The Englewood School Board has been Re-Organized...
The feeling of enlightenment at the School Board meeting on Thursday, April 25th made me think of what "Juneteenth" must have been like those many years ago when the slaves were declared officially free. People were hugging each other and smiling as if released from shackles. There was no sliding against the wall afraid of hidden cameras recording every move. There was applause, courteous attention paid during privilege of the floor, happy laughter and the meeting ended before 10 pm. For the first time in over 10 years we are set on the right course. We started off the year in compliance with New Jersey law. We have a Delegate to the New Jersey School Boards Association. We even have a Delegate to the Bergen County School Boards Association. Now comes the really hard work. We need goals and objectives for the district that may be used to evaluate the Superintendent. We need a Superintendent with a contract that is in compliance with the statues of the State of New Jersey. We need an updated Policy Manual with codified policy. We also need a well-trained Board of Education that makes sure the school district is well ran.
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| Howard Haughton, President |
I am a results-oriented Chief Financial Officer with more than 20 years of private and not-for-profit experience. I sit on various boards and have served Boards of Directors of Fortune 500 companies and not-for-profits. My professional and community-related experience uniquely qualifies me to serve our school district and ensure continuous improvement in educating our children, improving board governance and striking the right balance with the administration. I have been a resident of Bergen County for 40 years, of which 15 of my most recent years have been as a resident, homeowner and taxpayer of Englewood, NJ. My wife, Alicia and I have three children in the Englewood public schools. I have the distinct pleasure of serving as the president of an education fund that awards scholarships to students in Englewood and the surrounding areas. I believe in high standards – academically, socially and athletically. Every child may not excel in all three of these areas; however, our school district must provide our children with the tools and the unwavering support to excel in their pursuit of a craft, trade, profession or higher education. We must, and if elected, I will lead the charge to provide these tools and encourage achievement of these standards in a responsible, well-planned and intentional manner that is fiscally sound and that our community can support.
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| Harley Ungar Vice President |
Harley Elizabeth Ungar is a 13 year Englewood resident and homeowner and the mother of three young children. She received a BA from Harvard University and an MBA from Northwestern's Kellogg School of Management. For the past eight years, Harley has worked as a key staff member at Teach For America, the national non-profit organization focused on closing the academic achievement gap in public schools. At TFA she has been involved with teacher selection and placement, fundraising, school leadership cultivation, and analyzing teacher effectiveness, "She recently worked on the publication of A Chance to Make History: What Works and What Doesn't in Providing an Excellent Education For All. Harley is passionate about educational equity and excellence, and is hoping to bring her management experience and relentless pursuit of results to our schools.
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| Junius "Jeff" Carter |
My family moved to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania when I was 8 years old. I attended college at Tennessee State University and graduated with a degree in Electrical Engineering. After college, I married my current wife, Alesia. We moved to Los Angeles, California where I was employed as an Electrical Engineer for The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power. While in Los Angeles we had three boys, Junius IV, Edward and Malcolm. After ten years in Los Angeles I made a career change to purchase a fast food restaurant (McDonald's) in 1992 and relocated to the New York/New Jersey area. We moved to Englewood in May of 1993 and became active participants in the community.
Over the last twenty years I have been very involved with the children of Englewood. On and off during that time I coached for the Englewood Junior Raiders youth football program. Both my wife and I have been active participants in the Englewood schools from 1993 through 2006. We have been either individual PTO Chair persons or Co-Chairs for nine years or assisted the administrators, teachers, parents and students during other years. We have worked to enhance the educational experience of students at both Cleveland Elementary School and Janis E. Dismus Middle School. My wife and I have always stressed the value of education to our boys. |
| Molly Craig-Berry |
I believe that I am able to offer the professional skills, personal experiences and relevant leadership that are required to continue to move The Englewood Board of Education mission forward. Being a resident of Englewood for 14 years made me realize we need to improve where our children are on the education ladder. We can do so by providing resources that are appropriate for student needs, and provide varied educational options that work for all families and students. We have to invest in quality instruction, meaningful activities, student involvement, and social participation in order to bring about success for our children and community. We need to operate efficiently in order to provide these resources during these economically challenging times. For the past six years, I have managed an independent Graphic Design business. As an involved parent I work for my children and for all the children of our community to continue to have services from our city and schools and to utilize them.
