Regionalization: Superintendent Contract

By

-

March 3, 2023

The Plea

“ We are urging you, as our elected representatives, to please do your due diligence before making a decision to renew the Superintendent’s contract.”

That was the strongly worded plea from four mothers, parents of nine children in the Atlantic Highlands and Henry Hudson Regional school district outlining a number of concerns they have with Dr. Tara Beams, superintendent of the three schools in Highlands and Atlantic Highlands. Hired two years ago by all three schools in a shared services agreement, the superintendent is apparently requesting that her contract be renewed, this time for five years rather than the current three years.

The Terms

Under terms of her present contract, and in agreement with state law, the board of education MUST give the superintendent a full year’s notice if they do not plan to renew her contract. That means that prior to June 30 of this year, the three boards of education must decide whether they will give another contract to Dr. Beams beginning July 1, 2025.

The Response

However, in spite of the letter from these concerned parents being sent via e-mail to each of the 26 members of the three boards of education, Highlands included, not one single elected board member has even acknowledged receipt of the letter, let alone given any response to the parents.

The Meeting

These parents, and many others, plan on attending the March 21 meeting of the Atlantic Highlands board and most like the March 22 meeting of the Henry Hudson Regional board to express their concerns in person.

The Question

Their main question to board members? “What has happened to our school?”

Parents also presented a list of complaints and concerns to VeniVidiScripto today after their letter of Feb. 22 remains unrecognized or acknowledged. By any board member.

While the letter focused on the Atlantic Highlands elementary school, issues were raised about the 7-12 Henry Hudson school as well.

The Letter

In a two page detailed letter, four parents who signed the letter, mothers of children in the Atlantic Highlands school district, some attending Henry Hudson Regional School too, stated their credentials as concerned citizens. In addition to being parents, they said their nine children have had the experience of 50 different grades in the K-6 school, not including the preschool. All are members of the PTO, one is a former president, one an Education Foundation member, many are class parents “multiple times over.” They did not need to add, but their credentials showed they are active school volunteers.

However, they pointed out, first and foremost, they are “huge fans of this wonderful little elementary school and the teachers and students that inhabit its halls every September through June.”

And what has happened and is continuing to happen in their schools? That is absolutely terrifying them.

Not Alone

Nor are they alone. The four parents point out there are many other parents who feel as they do, some fearful of retaliation if they speak out, some for other reasons.

All seem to be in agreement the problems began when Dr. Tara Beams took office as administrator of the Henry Hudson tri-district.

The unanswered letter highlights a number of serious educational concerns, morale failure, and social and emotional problems which have developed in the past two years and which all parents strongly feel are not related to school changes because of Covid.

Rather, they said, “over the past two years we have watched educational programs, specialty teaching and staff disappear one by one.”

Regionalization

All the attention given to the regionalization of the schools that “already work together and share services” has taken the focus off “the only things that really matter, the kids and their education.”

Certainly Covid had an impact on the emotional and academic needs of the children, they explain. But the focus since than has not been on helping them recoup what they have lost.

School academics haven’t helped any youngsters, they explain….neither the one who needs extra help nor the “one who wants to be pushed further.”

A Story

The letter tell the sad story of a fourth grader, one of eight in the group who also had weekly tutoring sessions over the past few years. The youngster told her mom tutoring was her “favorite hour of the week” because it’s the only time she felt challenged academically.

Thirty-five hours a week in a classroom in the Atlantic Highlands Elementary School and the ONE hour of tutoring was the only hour that met her needs academically. That child no longer attends the tax supported public school, her parents put her into a private school where her academic challenges are met and she is learning.

That’s one of the questions asked in the unanswered letter “Why are we taking away programs that support our accelerated students? “

Obligation

Members of the school boards, in not acknowledging the letter of some very concerned residents, may argue they do not act individually, nor do they have the right to make promises to anyone. Everything is a board decision.

They are correct in all of those areas.

But school boards have an obligation to represent the concerns of the citizens, taxpayers and parents alike, and they are the ones who are right now considering whether to offer Dr. Beams another contract, be it for three or five years.

