On The Job Training: Participate In The System

All past wrongs will never be solved in one night.

Prioritize.

Take a deep breath.
Make a list.
Put that list in priority order.
What is most important to address right now?

Breathe....I am trying to take my own advice...

While shopping at Costco, I met a former Board Member. She had previously asked me to join her
"Adopt a Classroom" program. I told her that I was comforted by the idea that such programs existed and held her hand a bit longer than I had previously intended.

She advised me to change my tone. She said that everything I complained about was crucial to be corrected and that people are turned off by the tone. She added that she thought I was intelligent and had the good of my community foremost in mind as a  motivation when speaking at Board Meetings.

She said that the children would surely suffer if we were not heard, so we had to change for the good of the children. At the time, I was pissed that she thought she could tell me what to do or how to say anything  But, in the end...

I was a Theatre Major... I watched other members of the Community speak like crooning Jazz singers and they got what they wanted. I could do that. Basically ask for the same thing but in a tone that they consider benign.

Breathe and Prioritize.

A couple of weeks later the Superintendent recommended that this Board Member's program be abolished and the Board of Education voted to end the program. This was a free Volunteer Program with qualified members of the Community who helped children in the Elementary School classrooms.

It is hard to maintain that. Jazz who.........? 1, 2, 3, 4....Breathe....

Prioritize....!

Part of the frustration is dealing with being angry about too many wrongs at the same time.

Prioritize...

I am game to try this if you are.
Put that list in order.
Would you like to compare priorities?

Breathe...

Speak up about your priorities like the crooning Jazz Singer and we will see if that works.


...And how are the children...?

Former School Board Member Shirley Smith's Lawn Sign Party Fundraiser

Lawn Sign Party

Thursday, October 9, 2014

7:00 PM

374 Palisade Ave

Englewood, NJ

Checks should be made out to:
Friends of Betty, George and Kevin. 
Treasurer: Philip Beamer 
270 Rosemont Place 
Englewood, NJ 076310

Introducting Shirley Smith.....

She has been active in her Community for 57 years. For those of you who are not aware, there is a tireless woman living in Englewood's 4th Ward who has served the Public School District for over 50 years. She started her service as a Paraprofessional. She was a classroom aid at Quarles School. Shirley Smith spent 12 years on the Englewood School Board. She was appointed and also ran her own campaigns after the Board was changed into an elected Board or Type II School District by popular vote.

She was on the Board when the subject of Outsourcing came up. She witnessed the discussion of "window shopping". She watched from the audience as the Board Majority voted, with only George Garrison III abstaining. After she retired from the Board in 2012, she watched as the District abolished the positions of Secretary and Paraprofessional.

"Education is very important to me. The system is not doing what I expected it to. Our children are not getting what they should. We have a lot of work to do to make this district better and  we should not be making excuses about parent involvement. We need to just do whatever we have to to make sure all of the children get a good education." Shirley Smith

Left: School Board Candidate Kevin Lake
Right: Jack Silverman.
"You finally have a  candidate I can support,"
says Jack Silverman.

Smith decided to retire from the Board and work with members of the Community to bring about change in the Englewood Public School District. She is a member of the Recreation Advisory Board and the Traffic Advisory Committee for the City of Englewood, New Jersey. She supports the safe routes to school programs. She is actively involved in activities that will insure that children who have a long lonely walk to school are safe. She feels this is a safety issue and wants to protect children from traffic accidents and stranger danger.

"Even though I am off the School Board I am still actively involved with the children of Englewood." Shirley Smith

Shirley supported Carter, Feinstein and Pazant in last year's school Board Elections. She worked the campaign and was instrumental in the final push to get the word out into the Community. She was there in the final hours, the day before the Election in 2013.  

George Garrison III, Betty Griffin and Kevin Lake 
attend Celebration and Presentation of the 
Martin Luther King, Jr. 
Maquette to the Englewood Public Library

This year, Mrs. Shirley Smith supports candidates, Betty Griffin, George Garrison III and Kevin Lake in their campaign to become members of the Englewood School Board. She feels that these 3 Candidates are the ones who will be able to help put the board back on track. When asked about her service with George Garrison III, she says that Garrison III is a changed person. When he was involved with SEEK, he was new to Englewood. 

George Garrison III poses with
Jeanette Curtis and his
2 daughters.

