A PLAN IS NOT A GOAL

The dictionary lists the definition of the word “goal” as “the object of a person’s ambition or effort; an aim or desired result.”

“Budget” is “the amount of money needed or available for a purpose.”

Let us focus on the first word for a moment. A school district defines the goals to set its ambition for the students and then decides to put in the required effort to achieve the desired result. 

The Berkeley Heights district administration shared three goals for the district in the last BOE meeting on 9/22.

The goals align with the strategic plan created for the 2020-2025 term. Parents and residents can find the district strategic plan here.

The goals shared in the 9/22 meeting are a series of actions the district intends to take, but no specific, measurable goals are attached to these actions. How will the district know if they have achieved something meaningful out of their efforts? How will the Board evaluate the Superintendent on her performance against the goals and take corrective action where required to keep moving our district towards the desired result?

And that is the thing with goals, if you don’t set them to be specific, measurable, and realistic, how will you know that you have achieved what you intended?

School districts around Berkeley Heights seem to be approaching the issue in a slightly different way. For example, New Providence appears to have a set of goals tied to a time horizon with a little more detail and something actionable. Summit publishes an end-of-year update on district goals to keep their community informed of the progress. Millburn defines board goals that are distinct from district goals that provide an insight into the priorities of the Board.

Berkeley Heights could take a leaf out of this book and publicly set some actionable goals that could positively and immediately impact the quality of education of our children.

The National Blue Ribbon Schools program recognized 297 schools in their 2022 National Blue Ribbon school list. New Jersey had nine schools in the list, with one from Union County from the neighboring Scotch Plains school district. Woodland elementary school in the neighboring Warren school district received recognition in 2017.

Could Berkeley Heights aspire to get this recognition for our schools and start creating and rolling out programs to that effect? Could our High School run a hackathon to find solutions to technical problems or find an algorithm to optimize bus routes? Would that be a more effective use of the $60 million budget that they manage?

I grew up in schools that routinely had debates and elocution competitions, science fairs and art contests. Such experiences allow children to share their creativity and interests outside regular classroom instruction.

Fifth graders in our elementary schools participate in the National Geographic GeoBee competition, which makes learning fun. Columbia Middle School runs a popular robotic program that draws interest from parents and students alike, and we need more of these programs across our schools. Our schools’ music and arts programs are well-loved and appreciated by students and parents. But our schools need resources and budgets to keep these programs running and create others that improve the quality of education.

What could it look like if the Berkeley Heights BOE decided to set its own goals?

It could be as elementary as “reduce or limit the legal spending to x% of the overall budget” and hold themselves accountable for it.

Imagine if we could provide the basic infrastructure that our classrooms require instead of the 900 K-5 students bringing four tennis balls each year to support their desk chairs. What if we did not consider the athletics fees as a revenue stream and instead found a way to balance the $60 million budget to use our tax dollars more prudently? 

In my mind, all these threads have a common theme – define specific, measurable, and realistic goals and then allocate the resources within our budget towards achieving them.

Our Board of Education needs fresh ideas, a different perspective and to dedicate our tax dollars to improve the quality of education and student experience.

I am willing and ready to bring my experience, perspective, and labor toward that purpose.