To do their jobs effectively they must listen to the parents whose children are being educated. They must listen to the teachers whose job it is to instruct these children. They must ask Dr. Beams herself some questions about why there is such a current uproar in what for many years has been a happy, peaceful union of upper management, teachers, parents and students.

And Board members must also realize that in addition to being elected to their positions, they are neighbors, friends, club members, church goers with the parents of the children they teach. They meet them in the grocery store or the local restaurant, perhaps share a cup of coffee with them some morning or a glass of wine with them at some social function. That will remain, whether they are on the board of not.

Common Courtesy

So wouldn’t it just be common courtesy to send back an e-mail to these very concerned parents and simply let them know you got their letter? Shouldn’t every board member be concerned enough about all the letters and comments they have received to call a special meeting to talk about it?

Shouldn’t the parents and all taxpayers feel secure their elected board members are really listening, really concerned, and not simply rubber stamping the administrator that comes to their meetings and submits her reports in a timely fashion? These are the people footing that $180,000-plus annual salary of a superintendent who is under so much discussion and seeking reappointment in a couple of months for a contract that does not end until July a year from now?

Maybe it’s time at least one member of any of the boards sends an e-mail to very frightened and concerned parents to at least let them know they got their letter, they will bring it up to the board, and will come back with some answers immediately after the meeting with the other elected officials.

Next: More concerns, more questions.

The Map

By

Muriel J. Smith

-

March 1, 2023

0

With the approval of the Land Use Board for a conditional cannabis license for The Honorable Plant it is now up to the state to decide whether the application for a retail store at 123 Bay Avenue should be approved from conditional to annual. Despite any map that may indicate a prohibition for the facility

While action by the State Cannabis Commission was not on the agenda for this week’s meeting, it does appear the borough would need to adopt an amendment to its Drug Free Zone ordinance in order for the state to consider approval.

Edward McKenna, Jr., attorney for the applicant, however, he is confident everything has been done correctly and there is no further action needed before the Commission acts on his client’s application for a license.

The borough adopted its Drug Free Zone Ordinance, 89-26, together with a map delineating the zones in the borough in April 1998 and confirmed it has not been amended since. The ordinance was neither brought up nor referenced by the Land Use Board during the hearing on the Honorable Plant hearing.

However, in the 22 page Land Use Resolution adopted by the Land Use Board unanimously Feb. 9, with no abstaining or negative votes, there is no mention of parks, approved map or the ordinance, although there are references to no school being within 1, 000 feet of the applied-for premises, a requirement of state cannabis regulations .

Time was spent on identifying the meaning of the work “school” after a resident brought up Sunday School classes that are held in the church adjacent to the building under discussion. It was determined the only buildings in the borough that met the definition are the Highlands Elementary and Henry Hudson Schools. While the Our Lady of Perpetual School is also in the borough and could be within 1,000 feet of the planned premises, the school has been closed for several years and is only used for other church activities including religious classes. The board determined both public schools are out of the 1,000 foot restriction on any drug activity from schools and did not address the former OLPH school at all.

Yet the borough ordinance not cited nor mentioned at the Land Use meeting, clearly also prohibits drugs from within 500 feet of public buildings and parks. It also identifies the church property has having a school.

The Schoor DePalma map referenced in the 1998 ordinance identifies the former basketball court on Miller St. as a park or public building.

There is speculation whether the attorneys involved in the application actually were either aware of or paid any attention to, the 1998 borough ordinance on drug free zones. Same goes for the map drawn by Schoor DePalma that was designed to identify them. It is clear the Land Use Committee neither referred to the map nor made any reference to any parks in making their decision. In fact, there is no mention of any park, public, private or anticipated or planned throughout the resolution.

The corner park at Cornwall St. designed and maintained by the Highlands Garden Club is within 500 feet of the 123 Bay Avenue property, a former pizza restaurant and in earlier years, the Food Basket grocery store. The unnamed park at the juncture of Bay avenue and Miller st, which until recently included park benches for passive use is not identified on the map. Nor are the Frank Hall Park nor several other parks out lined on the 1998 map, yet all fit the definition of publicly owned parks. The borough is planning an improved Skate Park as well. That will be built on Bay Avenue at Snug Harbor, with construction expected to start this spring. The park is funded primarily through grants and interest free loans from Monmouth County Open Space and New Jersey state Green Acres funding.

