Stephanie Rivera is a wonderful student activist in New Jersey. She is a junior at Rutgers and is preparing to be a career educator.
Stephanie is running for the New Brunswick, NJ, school board!
For the past 20 years, every member of the New Brunswick school board was appointed by the same mayor (you can see how that did not work). Next month is the town’s first school board election.
Please help her in any way you can. She is a brave young woman who is passionate about education and we informed. She needs and deserves our help.
This is the notice I received:
“Hi Everyone,
“As some of you already know, I am running for election to the New Brunswick Board of Education. Many of you have already been such a huge help by supporting and spreading the word about my candidacy–thank you.
“Election Day is April 16, and there’s a lot of work to be done between now and then. We’ll be going up against the political establishment of New Brunswick, which until now has been appointing the Board of Education and depriving New Brunswick youth and the community of the justice and quality education they deserve. For the past 20 YEARS, board members have been appointed by the same guy: New Brunswick Mayor Jim Cahill. And unbelievably, this is the first year in New Brunswick’s HISTORY that the Board of Education is ELECTED.
“We have a chance to make history, and I hope you all will join me to be a part of it.
“As many of you are familiar, running a successful campaign requires a lot of effort and a sufficient amount of donations, especially being entirely grassroots. My running mates and I are in need of funds for basic supplies, travel expenses, flyers, and all of the alike. No donation is too small. If funds are tight, that is completely okay–spreading the word and having your support is just as helpful!
“Provided is the link to our donation site, and if you have any questions or concerns whatsoever, please do not hesitate to get in contact with me.
“Thank you all again for your support, and I hope I’ll be able to relay good news come April!
“Donation Site: https://www.wepay.com/donations/557326946
Diane Ravitch's blog 
My first reaction is that if TFAers don’t have enough experience, neither does someone who hasn’t graduated college yet.
And if it comes down to a lesser of two evils argument, Obama burned me badly enough this time that I’ll never play that game again.
I wrote in Bernie Sanders for my pick. If you can’t get over Obama then step aside bro, we’re all fighting this one and Stephanie if you know anything about her is no WTFAer. As soon as I have something in my account I am sending it to her. She is the antithesis of the TFA, rephormer padding a law school resume. She is the college kid we hope and pray is out there. If you can’t get behind her then step aside for realz.
I’m more interested in the real world experience that she would bring to the job. But, I don’t live in New Jersey, so I don’t have a horse in the race.
A constant complaint against TFAers here is that they lack experience. The same is true in this case. The little that I read on her blog showed someone still growing, but not ready to make nuanced decisions about the future of education.
There are lots of college kids out there with the same ideals. I haven’t been hoping and praying for any such thing. You step aside if you can’t accept an opposing opinion. For realz.
Wilbert – Consider please that it would be a welcome and beneficial circumstance to have a public official who didn’t think he/she knew what was right for every member of a diverse community and would actually involve stakeholders in the conversation PLUS the added benefit of knowing Stephanie is fully aware of the challenge she faces and her support or a system of public education that serves all our children.
Wlbert – Wilbert – I acknowledged I am still relatively young. Yet, I have been volunteering with New Brunswick youth for over a year in their school (NBHS), know a few of their parents, and I have been staying in contact with those who are more familiar with the New Brunswick community. I know that is still a small portion about what there is to learn about New Brunswick, but it gives me an important perspective and understanding of what will work for our city’s youth. Additionally, my two running mates, Sean Monahan and Martin Arocho, are long-time New Brunswick community members who are continuously teaching me about New Brunswick–I am always ready to learn more and am increasingly becoming engaged with the community as a whole. And from what has been expressed by New Brunswick community members, they are deterred from attending board meetings because they feel belittled and that their concerns are not being taken seriously–that’s just one of the characteristics what makes me and my running-mates different. We are interested in hearing from the students, teachers, parents, and community members themselves because at the end of the day, they are the ultimate people being effected and know what works best for their community. And honestly, I believe that has been lacking for the past 20 years, which is why we are running in order to change that.
I am ALWAYS more than willing to discuss education and education policy with you, as well as our platform. Don’t hesitate to e-mail me if you’re interested.
I couldn’t agree with you more Wilbert, and I find the hypocrisy on this blog outstanding. Constantly downing TfA folks for not enough experience and training, then supporting a college junior with no experience for a school Board position?
Go Stephanie, super exciting!
In our district, we actively expect the high school student body president to sit on our board as a non-voting member.
Wilbert, you are right that TFAers don’t have enough preparation to teach, but Stephanie knows more about education policy than most people running for school board. She is not yet qualified to teach, but she is certainly qualified to vote on issues affecting the schools.
If she is elected this could set them on their heads after failed mayoral control. We need more youth involved in education. I have met some young high school students who are advocating for high school students to have more input into the decision making at the district, county and state level concerning policy and expenditures. After all they know more about what is directly happening to our youth than the adults generally.
