Meet Valerie Giraldo, Running For Secaucus School Board

SECAUCUS, NJ — Seven people are running for Secaucus school board this fall; voters will be asked to choose three.

Patch asked all seven candidates the same set of questions. We are publishing the candidates' answers in the order they were received.

Can you give a brief bio on who you are: How long you've lived in Secaucus, your career experience, where you currently work, your age.

Hi, my name is Valerie Giraldo. I’ve been a Secaucus resident since 2002. I am a solutions-oriented compliance professional with 19 years experience in a registered broker-dealer and investment bank environment. Throughout my career I’ve gained experience in data analytics, oversight and evaluation, issue management, adopting new and revised policies and procedures, hiring and managing compliance staff, and negotiating findings/corrective action plans with firm executives.

I am a senior compliance officer at GTS Securities, LLC, since 2020. Prior to GTS, I was a vice president in the Compliance Monitoring & Testing department at Barclays for eight years.

Do you have kids or had kids in the Secaucus school system? Have you served on any prior school boards, or worked in education?

I have a 6-year-old son in the 1st grade at Clarendon and a 20-year-old son who attended K-12 in the Secaucus school district. My oldest son is a 2022 Secaucus High School graduate; he is currently in his third year at the Rutgers School of Business in New Brunswick, studying finance.

What do you think have been the biggest mistakes or failures made in the past four years on the Secaucus school board/in the district? How would you have done things differently?

I believe the biggest district errors are the obvious ones:

1. Retaining a qualified superintendent
2. The abrupt announcement of a poorly structured redistricting
3. The premature announcement of a Pre-K program (which was withdrawn)
   1. Including the approval of a Pre-K grant that, based on recent statements, appears to have been a near miss for the district and community.

With regards to the superintendent, if possible, the board should consider including more stakeholders (principals and/or teachers) in the superintendent search and/or final interviews. They should also consider enhancing the prerequisites by searching for a qualified individual with experience in the Secaucus district or an individual with superintendent experience. The board should also consider whether the individual appears to be interested in making (or continuing to call) Secaucus their home. Our district requires a longtimer, not someone who will use our district as a means to boost their resume.

The redistricting “plan” announced earlier this year was extremely premature. I believe the district would have utilized a significant amount of resources and funds to implement a plan which would not have addressed current needs or future expected enrollment concerns. Therefore, I would have voted against that redistricting plan.

With regards to the Pre-K grant, it’s unclear how this was approved with (what seems to be) very little information provided to the board. I am a “trust, but verify” type of person. Again, I’m not familiar with what occurred, and perhaps too much trust and reliance was placed on one person, but it would have been difficult for me to vote in favor without an opportunity to review certain stipulations in writing.

If redistricting is again brought up — a proposal last year to put K-2 in Clarendon, and 3-5 in Huber — how would you vote for it? Yay or nay?

As stated above, I am not in favor of the redistricting plan proposed earlier this year. That plan only appeared to address grade banding which, when evaluating school rankings for other New Jersey districts that implemented grade banding, does not show consistent educational benefits. I’m happy to provide these details, please email your request to audryandvalerie4sboe@gmail.com. I understand there’s an opportunity for better resources with grade banding but a plan of this magnitude, not to mention the logistical nightmare, should include concrete evidence of benefits for our students prior to approval.

Additionally, post redistricting, the number of students in each elementary school would have been comparable to an equal swap. Huber’s enrollment would have decreased by 9 students post redistricting (500 vs 491 students); this does not include the Huber IEP students (plus any siblings) who are currently enrolled at Clarendon.

I agree that redistricting will be required within the next 3-4 years, but the plan proposed earlier this year is not the answer for our district.

Where are Secaucus schools doing well? Where can they be improved?

Our district has top-notch administrators and staff. I am extremely pleased to see both familiar and new faces who truly care about our children’s education and well being. We must continue to employ talented and caring staff, and work to ensure that we retain talent where possible. I’m also very pleased with the new English Language Arts curriculum. My youngest was part of the first kindergarten class to utilize the Amplify CKLA curriculum and, so far, I see the difference in learning letter recognition and how it has assisted him with blending words. Additionally, the new curriculum now includes cursive lessons; cursive handwriting is known to provide benefits such as working memory, motor skills, brain development, benefits to dyslexic learners, etc.

Areas of improvement include providing basic resources to our students and teachers and less technology/screen time.

Books are fundamental! Reading from paper books has many benefits, including but not limited to, known to help children become better readers and known to help absorb information easier. While Chromebooks are not introduced until 3rd grade, the use of dittos/copies cannot compare to books and it seems wasteful.

Additionally, in speaking with the community, a few children have indicated that they are required to watch television during recess when weather does not permit for outdoor play. Recess is intended to be a time when children are social and active. If indoor active play is not available, this time should be substituted with board games, arts & crafts, coloring, etc.

What do you see are the biggest issues facing the Secaucus school district in the next 2-5 years?

The biggest issues the district may face in the next 2-5 years is space and the requirement for additional staffing.

We are not overcrowded today but we are expecting more families from new construction which, according to Mayor Gonnelli’s address to the board early this year, is expected to be completed by 2027-2028. We must get ahead of this by obtaining the expected number of ffamilies and commence planning today!

Also, in order to consider 100% inclusion, the district will have to consider additional staffing requirements and space as Huber will need to house their 47 special-needs students (plus any siblings) who are currently attending Clarendon. Huber does not have the space for this today and while I agree with 100% inclusion, I do not believe it is possible without having IEP students in their zoned school.

There are many families requesting a Pre-K program; inviting Pre-K students into our district, or a grant to support such a plan, cannot be considered without the required space.

Lastly, the number of English as a Second Language (“ESL”) students continues to rise. The district should begin budgeting and planning for the additional staffing, resources, and space required to ensure all students continue to receive the education needed to excel! We do not want an environment where ESL students are not able to follow the curriculum or where lessons are delayed because teachers do not have the necessary resources.

Our district must continue to plan ahead in order to sustain student achievement!

Meet Monica Berckes, Running For Secaucus School Board

Meet Tatiana Geller, Running For Secaucus School Board

Who's running for Secaucus school board this year:

• Melissa Howard - "Advocate for Education." Currently on the Board, seeks re-election.
• Audry Yule - "Community Winning Resolutions"
• Valerie Giraldo - "Community Winning Resolutions"
• Tatiana Geller - "Excellence in Education"
• Gerald Lyons - "Excellence in Education"
• Jamie Fisher - "The People's Voice"
• Monica Berckes - "A Winning District"

The election will be Nov. 5, but you can vote early in person at the Secaucus Rec Center from Oct. 26 - Nov. 3. Hours will be Monday-Saturday, 10:00 a.m.–8:00 p.m. and Sunday, 10:00 a.m.–6:00 p.m. No appointment is necessary. And there is also mail-in voting.

There is a candidates' forum scheduled for Oct. 24 at the high school PAC, moderated by Secaucus Spectator publisher Don Evanson. Evanson says it will be recorded so people can watch later. Patch will be there covering it and attempting to livestream it.