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The NJAPIE Board | Successful
Partnerships
Learning What Makes Successful Partnerships Successful! Educators, corporate and community representatives, and higher education personnel gained critical information needed to start, sustain, and enhance successful partnerships among diverse groups by attending the New Jersey Association of Partners in Education (NJAPIE) Fall Conference. Under the theme, "Partnerships and Education: A Successful Approach," the attendees were able to participate in a panel discussion, attend group sessions and gain insights from the keynote presentation. Several informative group sessions at the conference offered something for everyone. Topics included: "The Young Consumer," "Partnership with Infineum USA L.P.," "Medical Arts Internship Program," "Kids Teaching Kids About Unintentional Childhood Injury," and "Helping Everyone Read Outstanding." Dr. John J. Petillo, President and Chief Executive Officer, Newark Alliance, delivered the keynote presentation at the luncheon. He was able to share with the audience many of his insights from his vantage position of currently serving as the first President and Chief Executive Officer of the Newark Alliance. The Alliance is a nonprofit organization composed of representatives from public, private, and civic groups whose shared goal is to improve the educational opportunities and facilities in Newark. An additional feature of the conference was the ability to network between the public and private sectors. Sponsors of the NJAPIE Fall Conference were the New Jersey Business & Industry Association (NJBIA), PSE&G, and Verizon. The one-day conference was held at the Headquarters of the New Jersey Principals and Supervisors Association (NJPSA) in Monroe Township. NJAPIE Welcomes New Officers The NJAPIE membership recently elected a new slate of officers for a two-year term. They are: PRESIDENT Edithe Fulton - Ms. Fulton is the President of the New Jersey Education Association (NJEA). VICE PRESIDENT Diana Autin - Ms. Autin is the Executive Co-Director of the Statewide Parent Advocacy Network. SECRETARY Denise Hecht - Ms. Hecht is the Assistant Executive Director of the New Jersey Principals and Supervisors Association (NJPSA). TREASURER Libby Vinson - Ms. Vinson is Vice President of Education Issues and Grassroots Activities at the New Jersey Business & Industry Association. President's Message Yes, I'm partial, but I truly believe that when it come to priorities, they all take a back seat to successfully educating our nation's children. The vast majority of people tend to agree, whether in the context of ensuring the future health of our democracy -- and its critical dependence on well- informed, thoughtful voters -- or the obvious economic imperative of having a competent workforce. Of course, as someone to whom the arts have always been important, I also attach great value to the intrinsic benefits of education, including the opportunity it bestows on each generation to appreciate great literature, music, art, dance, and discourse. Whatever your reason for supporting the educational mission, it always comes back to the individual child, doesn't it? Ours is a dauntingly diverse nation, and New Jersey is as representative of that diversity as any of the 50 states. For almost two centuries, our public schools have been the "room at the inn" for children of all backgrounds and ability levels; the one place they could always go to have an ostensibly equal chance at the very best that American life has to offer. So much for the "high altitude" perspective. One of the reasons I'm so grateful for the opportunity to serve as NJAPIE's president this year is to encourage ways to bring public education policy and programs more into alignment with our lofty visions of what it can -- and should -- be. Our organization represents diverse viewpoints, but I think it's safe to say we all want to ensure the highest level of success on the part of New Jersey's students. Our annual awards recognize community partnerships that are making a difference in the lives of students, parents, and the educational community. As a lifelong supporter of public education, I make it my daily mission to try to strengthen public schools, from kindergarten through higher education. Opportunity is what motivates all of us, because it's central to the American experience. As so many millions of immigrants learned upon arriving here, the simple opportunity for a better life made the journey worthwhile, and public schools are the logical extension of the American dream, by giving every child the chance to succeed. But we all know it isn't easy to deliver on that opportunity. For decades, we ignored the obvious inequities in our public schools, drawn largely along lines of race and economic circumstance. But then came the Abbott v. Burke rulings, and New Jersey embarked upon an unprecedented effort to provide equal educational opportunity to all of its students, regardless of their ZIP code or family income. It's been a long, hard fight, with one Supreme Court decision after another charting the course. Unprecedented resources are finally flowing to all urban schools. Whole school reforms are in place, class sizes are getting smaller, literacy rates and test scores are on the rise, and 42,000 of an eligible 56,000 three- and four-year-olds in all 30 Abbott districts are now attending quality preschool programs. The deplorable, overcrowded, and unsafe environments that often characterize urban schools are also being transformed. At long last, six billion dollars in school construction funding is now flowing, and 92 Abbott construction projects are underway; 194 new schools are in the pipeline, and 286 are slated for renovation. Most importantly, Abbott parents are serving on school teams, working with teachers and staff to develop budgets, set priorities, and implement proven reforms to help their children. That's the living embodiment of educational partnership. Yes, there's still a lot of work to do. But we're doing it, and no other state can even compare. Small wonder that a 2002 New York Times editorial said Abbott v. Burke "may be the most significant education case since the Supreme Court's desegregation ruling nearly 50 years ago." In the end, we're all partners in the quest for educational excellence and opportunity. I don't intend to rest until every child in New Jersey has the same opportunity -- and the same experience -- of attending a great public school. I look forward to working with NJAPIE's members to achieve that goal, because there can be no higher priority for us as a state, or as a nation. The Recipients Are . . . New Jersey Association of Partners in Education (NJAPIE) and New Jersey Association of School Administrators (NJASA) are pleased to present the Exemplary Program Award recipients for 2003. They are Andover Regional School District, Egg Harbor Township Public Schools, Linden Public Schools, Mercer County Technical School District, Pennsville Township Public Schools, Roselle Borough Public Schools, Trenton Public Schools, and Washington Township Public Schools (Gloucester County). Andover Regional School District: H.E.R.O.
- Helping Everyone Read Outstandingly Egg Harbor Township Public Schools: Eagle
Academy Linden Public Schools: Partnership with Infineum
USA L.P. Mercer County Technical School District: The
New Jersey Capitol and Southern Councils of Carpenters Youth Transition-to-Work
Preapprenticeship Program Pennsville Township Public Schools: The Young
Consumer Roselle Borough Public Schools: Kids Teaching
Kids About Unintentional Childhood Injury Trenton Public Schools: Medical Arts Internship
Program To help young people to enter the workforce, those skills needed for success in a highly competitive society, and a look toward a future of self-sufficiency are provided along with a caring, proactive teach approach. Washington Township Public Schools (Gloucester County):
Use of Sign Language as an Early Literacy Strategy Currently, NJAPIE and NJASA are reviewing over 35 submittals to this annual statewide competition for the 2004 School-Community Partnership Programs.
NEW JERSEY ASSOCIATION OF PARTNERS
IN EDUCATION NJAPIE, a not-for-profit organization, represents many schools, businesses, community groups, educators, and individual volunteers who work together as partners to help students achieve educational excellence. The New Jersey Association of School Administrators (NJASA) provides management services to NJAPIE, which retains its own governing board, bylaws and policies.
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