It appears the elementary school property appears to be 67 feet more than the 1,000 feet required for distance from the proposed cannabis facility, a distance close enough one would expect a survey is included to ensure accuracy. McKenna is confident his client’s planners and other professionals have reviewed the distances and are certain the elementary school property is more than 1,000 feet from the Bay Avenue address. The Land Use Board did not question that assurance from the applicant’s professional team. Nor did they require certification from a licensed surveyor.

The map does not specifically identify the varying patterns Schoor DePalma used to define the varying properties considered drug free zones on their map.

The borough Land Use Board is also considering the application of Sea Grass, NJ with Nicholas Frangipane of Red Bank, the principal at its March 9 meeting. The matter was scheduled for the last meeting, however, continued until the March meeting because of time constraints. That application is for property at Bay and Seadrift avenues currently owned by Councilman Leo Cervantes

Cannabis Park

By

Muriel J. Smith

-

March 1, 2023

0

Is Cannabis a Drug? Is it a drug when used or sold within 500 feet of a Park? There is so much to wonder about with the unanimous approval of The Honorable Plant at 123 Bay Avenue by the Land Use Board last month.

There is no doubt Ed McKenna is an intelligent, honest, dedicated attorney who does an extensive amount of research and takes a deep interest and concern for every client he has. A hard worker, Mr. McKenna has built a reputation over decades of decency and good lawyering. So there does not appear to be any fault or omission there.

Mrs. Stavola, the applicant for the retail business, has also long since proven her excellence, dedication to thoroughness and vast experience in the cannabis business not only in New Jersey but in at least 11 other states across the nation. She is highly successful, highly dedicated to doing a job right. It would also be certain that the professionals this businesswoman hires to make her presentations have long since proven their excellence in their respective fields. Or they would not be hired by her. So there does not appear to be any fault or omission there.

Members of the Land Use Board are dedicated volunteers, who I believe are devoted and intent on doing what they believe in the right thing for every application that comes before them. They listen well to the experts and the questioners, they ask their own questions of all the experts, and they make their decisions based on the law and what’s good for Highlands. So there does not appear to be any fault or omission there.

So why is it that nobody, nobody on the Land Use Board, seemed to know that this borough that they represent, that they make decisions for, that they volunteer their time to help plan and design for the future, did not even know the borough has a drug free Zone ordinance (Ord. O-89-26) that has not been updated since it was first adopted a quarter of a century ago?

Surely if any member of the board knew about the Drug Free Zone map they would have at least asked one question about a park. Any park. The law establishes a DRUG FREE ZONE within 500 feet of a public park. Yet in all 22 pages of the approved resolution, the word PARK is not even included. Yes, there is the word PARKING, but that simply refers to spaces to put cars, not recreational, sports, or children’s activities. No member of the Land Use Board even asked if there is a park within 500 feet of 123 Bay Avenue.

Sure, a quarter century year old map portrays things differently from how they are today. But the borough has never updated that map. Nor the ordinance. I’m sure they never dream of a cannabis shop. So if the ordinance is still in effect, and it is, and there have been no updates to it, and there have not, then the Land Use Board cannot have it two ways.

Anybody who has been in Highlands a quarter of a century can remember the basketball courts on Miller St. where the fire house is now. Is that considered a park? It is listed as such on the map that is part of the ordinance in town. But nobody asked about parks of any kind.

That park maintained by the Garden Club on the corner of Cornwall St. Is that a public park? Is it on property owned by the borough? Was it there 25 years ago but it is there now? But nobody from the Land Use Board even asked about that, visible as it is within 500 feet of 123 Bay Avenue.

Remember where the old Borough Hall was on Bay Avenue? That is now a parking lot; but it is listed on that 25 year old map as a public building. Yet no one on the Land Use Board even asked anything about parks.