OH Parents will love this! classic occupy propped up child activists asking for money
( always asking for money and poof it appears via invisible online ” folks” ) to invade suburbia for a class grade, hello Bill Ayers calling. ( outreach meetings at the hookah lounge, no beer now, only 20…careful there)
like an acorn operation, not a good sign for New Brunswick, although certainly the monopoly appointee system is garbage too so it looks like a perfect application of hegelian dialectical magic!
maybe parents and people will wake up by this, so Bravo!
An excellent strategy also to ally with other like minded candidates. Good luck!
Stephanie, thank you for stepping up. Happy to support you financially. I always appreciate a “doer.” Talk absent action amounts to nothing.
My best to you.
Again, I find myself confused. A few months ago, Diane, you were against students at NYU and Columbia (if I recall correctly) having an opinion because they were young and inexperienced. Now you’re supporting a college junior running for a school board position?
This conflict of opinion aside, I have to say that I’d rather have an appointed Board member with tremendous experience than an elected one with none at all. Using a medical analogy, if you had cancer, would you rather me appoint you an oncologist with 20 years of experience or chose between two second year medical residents?
In fairness, I don’t know the history of decision-making of these appointed board members, so I may not have the full story. However, all else being equal, if we’re talking about the relative value of an elected candidate or experienced candidate, I’d take experienced any day.
I’m involved in the campaign, and I just want to say that Stephanie is running on a ticket with a disgruntled former appointed board member with several children who went through the school system and a wife that works in it and a local business and homeowner who has taught at the college level! We are excited and proud to have a young person as a meaningful part of the team.
Thanks for responding Erik S. I don’t know Stephanie, and she may well be better than the alternative as I don’t know either candidate. Hopefully you all won’t take my comment as against Stephanie personally. My comment is directed more toward this blog and who seems to be supported and not supported. No where on this post is it mentioned a single reason why Stephanie may be qualified to be on a school board other than her age and that the fact she would not be appointed, but elected. To me, there needs to be a more substantive discussion if an endorsement is going to be given.
I don’t know the candidates and so don’t have a direct opinion on the race. However, students do have the advantage of having been on the inside of the school, important when you realize how many board members have probably never even visited all the schools they oversee. The board is one entity and it has the experience of each of its members. It is valuable to have a diversity of experiences to draw upon. How can a board member with a child in elementary school completely evaluate, for example, if the high school is properly preparing kids for college?
I would add that I am distinctly not a fan of appointed school boards. It seems unlikely that any one mayor can really know personally enough different people from the community a district serves to create a quality board that cares about and knows about all the students it serves.
I think most school boards, whether elected or appointed, probably aren’t comprised of the best, brightest, and most qualified. It may be true that appointed boards are politically appointed, but elected school boards are often popularity contests as well.
Edededucation, I disagree with you. The “student activists” at Columbia and NYU had the support of over $1 million from their backers and were demanding that teachers agree to accept an invalid and inaccurate evaluation system. They were not simply students with an opinion, but a well-funded operation to undermine the teachers’ negotiations with the mayor.
Stephanie is not running to be a professional; she is running for school board. She is very well qualified to be a school board member. She is steeped in knowledge about education policy.
Does it trouble you that the leader of TFA in New Orleans was elected to the State Board of Education with a huge campaign fund built on contributions from people who don’t live in Louisiana (think Michael Bloomberg)? Does it bother you that the head of TFA is able to vote on contracts for her own organization?
Stephanie does not work for a Gates-funded organization, nor for a hedge fund managers’ organization. She is knowledgeable; she is of age; she knows the issues. Why is she less qualified–in your mind–than the local businessman to sit on the school board?
In any profession, I would prefer experience over enthusiasm any day.
But serving on a school board is an elected position, not a profession.
And I happily sent Stephanie Rivera a contribution of $100.
Diane, I think it would be most helpful to me (and perhaps others) to continue to focus on specific reasons why you support or don’t support people, as opposed to factors such as their personal wealth or demographic background. You raise a good point about the folks at NYU and Columbia when you say you disagree with their position to force acceptance of evaluation. However, in your post you talked about their personal wealth as opposed to their policy, as though their personal backgrounds mattered in their opinion. If their policy is bad, it shouldn’t matter who pays for their education or what schools they attended. That information makes it seem like a personal attack, and detracts from your argument, which often times has genuine merit. I think you lose a lot of support when you unnecessarily personalize things, which is unfortunate because I believe more often than not that your underlying points are very accurate.
In terms of Stephanie, again I don’t have all the information about her, so haven’t made any statements for or against her as an individual. However, I would certainly raise an eyebrow when you say that she is “steeped in knowledge about educational policy” as knowledge tends to take a while to accrue, especially knowledge with wisdom and experience (as opposed to just some book knowledge). I’ve worked with a number of college students over the years, including quite a few bright and talented folks. However, I can’t identify a single one that would have accrued the wisdom and experience that I would find important in a school board position. Still, I could be wrong, but would certainly need some pretty strong evidence.
