ORANGE, NJ — This election season, Orange has five candidates running for three open seats on the Board of Education. They are incumbents Guadalupe Cabido, Sueann Gravesande and Shawneque Johnson, running as the “Children’s Future Matters” slate, and challengers Anthony S. Nimely and Tyrone Jon Tarver, running as the “Parents for Excellence” slate.
Each candidate was given the opportunity to answer several questions set by the Record-Transcript; Cabido did not participate.
Gravesande, who was born in Guyana and immigrated to the United States, specifically Orange, in 2011, is a public health professional at the New Jersey Department of Health with the Vaccine Preventable Disease Program. For the last three years, she has served on the Orange Board of Education, and both of her children attend Orange public schools. She is an avid volunteer at Meeting Essential Needs With Dignity Inc., a hunger relief network located in Orange.
When asked what she believes to be the top issue facing the school district, Gravesande cited the growing teacher shortage.
“Since the onset of COVID-19, it has gotten worse. The need for special education and bilingual teachers is particularly high. Though we recognize that this is a national concern, it is still one that has impacted our community,” Gravesande told the Record-Transcript. “I know firsthand the district has been trying relentlessly to reduce this shortage, and there are many approaches adopted by other school districts to assist with this need; however, this is a daunting responsibility, and it should not be incorporated with competing responsibilities. Therefore, I would suggest we appoint an existing staff or hire a full-time recruiter whose sole responsibility is to recruit teachers.”
Johnson, an Orange resident since her birth and a graduate of Orange High School, Class of 1990, works as an administrative assistant within a school district in Essex County. “My children attended school in the district, which is what propelled me to initially run for the school board,” she said. “I wanted to provide a sound voice to support great initiatives but also be a sounding board to create systemic change.”
Johnson believes the top issue to be continued student achievement as we slowly emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We continue to work through academic needs. The district staff works diligently to provide sound instructional practices that are differentiated,” she told the Record-Transcript. “Further, due to the learning loss, we would definitely need more instructional support through targeted and intentional professional development — and this is taking place. It is important to note that we have work to do in order for the academic gap caused by the learning loss to (narrow).”
Nimely, who has lived in Orange since 2002, is a graduate of Rutgers University–Newark, School of Criminal Justice, and is a regional field supervisor for armed and unarmed security professionals. As a public safety and clergy ambassador for the Newark Police Department, he represents “the character, the value and the priorities of the department.” He serves the community by combating homelessness and addressing social concerns of underprivileged Newark residents. Nimely has four children, all of whom have been educated in the district; two are still students in the district.
“What I see as the top issue in the Orange schools today is the mass exodus of teachers departing and going to other districts for better financial compensation and benefits,” Nimely told the Record-Transcript. “As a counselor and a spiritual leader, I will do my utmost best by bringing all concerned parties to the table, discussing the issues with respect and getting to the bottom of the issues with our children in mind.”
Tarver, who has lived in Orange nearly 35 years, has consistently been active in the Orange arts community, having owned two recording studios while also leading and playing with musical bands in local venues. In recent years, he has served as Orange City Council chairperson, Parent Teacher Student Organization member, and former Orange school board member and president. He was a driving force in the campaign to have an elected Orange school board, as opposed to an appointed one.
“The top issue for many years has always been student achievement and the low level of education being administered to our children. As a board member, promising strides were made in 2018 and 2019. But that progress has stalled. As the school board continues to tout the success of the district educationally, recent 2022 NJSLA test results have shown student achievement to be nonexistent and at lower levels than previous to the pandemic,” Tarver told the Record-Transcript. “Teacher retention is also an emergent issue, with educators leaving the district after poor contract negotiations. Lack of financial preparedness by the current school board to address the need for better contracts also led to the situation we are in now. At the conclusion of the latest teacher contract negotiation and agreement, our district is still one of the lowest paying districts in the state. If reelected to the school board, I would conduct a thorough review of the budget issues and student data, address them accordingly, and, most of all, be transparent with parents.”
When it comes to school safety, candidates discussed the need for students and staff to have social-emotional safety as well as physical safety. Tarver pointed out that the pandemic will have lingering effects for years to come.
“Our students are still recovering from the effects of the pandemic and virtual learning without face-to-face interaction with teachers and peers for a long period of time. The district has always provided after-school opportunities for our children to be more involved socially. But more can be done,” Tarver said. “The district spends hundreds of thousands of dollars allowing the mayor to use school facilities for municipal recreation programs. The district eventually uses education monies to pick up the tab for overtime of security and custodial staff, thus allowing the municipality to keep monies that were already budgeted for these purposes to use for actions unknown to residents. I would like to keep those monies to increase security staff around the district. I believe that to be a no-brainer. I would begin mandatory after-school participation as part of students’ promotion requirements, thus increasing social time with students and others. And as always, (I would) ensure that staffing is always available to address any emotional issues that may arise with our children.”