Cannabis is a brand new business and undergoing excruciating inspection which is a good thing for any business. Proponents of starting up a business go to extensive ends in investigations, money spent, and experts sought to ensure everything is done correctly. It would be a tragedy if individuals or businesses, or volunteers spent incredible amounts of time, talent and money to get approvals only to have it shot down by a little error….or the lack of knowledge on anyone’s part there is an ordinance in place that could well impact a business anyplace in the borough. Yet it was not even mentioned in a Land Use Board meeting for one of the biggest businesses that hopes to open in this town in many years.

Should somebody in local government be interested enough in all these questions to at least investigate whether any of these points bear further consideration and explanation?

Team

By

Muriel J. Smith

-

March 1, 2023

0

Got a note from former Mayor Dick Stryker about the Atlantic Highlands High School Basketball team of 1943 where all five key players shortly thereafter went to war and served all over the world.

Dick remembers when he attended those games with his dad. It also reminded him of the terrific 1948 State Champion Team he described as a great team made up of Atlantic and Highlands students who just played well together without even knowing what a regional school was. That team, and he was on it, took the school to another great season, and an upset win over the Sayreville Bombers in the annual classic, with a 48-39 victory that got them to the semi finals.

That team had some more pretty terrific members many remember today or know the next generation or two down….names like Phil Loori, Georger Hendricks, Donald Rockley, Eugene Murphy, Richard Shopharst, Ronald Carhart, Ken Hyneman and the two Mills boys. Along with one of the Monahans.

In that Bomber-Tiger clash, it was Hendricks who began the upset victory in the second period when, as the sports reporter said then, “he threw his pivot shots with his usual deadly accuracy. Then Monahan put the Tigers in the lead with a three pointer, followed by another two points by Loori. “Hendricks kept pouring them on,” the reporter said, and at the one minute mark at the game, the Tigers took the led with a one pointer that made the score 38-37. Then he scored again, making it 40-37. Then Monahan came back with another two points, the Bombers scored once, and Loori iced it for the Tigers and a final score of 43-39.

The Mills brothers, went on to college and became school principals. Spencer Keyes, another great name in all sports at Atlantic, also went on to college and became a superintendent in New York. All the team members, Stryker remembers, were justifiably proud of their accomplishments as a team, without equity or equality being a problem. The town turned out with a parade and a victory dinner at the Log Cabin Inn. Some memories……….

Guinness Run

By

Muriel J. Smith

-

February 28, 2023

0

The Highlands Business Partnership will hosting the 10th Annual Guinness Run Saturday, March 4, as a fund raiser for the annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade.

The race will begin at Off the Hook, 1 Navesink Ave, where contestants will fill their cup and race to South Peak St. and back to the finish line at Off the Hook.

The runner with the most liquid in the cup at the end of the race will win the Guinness Run!

All contestants’ cups will be weighed at the beginning and end of the race. The winner will receive the Guinness Run Trophy and $100.00 in Bid Cards. Second place will be awarded $50.00 in Bid Cards.

There is a $40.00 registration fee to participate in the race. Included is a commemorative t-shirt, and a Guinness pint glass for the first 100 registrants. Additionally, all registrants gain access to the post-Race party at Off the Hook. Registered runners will enjoy Guinness and a variety of delicious food provided by Off the Hook.

Runners can register at Off the Hook beginning at noon Saturday. Runner’s must be 21 and provide ID.

All proceeds benefit the 19th Annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade to be held on March 18 at 2PM.

Proud supporters of the 10th Annual Guinness Run include NJ Division of Travel & Tourism, Bahrs Landing, In the Garden, Montecalvo/Bayshore Family of Companies, Off the Hook, Proving Ground, Solar Me, Brian & Joelle Kelly Family Foundation, CME Associates, Karin Busichio, Berkshire Hathaway Rumson Realtor, and Ritchie & Page Distributors.

For more information and to register online please visit the Highlands Guinness Run or call 732-291-4713.

Garbage Cans

By

Muriel J. Smith

-

February 28, 2023

0

Don’t know if there was garbage can collection in Highlands on President’s Day Monday Feb. 20 when all borough offices and many businesses and offices were closed for the legal holiday.

