First, I’d like to thank the Advertiser-News for the in-depth story on our local candidates for school board.
I had been actively seeking side-by-side comparisons of all of the candidates answering the same question. No hiding behind slogans or buzz words, but actual plans rooted in reality!
I couldn’t find it anywhere else but your story gave me the information I needed to vote as an informed citizen. Thank you!
I’ve been concerned about some of the comments made by some of the candidates currently running for our Hardyston school board. Some of their plans to “Make Education Great Again” makes me think that they have not been paying attention to what has been going on in the Hardyston School District.
Our school board members, our superintendent, our principal, our teachers and staff should be commended for the strides they’ve made during the past several years. Achievements all the more remarkable during continued years of reduced state funding - and Covid.
Student scores in reading and math have increased; Hardyston was recognized as the No. 2 district in the Sussex County School Excellence Awards; Mr. Ryder, our superintendent, was recognized as the No. 1 Sussex County School Administrator in this survey.
That our district has managed to bring free preschool to all Hardyston students starting soon is a major achievement. Imagine what that will do to student scores in the coming years, as more children start kindergarten equipped with the basic knowledge and social skills needed to excel!
Accomplishments like the few I’ve mentioned only come with long-term strategic thinking, hard work and dedication. And the commitment to work constructively together.
I wish that the culture warriors getting so angry about “what’s going on in our schools” would direct their political and cultural passions somewhere else. But kindly leave our school board and our schools out of the culture wars that are blazing across the country.
Alana Steib
Stockholm
Editor’s note: Steib is the mother of a Hardyston Grammar School alumnus and grandmother of a current Hardyston Grammar School student.