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With a new superintendent at the helm, and a desire by probably all stakeholders to make a fresh start, where do we go from here? There is much hope and anticipation being expressed in emails, phone calls and chance meetings around town. There is good reason for this excitement. So, how do we harness this energy? What are the priorities of Readington schools right now?

Previous articles on this website have covered many of the issues still facing us. Below is an executive summary of the hurdles that we must and that we surely can overcome.

1. Teacher and staff morale. Previously, weak managerial practice, heavy-handed administrative actions, and the juggernaut of politically connected cliques made for some unhappy employees who decided to leave the district for greener pastures. This problem will be relatively easy for our new management to solve with the application of a little common business sense and a lot of management by walking around. A simple change in leadership has already prevented further defections. However, a new challenge will be the integration of the tremendous amount of new hires into an already fractured district. We can do this.

As mentioned on this website before, if we want remarkable teachers who are capable of opening the door of the world to our Readington children and inviting them to the celebration of the active mind, we must also encourage and allow them to guide the individual learning in their own classrooms. We must decide if we want factory managers or real teachers, and, by extension, if we want unthinking production line workers or engaged students. Teachers and staff members encouraged to contribute their own thoughts and to act on their own expertise will also be loyal and happy employees. This can also be done.

2. Scripted learning. When teachers are considered to be technicians rather than professionals or intellectuals, and when students are thought to be classifiable by simple numbers rather than understood as a whole being, the result is a kind of scripted learning where both teachers and students fulfill their drab roles to arrive at a minimum standard. Scripted learning is the idea that teachers need to be given nearly daily curricular directives in order to stay on task, that students need extrinsic reward systems in order to participate in learning, and that administrators need “objective” testing data in order to truly evaluate students and programs. It suggests that teachers are unable or unwilling to create inspired and differentiated lessons on their own, that children are unable or unwilling to explore new horizons without a bribe, and that administrators cannot trust either party to accurately assess progress. These are not the earmarks of a great school district.

By raising the expectations of our teaching staff and giving them room to be original, we will avoid producing “Stepford teachers” and, in the process, create happier employees and engaged students. We can do this.

3. Student assessment. In 2004-2005 we spent over $60,000 with CTB/McGraw Hill alone to pay for standardized tests in addition to other tests already required by the state. In return, even many advocates admit that about all we got was an affirmation of what we already knew about our students. Critics of the testing, including this website, claim that the focus on standardized testing leads to unproductive classroom practice and a misleading horse-race of scores. It is feared an undue reliance on standardized testing by administrators leads to dumbed-down classrooms and formulaic teaching as teachers are held accountable to a simplistic score rather than a more sophisticated and complex understanding of the whole child. Put simply, are we trying to raise children so that they become happy, healthy adults with the tools to succeed, or are we trying to raise a "perfect” score?

The state required testing should be enough. Certainly the $60,000 plus could be spent on teaching materials or on a new bus instead. We can find the courage to step out of the numbers competition with other districts, and, instead, be a leader in graduating students ready to lead in the next phase of their lives.

4. Connecting with Stakeholders. It should not be difficult in a town such as Readington to connect with stakeholders of the district. With wealthy and well-educated parents eager to participate, a communications infrastructure that is readily available and knowledgeable district staff members ready to give their time, there is no reason that communication and public relations should be a chore. Yet in the past year or two, even in spite of specific advice given to the school board, it seemed as though the school leadership and the district stakeholders could only look at each other through a glass wall, the leadership unable to hear the shouting on the other side. This could hardly be accidental.

With a new superintendent who has said from the moment he was hired that he would like to start a dialog with stakeholders, this should be a glass wall that will melt away under the intense heat of human activity engaged in the rebuilding of our district. While we may not all find perfect harmony, there is no longer any reason that we cannot hear each other sing. We can do this.

5. Forward momentum. Some members of our school board have complained of negativity among stakeholders and media outlets just as those people condemn the shots fired at the messengers. Success builds upon success, and if we can start with some of the well-understood hurdles discussed above, a momentum of positive change will build naturally. All we need do now is move with purpose toward what we all know must be done. The appointment of this interim superintendent was a long hollow reed handed to a drowning man. As we catch our collective breath, we will find the strength to emerge from this dark water and reach the alien shore. There we will explore the new landscape, now a little wiser and now a little more certain of the stakes. We can do this.