But at 3 p.m. in the afternoon, the only garbage cans lining any sidewalk on Seadrift Ave in Highlands were those belonging to Councilman Leo Cervantes business, Chilango’s, or his house adjacent to it. The empty garbage cans on the sidewalk are a nuisance, but the appearance of the yard, the broken pieces of wood and the broken gate are certainly not what one would expect of a proud home or business owner, let alone an elected official.

I also wonder about the lengthy video of the Councilman chatting with someone and explaining how and why he was approached by strangers to buy his property for location of a cannabis business if the application was approved by the Land Use Board and selected by the State Cannabis Commission for the one cannabis business that would be allowed in town. I have not been able to contact the councilman for comment, and understand he is currently out of the country visiting family. The video has since been removed from the site but it is still available to view Here.

Audubon

By

Muriel J. Smith

-

February 27, 2023

0

Audubon, a small town in Camden County, New Jersey. It could well claim the title of the most patriotic town in all of the United States.

It can certainly claim the title of the only town in the United States of America that can lay claim to having a connection to not only one, but THREE recipients of the Medal of Honor, the highest award bestowed upon a member of the military.

The three heroes are men who served in three different wars, and were from two different branches of the service. Two received their Medals for heroic actions during the Korean War, and one for his service during World War I. One served in both World War II and the Korean War.

Edward Clyde Benfold was in the Navy and was killed in action in Korea in 1952. He was 21 years old.

Nelson V. Brittin was born in 1920 and served in World War II until its end. He re-enlisted a couple of years later and was killed in Korea in 1951. He was 31 years old.

Samuel M. Sampler was born in 1895 and served in World War I and survived the war to receive the Medal himself. He was 79 years old when he died.

While all did not live there all their lives, all had strong connections to Audubon and are remembered on a plaque at Audubon High School. They are also remembered in various other ways not only in Camden County but each individually in the towns and states in which he also have connections.

What is more amazing is that these three men come from a town of one and a half square miles in size, with a population according to the United States census of 2020 with 8707 residents. The town itself is named after ornithologist James Audubon and was incorporated in 1905.

Audubon is a middle class town, with the median age today of 38 years at the time of the census, and the largest percentage of residents between the ages of 25 and 44 years.

Its school system, in addition to the high school that honors its Medal of Honor recipients, includes the Haviland Avenue School in grades PreK -2, and the Mansion Avenue School for grades 3 to 6. The high School has approximately 800 students in grades 7 through 12. The school population includes children from Audubon Park, a neighboring community that was separated from Audubon when the town incorporated.

Audubon was initially settled in the late 17^th century. Founded primarily by farmers and millers and was part of Newton Township. Two of the original houses built in the early 1700s are still standing. One with an addition built in the mid-1800s. A later owner, the wife of Samuel Nicholson Rhodes, a naturalist and author, gave the town its name.

The town boasts of a number of famous people from the 20^th century in addition to its three Medal recipients.

In sports, it was home to Joe Flacco, an NFL quarterback for the NY Jets. Brett Laxton, a former MLB pitcher who played two seasons for the Oakland Athletics and the Kansas City Royals. Football coach Vic Obeck, and Anne McConaghie Volp, a field hockey player and coach. She was also a member of the US women’s national field hockey team for 14 years, five of which she served as team captain.

It also boasts of William Siri, a co-leader of the first American expedition to successfully climb Mount Everest. He also served as President of the Sierra Club for two years in the 1960s.

Other well known names, in the arts and letters are Mario Cernito, a filmmaker, writer and producer of horror and thriller flicks. Edward Longacre a historian and writer, and Merl Reagle, a nationally syndicated crossword puzzle constructor.

The borough has only bred one state politician, John L. White, who served in both the NJ General Senate and the General Assembly.

But none can claim the admiration and thanks of a grateful nation like Edward Clyde Benfold, Nelson V. Brittin and Samuel M. Sampler

Regionalization: Henry Hudson Tri-District

By

Muriel J. Smith

-

February 27, 2023

3

The Parents

Less time spent on math and science class hours, and less access to resources that can aid youngsters in their studies seem to be a few of the major complaints which concern parents of children in the Henry Hudson Tri-District.

