A SHARED VISION FOR CHILDREN

While all four of us are committed to working for the improvement of the educational experience of all the children of Paterson, we would like to especially address the following important areas:

Increased school construction

  • The Facility Advisory Board, a coalition of partners active in the Paterson education community, created an action plan in 2005 – known as the Long Range Facility Plan – with clear recommendations on improvements to the school district’s educational facilities.
  • We support increased school construction as suggested by this plan in order to reach our goals of smaller class sizes, personalization strategies, student-focused supportive services, and career-oriented themes for high schools in our community.
  • We also support the creation of more “community schools,” which transform regular school buildings into community centers that are open for longer days as well as on the weekends to provide after school care, youth development, family support, health services, adult education and violence prevention, in addition to high-quality student learning and development.

Improved curriculum

  • The students of the City of Paterson need to be adequately prepared to face the challenges of increased global competition for jobs and funding for new ideas.
  • We support an improved curriculum with an increased emphasis on science, technology, engineering and math.

Accelerated return to local control

  • The State of New Jersey took over the Paterson Public Schools in 1991 due to poor student performance and has retained control of all decision-making authority for the past 18 years.
  • It is time for control of our schools to return to people who understand its challenges, are committed to its improvement and appreciate its potential the most – the parents, teachers, and residents of Paterson.

Emphasis on early childhood education

  • As part of the 1998 Abbott decision by the New Jersey Supreme Court, the state is financially responsible for the creation of high-quality preschool programs for all three and four year-old children residing in lower income districts.
  • These “Abbott” schools have been incredibly successful in leveling the playing field for students in urban districts like Paterson, and have been supported by the Obama Administration on the national level.
  • We applaud this program and look to improve the rate of Paterson children attending these schools from 70% to 100%.

Partnership on Hinchliffe Stadium

  • The Board of Education, as the owner of Hinchliffe Stadium, has a responsibility to ensure that the future refurbishment and redevelopment of the stadium benefits the children and youth of Paterson.
  • We are encouraged by the Mayor’s statements about his support for redevelopment of the stadium, and we look forward to working with him to develop a plan called “Hinchliffe for All,” that looks to benefit all residents of the city.
  • We call for the creation of a Paterson Sports and Entertainment Commission (made up of members of the Board of Education, the City Government, and community groups) to serve as the regulators of the facilities at the Stadium, ensuring that the space is adequately redeveloped, managed, and shared by the various city entities and investors.