Name: Shannel Roberts
Town: Maplewood
Years living in district: 10
Children in district: 1
Occupation: Executive Assistant
Why do you want to be
on the school board?
“The secret of change is to focus all of your energy, not on
fighting the old, but on building the new.” Socrates
Community organizing is in my DNA and as far back as I can
remember I was always one who kept my neighbors informed on the various issues
of our two towns and encouraged involvement.
When it comes to our youth, “it takes a village” and experience is the
best teacher. Communication, Common
Sense, and Courage is what I will bring to the South Orange Maplewood Board of
Education. Like my SHERO, Marva Collins,
who died this year, her dismay with the low levels of learning she felt
students were experiencing led her to pioneer teaching methods that are still
used today. Her students were deemed
troubled, learning disabled, and socio-economically disadvantaged--labels that
have stigmatized black students in our district, and my Hilton
neighborhood. We need to make the
necessary changes in our education system that contradict our towns’ diversity.
Like Marva, I have a passion for student success, but in
order for students to succeed parents must feel empowered that they have a
voice in the process, and educators must be equipped with the necessary tools
(in a timely manner) to govern their job effectively.
What is your top priority for the district?
Communication is key as it will provide transparency and
build trust with our stakeholders. Board
members serve the community, not the other way around.
I would really like to re-examine our district budget line
by line and eliminate wasteful spending.
We need to re-evaluate the “Let’s Talk” program that has the potential
to cost our district $19K the first year and as much as $25K over the next
three to five years. Team SOMA believes that the culture and climate in our
district need to change before we even think about spending a lot of money on a
technology tool. I support Dr. Ramos’
quest to get “back to the basics” but instead of committing to what I believe
will be wasteful spending, let's work together to find basic, cost-effective
ways to change the culture of the school climate and boost staff morale. It is then that teachers and administrators
won’t mind picking up the phone and returning our calls and emails by the end
of the school day--not in 48 hours.
How would you cut
costs without cutting education?
I believe my previous answer provided a window that budget
is a priority for me. I and the rest of Team SOMA 2015 believe in the idea of
bringing in an independent outside auditor to examine the budget line by
line. But what I won’t do is vote for a
blank check or rubber stamp my approval for budgetary items in which I firmly
disagree. With almost 20 years experience in nonprofit business, I will apply
my entrepreneurial skills to get things done efficiently and effectively. Again, it would be my responsibility as a
board member to communicate so all stakeholders can understand and help with
the process.
Board members should not feel pressured to make major
budgetary decisions in one meeting. Just
like purchasing a new home or car--wait 24 hours before you commit. Which is why Team SOMA firmly supports two
meetings a month for more sound decision making.
What is your opinion
of Dr. John Ramos and did you support his hiring?
It is too early to know really. When the board hired Dr.
John Ramos, I was excited about the diversity.
My experiences with the past two superintendents were not good ones, and
the cultural disconnect was even greater.
I was disturbed about how the process for choosing the superintendent
was not as transparent as I would have liked.
I did get a chance to meet him at Columbia High School last
month, and I look forward to the education summit in November. As parents and stakeholders of the town, we
need to attend this summit. I believe it
will provide him with more opportunities to learn about our issues.
As a community, we are excited about the possibilities but
tired of pressing the restart button. We
want continuity without the lip service.
Our children are at risk and for many it is already too late.
How will you improve
district communications with residents and parents?
From a technology standpoint my running mate, Elissa
Malespina is the leading expert and Bammy Award winner, and could assist our
district in this area.
The culture shift is going to have to happen from the top
down. Dr. Ramos seems to be on the right
track by extending some face time, but not everyone has bought in. I’d like to see new initiatives communicated
in advance to the teaching professionals so that they have time to learn and
implement the materials effectively.
They should not be blindsided which leads to parent frustration because
of the teacher’s lack of knowledge. How
can we put the puzzle together if we don’t have all of the pieces? Again, it is the children who will continue to
suffer from the mismanagement of the district.
Should the board
increase to two meetings per month to avoid late actions?
ABSOLUTELY YES! As I stated two meetings can help address
communication and budget issues.
What would you do to
reduce the number of standardized tests for our students such as NJ ASK and
PARCC?
I opted my daughter out of the PARCC exam and will continue
to do so. She is much more intelligent
than a standardized test score, and I refuse to have her viewed narrowly;
especially because she is well-rounded from her involvement in the arts,
sports, and volunteerism.
I believe when students have access and are supported in an
environment that fosters excellence they will achieve—and then we all win!
How would you change
math placement in the upper grades?
I support the “Contract for Choice” policy that is one of
the many that is not followed. Parents
have complained time, and again that navigating the math program is confusing
and administrators can be unhelpful, but again it may be because it is unclear
to them too. The math program is one of
the most racially segregated programs in our district, and if we’re going to
make a dent in the achievement gap, we must make access for all students a
priority. We can begin by enforcing and
publicizing the policies that exist.
There have been many
complaints about team coaches being dismissed, how would you make sure fairness
is exercised in such hirings and firings?
As a parent, I am entrusting this district with not only
the educational development but with the safety of my child. We have had too
many instances lately of students being made to feel unsafe by adults in the
district. The damage done in some of these cases is irreversible, but I respect
the privacy of the families as they need time to heal. It is my job as a board member to engage the
administration, understand all sides, and take swift appropriate action. It is the board’s responsibility to create a
valid, enforceable policy that clearly dictates how incidents are investigated
and how the results of those investigations are shared.
People will tell you that I am a force
of nature, and I am passionate and dedicated to the success of our
children. Helen Keller said “Alone we
can do so little; together we can do so much.”
If elected, Marian Raab, Elissa Malespina and I will work hard with all
stakeholders to re-establish our district as the blue ribbon school district it
once was.
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