Do you have loads of unanswered questions about your child's Schooling? 

Are you frustrated with the information that you are not getting from your Board of Education that you are reading about in the newspapers, on blogs and on Facebook?

Are you intimidated at school board meetings because you don't know what is going on?

Do you understand what it means when they say that the school district has gone paperless?

Do you understand why you need a computer in your home that is not inside your cell phone?

Did someone actually tell  you that you need a college degree or a big time job in private industry in order to be on the Board of Education?

Did you think that a RAC was a framework or stand in or on which to hold, hang, or display various articles: a trophyrack; a rack for baseball bats in the dugout; or a drying rack for laundry?

Did you think that the designation of DMHS as a FOCUS SCHOOL meant that they use a lot of camera equipment?

Do you understand that a REWARD SCHOOL is NOT one step away from a BLUE RIBBON? 

Do you know what it means when your child's teacher is not CERTIFIED? What does the phrase Highly Qualified mean to you?

Are you wondering what the heck that man is talking about when he refers to Math as a Second Language?

Did you think your friend from Ridgewood, Cresskill, Demarest, New Milford or Madison was joking when they said that your 3rd grader will be expected to take a Standardized test online in the near future that will decide what he/she will accomplish in life?

Were you confused when the NJ Commissioner of Education said that neighborhood schools will close if your child does not test well? Do you realize that online standardized tests are more than likely culturally biased against many children? Do you get that this means they must try harder than all of the others? Do you also understand that your child is expected to improve 15% and others are only expected to improve 1, 2 or 3 percent?

What do the words TENURE, SENIORITY, and PARAPROFESSIONAL mean to you?

What is INCLUSION? WHAT IS DIFFERENTIATION? Why should you care about the test scores of all the children and not just your own?

What is an IEP?
Did you understand what your Special Education Advocate meant when she said that you may fill out your own child's IEP? Did you know that the Child Study Team must consider and use the IEP that you created? Do you understand why some people feel that the Child Study Team in Englewood is being dismantled?

Did you know that 6A and 18A are not a secret code blocked from you?

Did you ever wonder why your child stopped liking school? Do you remember when it happened?

Did you know that your child may not be suspended from school because of an unpopular fashion statement?

Do you see Dignity in the schools? Does your child leave home looking in your face and come home looking at the ground?

Did you know that NCLB/ESEA  or THE ELEMENTARY SECONDARY EDUCATION ACT OF 1965 grew out of the Civil Rights Movement?

Do you have any idea what the TV Reporters are talking about when they speak of Governor Christie's or Chris Cerf's new funding formula? What do you think this has to do with you?

Did you know that ELEMENTARY SECONDARY EDUCATION ACT was labeled lyndon B. Johnson's war on poverty?
Did you know that it was voted into law on April 11, 1965 by an overwhelming majority because it had as the objective to provide a thorough and efficient education;
  • for children of poverty
  • for children who are homeless
  • for children who are neglected or abused
  • for children of immigrants and migrant workers
  • for children who are learning English
  • for children with disabilities?
Did you know that the ESEA/NCLB waiver awarded New Jersey and more than half the states in the union leaves it up to the states to change many of the elements of ESEA?   Many thousands of Men and women of all colors and religions marched, protested, fought and some even died in order to make certain that the playing field in public education and the job market was equal for everyone.

These are valid questions. It is time that you joined the conversation. We cannot do it without you. We are inviting you with open palms to talk with us about the changing events inside your child's school and what that means to you.

We have put together a group of people who are working to help spread the word about the many and varied changes in your child's school building. We want you to know how your child will be affected. We want to help you prepare. We want you to bring your questions, your ideas and a number 2 pencil.  We want to make you part of the conversation, because we care about you and your child's education.

The People's Town Hall Meeting on Education Issues & Solutions
February 23, 2013
11 am - 1 pm
Community Baptist Church
224 First Street
Englewood, New Jersey 07631