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7/23/2019 Paterson Schools Letter 2013
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From: Justin Escher Alpert <[email protected]>To: "[email protected]" <[email protected]>; "[email protected]"<[email protected]>; "[email protected]" <[email protected]>;"[email protected]" <[email protected]>; "[email protected]"<[email protected]>; "[email protected]" <[email protected]>;"[email protected]" <[email protected]>; "[email protected]"<[email protected]>; "[email protected]" <[email protected]>;"[email protected]" <[email protected]>; "[email protected]"<[email protected]>; "[email protected]" <[email protected]>;"[email protected]" <[email protected]>; "[email protected]"<[email protected]>; "[email protected]" <[email protected]>;"[email protected]" <[email protected]>; "[email protected]"<[email protected]>; "[email protected]" <[email protected]>;"[email protected]" <[email protected]>; "[email protected]"<[email protected]>; "[email protected]" <[email protected]>;"[email protected]" <[email protected]>; "[email protected]"<[email protected]>; "[email protected]" <[email protected]>;"[email protected]" <[email protected]>; "[email protected]"<[email protected]>; "[email protected]" <[email protected]>;"[email protected]" <[email protected]>; "[email protected]"
<[email protected]>; "[email protected]" <[email protected]>;"[email protected]" <[email protected]>; "[email protected]"<[email protected]>; "[email protected]" <[email protected]>;"[email protected]" <[email protected]>; "[email protected]"<[email protected]>; "[email protected]" <[email protected]>;"[email protected]" <[email protected]>; "[email protected]"<[email protected]>; "[email protected]" <[email protected]>;"[email protected]" <[email protected]>; "[email protected]"<[email protected]>Cc: "[email protected]" <[email protected]>; "[email protected]"<[email protected]>; "[email protected]"<[email protected]>; "[email protected]"<[email protected]>; "[email protected]" <[email protected]>;
"[email protected]" <[email protected]>; "[email protected]"<[email protected]>; "[email protected]" <[email protected]>;"[email protected]" <[email protected]>; "[email protected]"<[email protected]>; "[email protected]" <[email protected]>; "[email protected]"<[email protected]>; "[email protected]" <[email protected]>;"[email protected]" <[email protected]>; "[email protected]" <[email protected]>;"[email protected]" <[email protected]>; "[email protected]" [email protected]: Bob Ingle [email protected], Brad Draeger, DMcDonough, [email protected]: Thursday, March 14, 2013 12:14 PM Subject: Paterson and Governor Christie Fixing the Problems at the Public Schools Together
Dear Paterson Education Leaders:
What an incredible opportunity it must have been to have the Governor come to Paterson onTuesday. You may disagree with the Governor’s tactics in using Charter Schools to fix problems
in Paterson.... the Governor’s idea of Charter Schools may not have resonated with you... there
may have even been a certain simplicity to Mike Henry’s mantra of “Fix the Public Schools”(http://www.nj.com/politics/index.ssf/2013/03/christie_town_hall_paterson.html). But not one
person amongst you, after seeing the Governor , can doubt the sincerity of his desire to
actually fix the problems in Paterson. The Governor has opened a dialogue. It is now up toPaterson to step up to the plate with a response.
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It might help if you were to actually identify what your problems are. Out here in the rolling
green hills of the Garden State’s suburbia, our schools have problems too. But our public schoolsystems serve as the backbone of our communities. We come together and viscerally debate
ideas and challenge ourselves with both short-term and long-term strategic plans. Lisabeth
Minaya of East Side High School noted that she doesn’t have books in her classroom. That is anatrocious problem, but it is an inherently solvable problem. You can build all of the charterschools that you desire, but you still have to fix the problem. If Miss Minaya doesn’t have books
in her classroom, then we are all at fault . It is a burden which we can all shoulder. Everybody
in the entire State has a vested interest in Miss Minaya having books in her classroom. We canfind the money for that. The Governor’s personal relationships with the Wall Street bond
markets run deep. The amount that we can strategically invest in Paterson education and
infrastructure is limited only by the amount that the Governor can borrow in good faith based on
his good name for the endeavor. Everybody likes to be associated with excellence. But we haveto identify the core problems. Why are there no books in the classroom? How can we prevent
that from happening again?
