Last March 14 was a crisp March morning. As usual, at 6:00 a.m my daughter is getting ready for her zero period class at New Providence High School. She is one of many kids all over town who are rising with the sun, eating breakfast, and facing down demanding AP classes and a course load that many of us a generation older can’t even imagine. Our town boasts many kids who achieve near perfect PARCC scores and GPAs higher than 4.0, while also participating in state and national competitions in sports, clubs, and activities. For a tiny district, we boast a student population that is competitive with any other in the state, and, as I look at my daughter eating her breakfast, I am so proud of her and her classmates.
However, while this looks like an average day, this particular day isn’t average at all. This is the day designated as the National School Walk Out to call attention to the epidemic of gun violence in this country and remember the students who have died in school shootings. Despite having asked the administration in advance for permission to join this nationwide event, the students have been told that they will not be permitted to do so.
On this day, we take the short ride to the school and when I drop my daughter off she tucks a rolled poster under her arm. She looks back at me and says, “If I don’t stand up for myself, who will?” the same words she will tell her teacher as she walks alone silently out of her classroom.
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As it turned out, my daughter and two hundred of her fellow students would defy the administration, participating in a silent, orderly, and entirely student-led protest. It was exactly what the best version of a peaceful protest should be, and, as a parent, I could not have been prouder of them.
We all learned something on that particular day, but the lessons were not really about gun violence—or at least not entirely. The biggest lesson is that in a high-achieving school district such as ours, students can and should be in dialogue with the administration and Board of Education. When they have taken the initiative to convey their needs in advance in a clear, organized way, the Board chooses to remain entrenched in a statement about protests being “against policy,” and two hundred kids still feel strongly enough to defy authority despite the threat of suspension to adhere to their conscience and values, something isn’t quite as it should be. In this case, the Board chose to lean on an inflexible policy not designed to address this kind of situation rather than seeing the value of looking more broadly at the way our schools and our policies exist in relation to the ever-changing needs of our children and the world we live in. The Board of Education, and the policies it upholds, exist to support and enhance the education of our children. They are not simply immovable boundaries limiting behavior that might seem inconvenient or potentially controversial. We can do better than that.
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The temptation is to say that the National Walk Out was just one day—an anomaly in an otherwise excellent school district. But is it? Our teachers, some of the very best in the state, have been without a contract since June 30th and, so far, the Board seems unable or unwilling to negotiate a fair deal. Many of our classrooms, especially in the lower grades, are bursting at the seams with no concrete plan for growth. The mental health needs of students who face the pressures of today’s college admissions, the relentlessness of state-mandated standardized testing, and ongoing problems with bullying, peer pressure, and the constant presence of technology in their lives are only going to present greater problems going forward. We need a board member who can hear the concerns of students and parents and come up with creative solutions to the ongoing issues that we, and every district in the nation, face.
We have a wonderful school district, but we always need to be prepared to grow and think differently. Rebecca Coniglio—a voice that is inclusive, respectful, and already deeply invested in our school system—would be a tremendous asset. She is a true leader who inspires so many in town with her commitment to so many initiatives. So far, I have seen that she will support all our students and our schools as a whole, and work to accommodate their needs. In Rebecca, I know neither my child or any child will walk alone. She is a true pioneer and she has my vote. I hope you will support her as well. A vote for Rebecca is a vote for a fresh voice for our schools.
Revathy Padmanabhan
