Get To Know Berkeley Heights School Candidate: Doug Reinstein

BERKELEY HEIGHTS, NJ — Doug Reinstein is one of the three candidates running for election in the contested Berkeley Heights School Board election being held on Tuesday, Nov. 6.

There are two three-year seats up for grabs on the school board. Candidates include: Doug Reinstein, Christine Reilly and Gentiana Brahimaj.

Doug Reinstein

Can you tell me about yourself? Name, age, profession, etc.?

My name is Doug Reinstein and I have been a Berkeley Heights resident for the past 24 years. My two children attended elementary, middle and high school in our district; and my younger son graduated Governor Livingston in 2015. I have participated in the school system first-hand as a parent and for the past 13 years as a Board Member as well.

Professionally, I am an executive director of Change Management for a global financial services company. In that role, I drive business growth by designing change programs which impact people, process and technology – implemented at the right time and for the right reasons. I have a broad set of skills including project management, change readiness, communications, and team building.

Why are you running for the school board?

I believe our continuous improvement approach has resulted in Berkeley Heights becoming a leading-edge school district. My desire to continue leading our community in this positive direction motivates me to remain on the Board. We have made great progress over the past few years, but we still have areas to improve.

My goals (and those of the Board) include:

1. increasing the attention and emphasis given to EACH student’s learning, and to focus on their individual successes,
2. Continue implementation of our comprehensive five year Strategic Plan – From Good to Great, and
3. Provide a best-in-class educational experience while balancing the needs of our taxpayers.

What experience do you have that would help you serving on the school board?

I bring a wealth of experience and expertise to this position and have a very strong grasp of what it takes to ensure that the schools are well run. I am currently the Board of Ed President and have led the district in that capacity for the past three years. During my time on the Board I have served on several committees, including Finance, Negotiations, Facilities, Communication, Personnel and Athletic/Co-Curricular. Additionally, I currently serve as Chairman of both the Personnel and Communication committees. On these committees, we prioritize, track and assess what’s working and what needs to change.

I distribute an ‘Education Update’ email twice a month to hundreds of community members to keep them informed of what’s occurring at Board meetings, as well as other important education topics. Most significant, this has allowed me to keep an open, two-way dialogue with the broad community.

What issues would you like to see addressed if elected?

I would like to see our district improve our level of ‘student learning’. I believe that learning improves when students are curious, captivated and/or inspired, and the more engaged the student is, the better. However, being engaged utilizing the most recent technology isn’t enough. Engagement should translate into deeper learning opportunities where technology provides students the means to think critically and solve problems while demonstrating what they know.

Additionally, I would like us to continue refining/implementing our current Strategic Plan. This includes determining whether there is a cost-effective solution for Full Day Kindergarten (FDK) for the youngest learners in our district.

Last, I’d like to increase the opportunities for the residents to interact with the Board. Starting this year we will host weekend ‘office hours’ so residents can stop by on a Saturday morning to share thoughts/comments with the Board.

In closing, the results we have achieved through enhanced collaboration and inclusion make our district stronger!

— (If you are a candidate and would like to participate in the profile, please email alexis.tarrazi@patch.com)

(Image provided: Doug Reinstein)

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