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Coalition for Better Schools

Three years ago, Christian Estevez and Martin Cox ran together for the Plainfield Board of Education because they shared the belief that our schools needed major improvement and they also shared a common vision on how to improve them. While there is still much more work to do, significant progress has been made. Some of the major improvements include:

• Improved Our Schools by converting our elementary schools from Kindergarten to Fifth Grade to K-6 and K-8 Centers. Also created the Plainfield Academy for the Arts and Advanced Studies (7th-12th Grade).

• Established Mandatory School Uniform Policy in all of our schools from Kindergarten to Grade Twelve.

• Increased Family and Community Involvement through town hall meetings, increased support to school-based Parent Teacher Organizations, and bilingual written and phone communications.

• Improved Safety and Security—Our high school was taken off of the state’s list of Persistently Dangerous Schools.

Estevez and Cox have joined with Mary Burgwinkle and Carmencita Pile to form the Coalition for Better Schools because we all share a positive vision of the future for Plainfield’s Public Schools. The Coalition for Better Schools will work together to:

• Focus on the Improvement of our High Schools: We will focus the Board’s attention on developing strategies to improve the learning environments of our high schools. We will ensure that opportunities for rigorous academic experiences are available to all of our students.

• Develop a Comprehensive District Wide Curriculum: We will put our school district on a 5 year cycle for continuous curriculum review. Each year the Board of Education will focus on a different subject area (i.e. math, reading, science, social studies). This approach is practiced by many other school districts throughout New Jersey. It is time for Plainfield to adopt this best practice.

• Develop creative solutions to problems posed by the state’s drastic budget cuts: We will direct the administration to seek out operating efficiencies that do not have a negative impact on direct student services. We will continue to advocate on the state level for sufficient funding for our school district.

For more information call (908) 643-9116 or send an e-mail to: Coalition4BetterSchools@gmail.com.

COALITION FOR BETTER SCHOOLS CANDIDATES FILE PETITIONS TO RUN FOR PLAINFIELD SCHOOL BOARD POSITIONS

COALITION FOR BETTER SCHOOLS CANDIDATES FILE PETITIONS TO RUN FOR PLAINFIELD SCHOOL BOARD POSITIONS

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

March 1, 2010

CONTACT: Christian Estevez – 908-643-9116

Plainfield residents Christian Estevez, Martin Cox, Mary Burgwinkle and Carmencita Pile have filed petitions to run for open school board positions today. Calling their team the “Coalition for Better Schools”, members point to their shared vision for continued improvement in the Plainfield Public Schools.

Incumbent Christian Estevez said, "Despite some setbacks, our schools district has made significant progress over the past few years including the change to K-8 and K-6 grade configurations in our elementary schools and the establishment of the Plainfield Academy for the Arts and Advanced Studies as well as the Barack Obama Academy for Academic & Civic Development".

Martin Cox, also an incumbent school board member added that, "While we know that we still have a lot of work left to do, our community should be proud of the progress that we have made such as getting Plainfield High School removed from the state's list of 'Persistently Dangerous Schools' as well as the implementation of the mandatory school uniform policy. The main high school and the Barack Obama Academy continue to represent areas in need of improvement that our board needs to focus on so that all of our children receive a quality education."

School Board candidates Mary Burgwinkle and Carmencita Pile share the same optimism for what can be accomplished if the Plainfield community were to truly come together to do what is required to improve the city's public schools. Burgwinkle and Pile are both long time residents of Plainfield. Mary Burgwinkle filed to run for a three-year term and Carmencita Pile has filed to run for the one-year unexpired seat which became vacant when School Board President Bridget Rivers resigned from the Board of Education to assume her seat on the Plainfield City Council representing the city's 4th Ward.

School Board members Christian Estevez and Martin Cox are both running for three year terms.


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