But now it appears if these parents are truly concerned about their children’s education, and teachers are truly frustrated and going into their classrooms with less esteem and even lower morale, then the educators and parents appear to have a lot more to worry about now.

The Boards

The boards of education have already proven they do not take action or give any sign they even look into legitimate complaints of a single parent. One BOE Member has gone on to say that by Beams paying taxes in Oceanport, she has no conflict in the Regionalization question. No referral to the full board, investigation, or public comment. So it would seem the parents, as well as disgruntled and unhappy faculty members, have to rise up in force and show a united front in demanding that their complaints be at least heard and investigated before further action is taken renewing, extending, or adding more years to a new contract with Superintendent Dr. Tara Beams, who heads up the Henry Hudson Tri-District.

Venividiscripto is devoting considerable space to this matter because of the lack of Board concern and the frustrations of teachers, employees and parents alike. Many have contacted me, and identified themselves with the assurance Venividiscripto will not reveal their names. They are all saying Dr. Beams as superintendent of the Tri-District, is a far cry from the years before she took on the leadership two years ago. And it by no means has been a change for the better.

STEAM vs. STEM

Parents liked the longer math classes, as well as all the attention made to science education. Both have been shortened, they say, since Dr. Beams took control of the curriculum and STEAM became the accent.

STEAM, which stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics, has replaced STEM, the program in place under the prior superintendent. STEAM seems to be a great program with some benefits, parents say. However, including the “A” part, ARTS, has resulted in a reduction in emphasis and attention on the STE and M classes.

STEAM is an emerging field of theory, research, and practice incorporating Arts in the curriculum in math, science and technology, and has friends and enemies of the new program on both sides of the educational world.

Many educators praise it, seeing it as a real approach in engaging children as an inclusive and authentic approach to engage children in the science, technology and math sections of education. They believe STEAM offers significant promise through its focus on multiple ways of knowing new pathways to learning.

Others say it is ambiguous or potentially problematic. They said there are no clear-cut guidelines for educators to follow, many elementary teachers are not qualified to teach math or science and it requires no teacher certification. Nor are there are any national standards set.

Parents in Highlands and Atlantic Highlands seem to be struggling over that change, and teachers seem to be less enthusiastic about teaching in the local schools because of it, which includes their own inexperience in teaching some classes for which they do not feel prepared as adequately as they would like.

Regionalization

At the same time, Dr. Beams is devoting considerable time and energy to the regionalization question on whether Sea Bright, Highlands and Atlantic Highlands should become one PreK-12 school district. That matter will now be before the governing bodies of Atlantic Highlands and Highlands who are finally meeting with a mediator at the end of March to determine the costs, savings, and sharing of both so, the matter can hopefully be brought before the voters in November.

At the same time, the boards of education remain silent on regionalization, turning to Dr. Beams for answers, and telling a parent who has complaints against the superintendent’s actions … to take them up with the superintendent.

Parents have gotten no response from their boards of education, and teachers are fearful of making their complaints about their situation knows for fear of retaliation.

The Contract

Many are voicing their angst now that the Superintendent responsible for the unrest and unhappiness Tri-District is near the end of the second year of her three year contract.

Under that contract, and unbelievably, also under state law, if the boards of education do not plan to continue Dr.Tara Beams at the termination of the current contract, which, they say, ends June 30, 2024, they MUST notify her ONE FULL YEAR in advance! That means if the boards chooses not to continue Dr. Beams beginning with the 2024-2025 school year, they must let her know that no later than June 30 of this year, 2023.

One can only wonder how a person who knows she’s going to lose her $180,000-plus job in 12 months will spend those 12 months. It is difficult to believe she would spend her time in improving the school program. Even more difficult to imagine is that she would go above and beyond her contract simply to make life a bit better for the boards of education, the teachers, or the students.

IF rumors can be believed at all, the situation is even more dire. Not only does Dr. Beams want to continue, the school gossip mills are pumping…but she is soliciting for a five year contract, rather than another three years!