Which brings us to another point… What exactly are Paterson's problems? We hear that you are
failing your students, but by what standards? By show of hands, which of your principals
believe that they are failing their students? Anyone?
Let’s get past the label of " failing " and move on to the meat of the matter. What are your
honest challenges? Can your neighboring suburban districts help you design solutions? We all
get by with a little help from our friends. Maybe we have confronted and overcome similar problems in the past. Maybe we could help propose creative solutions to meet Mr. Henry’s
simple request and actually fix the public schools. Maybe we could get Paterson excited about
its public schools. Your challenges may be very different than ours. What are they? How can
we help you quickly create a strategic plan? Maybe if we begin to take care of the immediate problems, Paterson could move up to meeting the standards that we set out here in the
suburbs. Maybe we can we even help you set new standards for the job requirements of 21st
Century where we out here in the suburbs we would laughingly have to actually catch up to youin Paterson. In April, you could invite the Governor back to Paterson. You could identify your
challenges to him and show the Governor your plans for actually fixing the problems that you
confront with the Governor's genuine support. It would be a fresh start and the beginning of a beautiful friendship. You would have the support of the legislators in your neighboring
communities because your neighboring communities will have helped you formulate the plan
and have skin in the game. With a solid home-grown strategic plan, now you would have
Governor Chris Christie, one of the strongest Governors in the nation, as your fiercestally. Maybe the Governor could even earn some respect and real support from your district
when he needs it in November. We are all on the same team. The Governor came to Paterson
because he was listening . Have something to say and say it from the heart.
This idea for Paterson is open-source and copyable and malleable. If Paterson can reach out to
Wayne and Fair Lawn for some help and guidance, perhaps Newark could reach out to
Livingston and Short Hills and perhaps Trenton could reach out to Princeton and Hopewell toeach brainstorm and come up with strategic plans together. If you were to put committees to
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work together over the next four weeks to actually identify problems and come up with plans
together, each of the urban districts can invite the Governor back to hear their organic plans.
Everybody wants to be associated with excellence. If people hear that they can be part of a
growing community in Paterson, investments will start to flow in. Housing construction will
start. Jobs will be created. If people feel like it is morning again in Paterson under GovernorChris Christie’s leadership… with more men and women going to work… with families buyingnew homes and investing with confidence in a future in Paterson… if under the leadership of
Governor Christie, Paterson is prouder and stronger and better for having solved its own
problems, with the temporary support of its neighbors and the State… we may all grow... andlearn. In the process, we will create new networks and new relationships. Maybe our PTAs
could meet once in a while and exchange ideas. Maybe our kids can even begin to play sports
against each other with the home teams throwing a pizza party at a local
establishment afterwords. You know, learn from each other by being around each other andexchanging ideas and growing together.
The Governor has taken a bold first step. He has reached out to Paterson with an idea. All ideasshould be subject to scrutiny. Poor ideas will crumble under examination. Good ideas will
resonate and excite people who are looking to be part of a creative solution. The Governor is a
man of great Faith. He knows instinctively that by reaching into a basket of a limited number of
fish and loaves of bread, that there will be enough for everybody. Money is not the issue.
Paterson needs to continue the discussion and welcome the Governor as an honest partner. Ask
for help from your neighboring school districts. We have our own problems to solve, but wemight be able to suggest some ideas for you as part of a strategic plan and offer help along the
way. Get a date on the calendar now... Invite the Governor back to Paterson in April and impress
him with your own plan to solve your own problems. The Governor will be the greatest ally
Paterson could ever have.
Warm regards,
Justin Escher Alpert
Livingston, New Jersey
