe we are, based on the feedback we receive from our graduates, but this information is predominantly from those who are college bound.  Most Fair Lawn graduates who enter college complete their studies and earn a degree in four years.  Nationwide, only 58% of those who enter college achieve this.   Overall, our curriculum attempts to instill in each student the skills to observe and experience the world in a manner that will allow them to see opportunity and make rational and reasonable choices.  It is centered on reading, writing and problem solving.  However, looking into the future, the skill levels will have to be higher still.  Our students will have to learn more and  perform better in the 12 years they spend in Fair Lawn schools.  The new high school graduation requirements are already demanding greater science and world language skills for every student.  The changes planned at the high school are designed to meet these greater demands while improving the overall learning environment.   7. What are your thoughts on the upcoming budget? The effects of the economic crisis on the State budget has had a direct impact on this year's proposed school budget.  The expectation was that State aid levels would not rise.  The reality is that State aid was frozen at last year's amount.  Not even the normal adjustments for increased enrollments or increased costs in State-mandated services were forthcoming.  Furthermore, no relief from was coming from other sources either.  Therefore, the Board and administration has built a proposed budget around contractual cost increases and maintaining current programs and services.  Very few initiatives are included, and most of these are paid for by cutting somewhere else in the budget.   By this process, the proposed budget is within the allowable cap and will be presented as a single ballot question.  The proposed budget is an extremely responsible one that provides all the basic educational and support services that are the hallmarks of Fair Lawn quality.   This budget deserves the full support of the community.   8. Anything else you would like to say? I have been a member of the Board of Education for nine years.  The current Board and Administration is the hardest working and most productive team that the Fair Lawn School District has had in many years.  While the past years have been productive and fulfilling, in some areas we have not been very progressive and have rested on our laurels.  I believe that new and exciting things are on the horizon in the Fair Lawn School District.  A very good school system is about to become a great one.