One can understand why any superintendent would love a five year contract in the Henry Hudson Tri-District. After all, the students are great, many of the teachers have been here for many years, indicating they are pleased with their profession here. The students are great, the surroundings beautiful, the morning view from the Henry Hudson grounds is a sensational way to start any day.

The Attrition

But there are those 33 persons who have either retired or resigned in the two years since Dr. Beams has been at the helm. Thirty-four, by the latest count, and that represents more than 20 percent of the entire staff. If one of every five persons is seeking out, either for a job someplace else or an early retirement, does it sound like happiness is abounding?

The Boards of Education have a difficult task ahead of them. They have to decide whether Dr. Beams is truly doing a magnificent job, is really so advanced above other superintendent hopefuls that her contract should be renewed, or whether the teachers and parents who say otherwise are correct. To come to this decision, I would hope board members talk to parents, even answer letters written to them, ask educators for exit interviews, and talk with teachers still on staff. Might also be nice if they could ask teachers who have left their reasons for it.

Time on her Hands

Dr. Beams has been spending a lot of time, and apparently an intense amount of energy and study on the question of regionalization, which just happens to coincide with her contract action date. Has all this time taken away from maintaining the excellence of the education program? If she has so much time to spend on the regionalization issue, an issue that should be up to the voters to decide, what has she done with all that time before it started? Or has she been researching the negative aspects of a three town regionalization since she first came aboard? And if that is so, how will she spend all that time in the future, once the question is settled.

It would seem to me the taxpayers have had a lot to say about their frustrations over the delays and changes in the regionalization plans. The boards of Education have remained silent, leaving Dr. Beams to be the spokesperson not only on the educational aspects, where indeed she should have say, but in the financial side of it, which is no part of either an educator’s nor a school board’s primary function. The school boards are in it for the education of our children, it is the municipal leadership who have to decide whether the taxpayers can afford the high cost of education and how best to provide the best at the most economic means.

One of Many

One letter sent to the entire Atlantic Highlands Board of Education and the leadership of the other two boards, told the elected board members that a person in a leadership position should have “ one of their biggest responsibilities to look at their staff and push them to do their best by utilizing their strengths and to create an environment of empathy and support for that to be done.”

The writer, a parent, continued “ Dr. Beams has not done this”. She said “ It’s easy to write off the teachers and administrators who have left as just people unhappy with change, or who don’t want to adapt to a more demanding environment.”

It might be easy, but at what concern? She asked the board members “ In doing that, you are dismissing valid concerns and you are not looking clearly at the whole situation.”

The parent explained that teachers and staff are unhappy as a whole. She explained “we are a very close knit community… we value time and energy teachers put into teaching and nurturing our children” and even said the staff goes “above and beyond.”

An Environment of Stress

And that’s what’s most troubling, she continued. “When someone comes in and creates an environment of stress, makes changes for the sake of change and sets unrealistic goals but doesn’t take responsibility for the implications of their decisions- it affects our community.” She urged the board to “just examine the changes that Dr. Beams has made in the district… address how any of these are positive for our schools.” Then she expressed the worry and concern of parents in Atlantic Highlands and Highlands about whether Henry Hudson is a good choice for high school for their child.“ She concluded the increase in turnover at Henry Hudson and the changes in education at the elementary school levels “are making parents feel that Henry Hudson is less desirable to attend now that Dr. Beams is superintendent.”

Her letter to the elected board officials ended with the pleas to look at “why Dr Beam’s contract was not renewed in Edison and why there is a strong feeling of so many residents that she should not continue to be the superintendent.”

And it was that letter that the Atlantic Highlands Board of Education failed to give any hope or comfort to the parent. The board advised the writer to take it up with Superintendent.

Want to voice your concerns?

The next meeting of the Highlands Board of Education is March 20
Followed by the next meeting of the Atlantic Highlands Board of Education is March 21
Finally, the next meeting of the Henry Hudson Board of Education is March 22

Friends

By

Muriel J. Smith

-

February 26, 2023

0

I have many friends, and I am so appreciative of that. The fact that I learn from each one of them is something else I truly appreciate. I do not see these friends as often as I would like, and therefore lose chances to not only enjoy that friendship on a personal basis but also to learn from it.

