Hoboken School Board Profiles: Antonio Graña Q&A

HOBOKEN, NJ — A lot's at stake in this year's Hoboken school board election. More than 3,000 students attend the local public schools.

We asked some serious questions, some offbeat, but it's important for readers to notice whether the candidates rephrased the question and purposely declined to answer. Do they have vague ideas, or thoughts and plans?

Running for three seats on the board this Nov. 8 are:

• The "Leadership That Listens" slate, consisting of incumbent Alejandro (Alex) De La Torre Jr. along with Leslie Norwood and Antonio Graña;
• "Kids First" consisting of Pavel Sokolov, Donna Magen, and Cindy Wiegand, and
• Independent John Madigan (a former board member) and
• Independent Patricia Waiters (a former candidate).

Do you have questions? You can post letters about the election for free, any time, here at Patch using these instructions.

Here Is How Antonio Graña Of "Leadership That Listens" Answered The Questions

Antonio Graña
www.leadershipthatlistenshobok...
Married. Daughter attending Hoboken Middle School.
N/A Private consultant
N/A
No-N/A I have served as a city council appointed municipal commissioner on the Hoboken Zoning Board of Adjustment for over 8 years. This is a volunteer position.
Hoboken Southwest Park Association, Fund for a Better Waterfront, Hoboken Green Team. Vice President: Connor’s Elementary School PTO, Vice President: Hoboken Middle School PTO.
N/A I have not previously held public office.

1. What is the best thing about the Hoboken public schools, and what do you believe
should be improved?

Our strengths! A culture of leadership and excellence has been established and re-enforced in our schools over the last several years. This includes our CEO-caliber superintendent ensuring that the right people are in the right roles in each of our district schools. These people drive our values everyday with our faculty and our students.
Our Faculty. Each and every year I have written to our superintendent about the quality of teachers who see the potential in our kids. My daughter is the direct beneficiary of these great teachers.
Growth. We have seen a 27% increase in enrollment since 2014. In addition to demographic change, this growth is also driven by the improvements in curricula and academic rigor as well as by the increasing diversity and strength of our academic offerings. It is also supported by our ever-improving extracurricular offerings. For example, Hoboken High School offers 14 Advanced Placement classes. 9 years ago only 4.5% of our AP students placed on our AP exams. Last year, 59% of our AP students did.
Opportunities for future improvement: Professional growth. Every profession requires continuous learning. I would like to work with our teachers and the district to ensure the necessary learning opportunities and hours are made available as our teachers grow in their careers.
Transparency and communication. I have full confidence in the ethics and professionalism of the district’s statutory reporting requirements. However, our schools are at a turning point and continued expansion and investment requires broader communication with the city at large to ensure everyone appreciates the importance of supporting this trend. The current board has begun this process, I would like to see it expanded.

2. What makes you uniquely qualified to serve on the board?

The board of Trustees is an oversight and governance role. I have over 25 years of governance and oversight in the private, public, and non-profit space. But more importantly, our family is completely dialed into our public schools. This is our daughter’s 7 th year in the public district schools, and it gets better every year. During this time, I have been engaged in multiple district, school, and parent activities focusing on strengthening both the experience of children and parents. I have served as PTO Vice President of both Connors Elementary School and The Hoboken Middle School.

3. If you had to vote for 3 candidates out of the current field, NOT counting yourself, which 3 would you choose, and why?

I would certainly choose my slate mates Alex De La Torre and Leslie Norwood. These two candidates are deeply engaged. They have children in the elementary, middle, and high schools. But more importantly, they have translated that engagement to community service. Between the two they have actively served as Hoboken Board of Education trustees, Hoboken Public Education Foundation, active volunteers, and PTO leaders. I know they are committed to our school district and its continued improvement.

4. Did you support the $241M Hoboken school plan, up for referendum vote in Jan? If/when it's introduced again, what do you think should change, if anything?

I did support the referendum because as an active parent in the district I understood the issues at stake. Of our district schools, 4 of them are near, at, or exceeding capacity. Shortly, these children will be moving into the High School which is already growing in enrollment. The question “on the table” is where our children are actually going to sit.
Further, the current High School, which would make an excellent middle school, does not have all the facilities and tools to continue delivering a top-notch 21 st century high school curriculum. We have the faculty; they need the resources.
I absolutely believe the District and Board offered this decision to the community with the best intent. Regrettably, it was not presented in a time frame that could allow the community to become educated as to why the investment is so important. Such referendums tend to fail when we haven’t taken the time to help everyone understand the need. If any such referendum were to be introduced again, this level of communication and transparency is where I would start.

5. What is your political affiliation, if you're willing to say? Even though local school board races are non-partisan, do you think political party matters for a Hoboken school board member?

I am a registered democrat, however, that is not relevant to this election. This is a non-partisan race and should be so as it is about all our children. Regrettably, we have opponents who maintain active Republican political party leadership positions and have injected party views into this discussion. This is unacceptable. These folks should have stepped out of their leadership roles to avoid any conflicts of interest and to ensure the debate relates only to Hoboken and the needs of our schools.

6. During the referendum period, many brought up the fact that 8 percent of Hoboken High School students were considered proficient in math by the state. While there is often wiggle room and extenuating circumstances with test scores, 8 percent is lower than other area high schools, such as Union City and West New York. Do you think this is a matter for concern, and if so, what should be done? https://www.usnews.com/education/k12/new-jersey/districts/hoboken-public-
school-district-106754

Yes, that should be a concern. Yet we need to keep in mind that this is data from the 2018-2019 school year. We need to wait for this year’s results. It’s also my opinion, test scores are not the only barometer of success. We have seen major improvement in the high school in our graduation rate, our AP placement performance, our college acceptance rate, and our scholarship dollars. However, I do believe that standardized test scores must improve, and we should be actively focusing on opportunities to remediate. Many of our students are excelling in the High School, but our district is responsible to all our children.

7. The U.S. Census estimates that there are approximately 3,456 kids age 5-14 living in Hoboken, but the population of the three elementary schools and middle school is under 2,000. Do you think the district should try to draw more students from the local population, and how? Do you think it should find ways to help integrate students from public, public charter, and private schools into activities? https://data.census.gov/cedsci...

Hoboken provides a set of school choices for parents. Our family is close to many parents and children who attend our district schools, charter schools, and private schools.

At the same time, the District Public Schools have grown by nearly 30 percent over the last 8 years (Holistically, we need to look at the combined district population from preK through 12. This is over 3000 students.) There are several reasons for this that include more families choosing to raise their families in Hoboken, the rising caliber and diversity of offerings in district schools, and the warm and engaged school community.

Regardless of choice, Hoboken is a wonderful place to raise children. However, district schools are the only offering that must respond to the ongoing growth in Hoboken school enrollment. Many of the other fine choices available in town are capped or not positioned for expansion. District schools are required to expand to accommodate growth. As we see the trend in the style and quantity of new residential construction geared to families, the Public School District must prepare to accommodate them.

8. Should the first snow day of the year be a traditional day off, or remote learning?

While I certainly have enjoyed snow days with the neighborhood kids over the years, this a decision best made by our Superintendent who must weigh all the demands of the school year.