Letter to the Editor: From the Superintendent to Gov. Chris Christie

Editor's Note: The following piece is a letter mailed to Gov. Chris Christie on Dec. 16. It was written by Gayle Carrick, the Superintendent of Cranford School District and has not been edited.

Dear Governor Christie,

I am writing to you, as a most sincere gesture, to assure you that there are many outstanding, dedicated, knowledgeable and successful teachers in the state of New Jersey.  I am very proud to say, as Superintendent of Schools in Cranford, that Cranford is a school district with such quality people.

This letter to you is intended to be my holiday gift to a great Cranford Public Schools staff.  I can not give them tangible gifts due to costs but I can attempt to make them feel better about their profession and the great work they do with our children every day.  Cranford High School ranked 13^th in New Jersey as a result of their hard work and efforts.  Please come and visit us.  You will be proud.

Cranford recently settled an employment contract that is respectful of the difficult financial times we are working our way through as a small community, a county, a state and a nation.  I believe that the Cranford settlement may well be the lowest settlement in the county.   I know that you are familiar with Cranford and its special qualities as you once told me you and your wife lived here.  Cranford is cozy.  People care about each other and everyone wants the best for all the children.  Cranford residents exemplify the best qualities a people can demonstrate. Cranford is small town America.

Our teachers are studying, practicing and perfecting personalized learning.  We have come to understand that within a differentiated environment, children of all ages always remember how you made them feel.  Therefore, within exceptional learning environments that include access to sophisticated content learning, recognition of student learning styles, student interests and student readiness levels our children are made to feel valued and special. There is one point on which we both agree, "The quality of a child's teacher is the single most important factor in his or her educational attainment" (Race to the Top Application).

Cranford Public Schools can proudly boast of its ability to successfully provide programs, in-district, at a cost savings to the community for special needs students at all levels and with all social, emotional and academic needs.  We have a SNAPPY Program (Special Needs Assessment Program for Pre-School Youngsters), a READY inclusive pre-school program for disabled and non-disabled children, alternative programs for students in grades K-12  LEAP (Lincoln Elementary Achievement Program), CAMP (Cranford Achievement Middle Program) and CAP (9-12 Cranford Achievement Program), a Pathways to Excellence (P2E) and a P2E+ Program to enrich those students who require that level of instruction, the High School University Program which is a four-year program that includes specialized study, and a Saturday reading academy which is an early intervention reading program taught by teachers certified in the Orton-Gillingham approach.  These are just a few of our instructional programs.  We have many more to meet the needs of our students. Please come and visit us.  You will be proud.

Cranford Public Schools provides outstanding teacher mentoring opportunities.  We partner with Seton Hall University and have recently celebrated our 10^th year as a Professional Development School in partnership with SHU.  Our teachers study with professors, they collaborate with young aspiring teachers addressing such critical topics as transfer of learning and critical thinking.  Our teachers study writing after school, we have a model early childhood literacy school (K-2) and are expanding now to a 3-5 level.  We are engaging in the best practices.  Please come and visit us.  You will be proud.

Our staff and students routinely practice acts of character.  Our high school recently welcomed students and staff from Lafayette School in Newark to an annual holiday fest sponsored by our Learn and Serve Grant as Cranford Public Schools is also a Learn & Serve Regional Training Center.  The acts of kindness and of character are too many to list but we would be delighted to tell you about them.  Please come and visit us.  You will be proud.

Governor, there are many GREAT things happening in New Jersey.  Cranford is one example.  Education is the key to the future of any society and needs to be highly valued. I recognize that there is a high cost to our current system as I am also a taxpayer.  Please Governor, I ask that you recognize the greatness that is in place.  Please come and visit.  You will be proud.  Have a wonderful holiday and happy holidays to the staff, students and community of Cranford.

Sincerely,

Gayle M. Carrick, Ed.D.

Superintendent of Schools