But now I have a new friend to add to my cherished list.. I’ll call her Cathy, and we came together under unusual circumstances. We met at a tragedy which transformed her life in many ways; I happened to be present for it and was able to offer some solace and help.

That was the basis for friendship, but it did not accelerate quickly. We still had to get to know each other better; we each had to accept each other’s erratic ways.

But we also learned we share a lot, both in happy events, and in tragedies; we found we could talk about things and come up with different ideas; we found we could differ on how solutions should be found. But through it all, we found we enjoyed evening chats a few nights a week when we could enjoy a glass of wine perhaps share it with someone else in the house, but think, with much laughter and happiness, we have solved the problems of the world. We did admit, however, that while we solved all the problems, we could not find anyone ready to listen to and follow our solutions. But we keep on trying.

My friend Cathy is Japanese by birth. Older than me by a few years, and lived in her native country during the War when we bombed her nation. She came to the United States a year after that terrible war ended. She settled in New York. Eventually married and had children. Moved to Jersey City, got divorced, and commuted to New York daily to pursue her career as a dress designer for one of the fashion houses. All while raising her two children with love and discipline.

So in one of our early talks I asked Cathy how she could move to the United States, to a country on which her country had waged war, to a country that dropped the bomb that wiped out so many of her people and changed their lives together.

Cathy, a nonagenarian, sat back, thought a minute with that bit of a smile I learned to recognize as a sign she is thinking deeply and reliving decades of memories. Cathy likes me asking her questions. She likes to think before she answers, and she has memories that flash in front of her before she responds. I have learned not to be surprised by her wisdom.

“Why did I come to the United States?” you ask? Calmly, she explains, “ Why not? You won the war and I wanted to continue my trade as a designer. This is where the opportunity was.”

But how could you come to a country that had killed your people? Whose people your country had killed, two nations who could not belong?

Cathy looked me in the eye, thought for a minute and said, “The people I worked with in New York? The people I meet in the street? They did not do anything to me. They should not carry any guilt . I do not carry any guilt. They did not do anything. And I did not do anything to them. Why cannot we just be friends, I wondered.

And that is how peace is accomplished.

Basketball to Battlefields

By

Muriel J. Smith

-

February 25, 2023

0

It was 80 years ago next week when the last two of the award winning Atlantic Highlands High School basketball team joined the other three members of the team on the battlefields during World War II.

George Janus and Abe Pleasant left the Atlantic Highlands Draft Board on March 2, 1943 for training and destinations unknown as soldiers.

Already serving on the battlefields were Bob “Spicket” Morse, then a Petty Officer Second Class serving with the Navy someplace in the Pacific; Army Tech Sgt.Lou Papa, who had already been serving a year somewhere in England, and Jim Posten, brother of another acclaimed Posten, Capt. John Herbert Posten, a veteran flyer. Jim was serving in the African campaign.

The five were the heroes of the 1937-38 basketball season when they went brought great honors to their high school by scoring an undefeated season in the Shore Conference, then going on to win the Central Jersey Championships. That made them finalists in the Group 2 Championship in Princeton and heroes in their home town..

The five had played basketball under the highly respected and successful Arnold Truex, who lived on Grand Avenue and at the time of this team’s departures in the military was then with the Leonardo Lions.

In announcing that all five basketball stars were now in active duty in various battlefields overseas, the Atlantic Highlands Journal said they were “looking to secure the same success in the ‘big contest’ that they did on the courts.

Veni Vidi Scripto

Veni Vidi Scripto

Veni Vidi Scripto

Veni Vidi Scripto

The Plea

The Terms

The Response

The Meeting

The Question

The Letter

Not Alone

Regionalization

A Story

Obligation

Common Courtesy

The Parents

The Boards

STEAM vs. STEM

Regionalization

The Contract

The Attrition

Time on her Hands

One of Many

An Environment of Stress

Veni Vidi Scripto

About us

Company

The latest

Popular