You also draw a difference between school board/elected position and a professional. I suppose I struggle with the entire concept of allowing a group of folks with no professional experience to make important decisions about a profession, whether they are bankers or college students. To me, this gets back to an important point you often make – listening to actual educators as opposed to outsiders who have formed an (often) immature opinion about education. The root of this issue is that we all think we’re experts in education because we went to school or have kids in school. This, of course, is no more true than me having expertise in oncology because I may have had cancer. To me, this point resonates with your overall philosophy (listening to actual front-line educators), which is why I can’t see how your support of a college junior for a school board position makes sense, except maybe that she happens to support your positions on specific issues?
In terms of the leader of New Orleans TfA being elected to the state board, I have 2 thoughts in response: First, I’m on the fence about the local vs. outside funding. On one hand, I believe the person with the best ideas should win, regardless of where funding comes from. On the other hand, I can see how special interests would be inappropriately promoted by having a huge campaign that could inappropriately sway voters.
Regarding her ability to vote on contracts that affect her organization, yes – I agree with you that she should not be able to do that. Do you have evidence that she is NOT abstaining from such decisions? Conflicts of interest do happen in all organizations, but if they are appropriately disclosed and dealt with, they tend to not be issues.
edededucation: my basic rule of thumb is not very complicated. I support candidates who support public education, not privatization. I support candidates who support experienced and qualified professionals working in schools, not interns. I support candidates who want to strengthen public education, not close schools because of their test scores. I support people who understand that teachers should be respected, not lectured to by non-educators, foundation executives, politicians, and pundits.
If you haven’t heard Ms. Rivera speak about education, then you can’t reasonably judge her candidacy. I heard her speak at the Save Our Schools conference last August, and I’m pretty sure she knows more about education than Mayor Bloomberg, Mr. Gates, and all of the Walton heirs combined.
Granted, I have never lived in a place where the school board wasn’t elected, but by all accounts, appointed boards appear to be yesmen rather than a voice or voices for the community. A board needs people to serve who have a genuine commitment to providing a quality public education to their community. The ability to listen and learn is not the exclusive ability of any age group. You don’t want a board of twenty year olds, but frankly I don’t want a board of forty year olds either. Neither would I want a board of lawyers, or bankers, or businessmen either. She is not being asked to walk into a classroom and teach it. Neither are any of the other candidates. We seem to have perpetuated this myth that people over a certain age with a certain amount of life experience (usually of a specified type) are prepared to run all sorts of things that really require quite a steep learning curve on anyone’s part. I don’t know anyone who hit the real world running, not even the wunderkind who either realize quite quickly that they are running on fruit loops and rely on or find some experienced support or tank. She has already identified some more experienced support to offer guidance as well as allow her to bring her energy and obvious commitment to the table.
How can you judge that she’s better than Bloomberg, Gates, and all the Walton heirs combined if you have never heard them speak either …?
AZ, I have not heard Stephanie speak, but I have heard Bloomberg, Gates, Klein, and Rhee. I have not heard the Walton heirs, but I know that they make multi-million dollars contributions to privatization of public education.
I have read Stephanie’s writings. I would vote for Stephanie if I lived in her town. Since I don’t, I sent her a contribution. She would be a well-informed and responsible member of the school board.
I suppose she’s getting outside funding just like the TfA leader in New Orleans? I realize this is a bit sarcastic of a comment, but again – let’s be consistent here. If it’s appropriate for you to fund a campaign from the outside, how is it appropriate for the TfA leader in New Orleans to get outside funding? I realize the two are on a different scale, but how is the principle different, especially if many folks read your blog and then contribute?
Yes, Stephanie got $100 from me. The head of TFA in New Orleans got hundreds of thousands of dollars from out of state billionaires. But I assume you don’t see a difference.
On a practical level, $100 is certainly less than hundreds of thousands, but the same principle applies.
Still, let’s say your support of her gained her hundreds of thousands in support, which I’m guessing you would think is a good thing. Would you see that as different still?
Just to clarify my comment… I should have said you can’t judge her candidacy if you aren’t familiar with her knowledge, experience, and policy views. And I don’t think it’s fair to reject a candidate because of her age.
In Stephanie Rivera’s case, her speaking, writing, and direct involvement in education and activism make her a terrific candidate. She’s proven that she knows her stuff and is willing to learn more, unlike the leaders of the “reform” movement, who tend to be willfully ignorant about schools, learning, child development, and education in general.
I made a contribution, too, and I urge other readers to do the same. While I’m suggesting uses for other people’s money, I want to recommend a book written by another student activist, Nikhil Goyal… One Size Does Not Fit All: A Student’s Assessment of School.
Anyone familiar with these students understands that they’re acting on their own initiative. I hope more students will be inspired to join them.
http://mothercrusader.blogspot.com/2013/04/national-school-choice-group-finds.html
Be careful of the company you keep! PS I am one of those horrible appointed board members that need to be eradicated. You don’t know this town and its problems and its the long-term board members (though appointed) who are committed to solving problems (a diverse board that currently represents the community well). John Krenos