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| Mark DeMontagnac |
I have been a resident of Englewood for 44 years. My son and daughter attended the Englewood Public Schools and graduated from DMHS. I retired from the EPSD in 2010. The last 31 years of my teaching career were in the Englewood Public School System. My classroom experience was in regular education and special education. The last 10 years I served as the Learning Disabilities Teacher Consultant on the Child Study Team.
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| Carol Feinstein |
While working for EPSD, I served as the President of the Englewood Teachers Association. Outside of the schools, I have trained at the Kettering Foundation, (a non-partisan, non-profit organization that works to increase civic engagement to reveal how communities work and change.) I trained and facilitated sessions for the Harwood Institute, who conduct Town Hall meetings to find grassroots solutions for communities to get more involved in their schools. I served on the NJ Supreme Court District Fee Arbitration Committee for 5 years. In terms of community involvement, I serve as a Commissioner on the Englewood Housing Authority and was on The Englewood City Council. Currently I am a Field Representative for NJEA in Region 15 Cranford, NJ.
Providing education to all students that meets their unique needs is a priority for me as a Board Of Education member. Providing the tools that the staff needs to provide that education is another goal. The involvement of parents is crucial and they need to feel welcome in the school community. The Board of Education needs to be more proactive and less reactive.
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| George Garrison III |
Mr. Garrison is a 16 year resident and homeowner. He has four children attending the Englewood public schools. George is a Governor's Scholar and graduate of the Plainfield, NJ public schools and Howard University's School of Engineering. George, an Insurance Consultant, manages the Medicare Department for NYC's largest healthcare provider. He is an Englewood Jr. Raider football coach and a volunteer with Aging in America, where he offers his expertise and guidance to assist seniors in our area. George is the current President of the Englewood Board of Education and Chairman of the Budget Committee. As Board President, George oversaw the board's passage of the budget for the 2011 - 2012 school year with a 0% increase to the tax levy, while not cutting jobs or programs. A committed and invested leader, George remains eager to continue to raise the bar for academic excellence while maintaining fiscal responsibility.
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| Devry Pazant |
Devry Pazant grew up in Teaneck. He has lived in Englewood for the last 10 years with his wife, Marsha, and their daughters Chloe and Kyra. Chloe graduated from the Acadmies at Englewood and is now a senior majoring in journalism at William Paterson University. Kyra is in the eighth grade at Janis E. Dismus Middle School.
After graduating from Virginia State with a BA in political science, Devry was the District Executive of The Boy Scouts of America where he focused on training. fundraising and membership. Devry has more than 25 years of banking experience and is currently a vice president and branch manager at TD Bank.
Devry is a dedicated volunteer who is committed to serving his community. He is a Trustee at Community Baptist Church. He is on the Board of Directors for the Community Chest of Englewood-Tenafly and Vicinity, on the Board of Directors of Bergen PAC and a member of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity and the Hackensack Rotary.
Devry is committed to improving education in Englewood by fostering communication between parents and the school board, enhancing the relationship between teachers, parents and the board, as well as using his financial expertise and advocacy efforts to optimize Englewood's school system for every child in every classroom.
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| Henry Pruitt III |
I have chosen to seek a third term to serve the students and citizens of Englewood as an active member of the School Board. My wife and I have been Englewood homeowners for over 20 years, and all three of our children went through the Englewood Schools. My wife, Tracey, is a graduate of DMHS, and is very active with the PTOs. As a technology executive, I managed multi million dollar budgets, led global teams, and made tough tradeoffs to deliver on goals with limited budgets. This experience highlighted the value of education and the need to prepare our children to be successful in a global workforce. I frequently attend conferences and seek out opportunities to learn more about better utilizing technology to improve education and reduce the Achievement Gap. I made several significant contributions to improve education over the past six years and served as President, VP, and head of several committees. We improved accountability, raised academic standards, enhanced educational programs, and changed the culture of our schools. We also upgraded our facilities, by building Grieco, doubling the size of McCloud, installing a new football field, and are currently in the process of moving our district offices and Eagle programs out of the Liberty school. This was accomplished with two years of a 0 percent increase in the tax levy, and a proposed 1 percent increase this year. During my next term, I plan on continuing to work collaboratively with the district administration, teachers and the community to further enhance the education of all our children.
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