Nimely also believes the district can be doing more to protect children and wants to see more preparation to prevent tragedy should an emergency arise.
“School safety can mean a lot of things. Moving forward, the changes I would like to effect that will improve the physical well-being of students and staff is to increase the physical security presence at all of our schools. Active shooter drills must be enforced in all of our district schools once a month by the city’s police department. I noticed we have a single crossing guard at one location at the Park Avenue Elementary School instead of two. I would station one crossing guard at the top and the other at the bottom to slow the traffic, and equip each officer with a portable radio in case of an emergency,” Nimely said. “As for the emotional well-being of our students, being a counselor has informed me of the very specific ways that situations like this involving our children should be addressed. As a board member, I will ensure that well-trained staff are always on hand to handle the needs of our children. Emotional situations will be addressed accordingly based on the situation.”
Johnson touted the district’s current mental wellness offerings and pledged, if reelected, to continue this work and to forge partnerships that will allow the work to progress even further.
“As a result of the pandemic, we learned the importance of wellness for staff and students. The district implemented Wellness Wednesday, where students and staff took part in activities aligned to mental and emotional health and well-being. When the district moved to five days of instruction, one faculty meeting per month was relegated to wellness, whether it was yoga, meditation or other varying activities. The district is blessed to have staff members who are yoga certified, who continue to bring forth this vision,” Johnson said. “The superintendent established a trauma-informed team who works closely with the district to keep the pulse on wellness and the importance of the mental as well emotional well-being of staff and students in the forefront of the district’s priorities.”
Gravesande similarly praised the district’s current mental wellness initiatives.
“We do care about the emotional, social and physical well-being of our students and staff. We have a trauma-informed team that meets monthly with our superintendent to discuss their monthly activities, such as yoga, wellness nights, and Wellness Wednesday initiatives,” Gravesande said. “Additionally, I would recommend each school identify a safe space for students and staff to use social-emotional learning interventions to help promote their well-being. Although we do have these spaces in some of our schools, I would like to see them districtwide.”
Many area school districts are working to boost diversity, equity and inclusion, or DEI, to ensure every student has access to the same opportunities and knows that they belong. According to Gravesande, the district needs to implement effective programming at all schools, which unfortunately then becomes an issue of funding.
“At some point, I would like to see all our elementary schools with the same programs that have been proven to improve academic achievement. But most times, this is not the case due to a lack of funding,” Gravesande said. “Additionally, it would be advantageous if we could educate our teachers and staff about the importance of DEI in education during their professional development sessions. For example, including videos of unconscious biases in educational spaces. And we must continue to engage our underrepresented and marginalized students, teachers and staff. Collectively, the district can take extensive and resistant actions to overcome barriers to improving DEI.”
According to Johnson, the school district already celebrates the similarities and differences of everyone and will continue the work to develop DEI programming.
“A term welcomed by some and misunderstood by many, DEI uses data to create change. It’s a people-centered strategy that builds bridges within and among communities to foster a culture of respect, trust and understanding,” Johnson said. “Diversity, equity and inclusion should not just be buzzwords. They should be purposeful and deliberate concepts, centering people’s lived experiences and culture, helping them become their best and most authentic selves. The district can certainly grow and learn from experiences that have occurred since such incidents as George Floyd. What makes a district unique is that the curriculum embeds experiences for conversation related to the importance of DEI. We continue to grow and learn as a district through discussion and professional development predicated on the importance of diversity, equity and inclusion.”
Nimely pointed out that DEI can be improved by collaborating with various ethnic groups within the community.
“The phrase diversity, equity and inclusion is used a lot these days and the district can improve its DEI by engaging the local community ethnic organizations within the district and getting them involved in activities such as games, musical performances and storytelling,” Nimely said. “Engaging all communities in a cultural setting where everyone feels like they belong, regardless of race, ethnicity, gender or status in our society, and by working together, we will recognize the talents that different groups bring to the table.”
Tarver explained that the district has become much more diverse in the past decade, with Latinos now making up approximately 40 percent of the district, and with growing Caribbean and African populations.
“As an activist, when the choice for school board elections in our city was addressed by the committee I founded, it was a full committee decision to make sure that our materials and ballot questions were written in English, Spanish and Creole. We wanted to provide equity for all stakeholders in that important decision. So it is a welcome sight to see that the municipality and school district are now ensuring that their communications are diverse to include as many residents and parents as possible,” Tarver said. “As a former board member, I made a point to always push for more adherences to the Amistad curriculum, which ensures that lessons are taught that include multicultural history, contributions and perspectives within this country. I believed that, although efforts were made, it only felt like minimal inclusion of those lessons necessary to meet those requirements were made. I would like to make sure that more research is done by the administration to provide alternate but equal lessons that ensure that contributions from all cultures are taught and learned from in Orange.”
Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 8.
Five candidates vie for three open seats on Orange BOE added by Yael Katzwer on
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