Mrs. Smith invites you to a Fundraiser in her home to support the candidacy of Betty Griffin, George Garrison III and Kevin Lake. Meet and speak with the Candidates about any issues or concerns you have with the Englewood Public School District. They need to hear what you think the problems are. They need your input and they need your contributions.

Betty Griffin and Anthony Cureton, President
of the NAACP

Most of all, they need your votes. Please attend and give what you are able. I think a Lawn Sign costs less than twenty dollars.

Shirley C. Franklin, the first female mayor of Atlanta, Georgia spoke at Rutgers University’s Run Sister Run conference that encourages women to take an active part in politics. She says that Candidates should never refuse even 1 dollar from Residents, because if a community person gives you 5 dollars or even 1 dollar, that person is going to vote for you. I think she has something there. So please attend our Lawn Sign Party.

Bring your support..

Scott Reddin and George Garrison III

Recreation Advisory Board
http://cityofenglewood.org/content/1441/1760/1781.aspx

Traffic Advisory Committee
http://cityofenglewood.org/content/1441/1760/1784.aspx

Run, Sister Run!
http://www.pinterest.com/plumwalk2/run-sister-run-the-power-of-women-in-politics/

Shirley C. Franklin - 1st female Mayor of Atlanta
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shirley_Franklin



...And how are the children?

Join the Conversation: You are the Subject

FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER...

THE ENGLEWOOD SCHOOL BOARD ELECTION 

WILL BE PART OF 

A GENERAL 

NOVEMBER ELECTION.

VOTE NOVEMBER 4, 2014 FROM THE BOTTOM UP!

For the first time ever the Englewood School Board Elections will be held in November. November 4, 2014. Voters will be required to make many more choices, because the ballot will be filled with new choices. Make the choice to change your thinking and start at the bottom with the issues that affect you on a local level. All politics are local.
Senator - 
Congress -
County Executive -
Freeholder -
City Council - 
School Board - Start here - This is the BOTTOM LINE on having your say on November 4, 2014.

Line 1 Betty Griffin

Line 5 George Garrison III

Line 6 Kevin Lake

...And how are the children?

MacKay Park:What Does the Future Hold for Our Park?

The City Council recently voted to spend $18,000 

for a study to determine what will make MacKay Park better.

MacKay Park was designed by Donald MacKay. 

He gave it to the people of Englewood as a Christmas gift in 1906...

..."1906 Christmas gift to the City of  Englewood was a large tract of land in the Fourth Ward to be used as a Park. MacKay purchased this land from W.W. Phelps. This entrance includes the only remaining (of six) Phelps gatehouse. Later, more land was added to the Park. In his will MacKay bequeathed $10,000.00 for maintenance..." Images of  America: Englewood and Englewood Cliffs

The Park has undergone a lot of changes NOT in MacKay's plan.
More change is coming.
Decisions are going to be made.
Do you want to be part of the change?
This is a chance for you to have your say.
What do you think will make YOUR MacKay Park better?

What would make you and your family want to get more use out of our Park?

Here are some of my thoughts on the fly...What are yours?

• We must begin with a clean slate: No discussion of the Master Plan
• Let us have true dialog that is not directed by the Mayor or anyone else.
• Re-install the bridges
• Reassess the idea of locking off the Elmore Ave. gate
• Turn the gatehouse into a Museum of Englewood History making it an educational institution.
• Reattach the small Park Area on Elmore Avenue to the Park creating a sitting area for Elmore Avenue residents. Install an attractive footbridge into the Park. (Many people do not even know that this build-able lot is actually part of MacKay Park
• Replace the grills
• Repair bathroom facilities in Arena, pool area and picnic area
• Repair water fountains
• Redo the lighting design
• Make the Arena a year round facility that serves the entire community
• Allow more use of the park by Englewood residents
• Post signage as to when play by Englewood's children is not just allowed, but encouraged. (This is required anyway.)
• Post signage with positive messages
• Create a garden area
• Listen to the MacKay Park Legacy Committee with more serious ears. They cared about the Park before anyone else was paying attention.
• Movies in the Park
• Band shell with music in the Park

What are some of your ideas? No one will ever know what you want if you stay at home.

Come out the way you did for the first Master Plan Meeting. If we do not continue to have our say, our ideas will always be ignored.

...And how are the children?