Chris Woodward
I've lived in Highland Park since 1998. My previous volunteer activities for the schools include two years on the principal's advisory committee for the middle school; advisory hiring committees for administrative and teaching positions, and a second assistant girl's soccer coach at the middle school. My daughters Sophie and Julia are graduates of Irving, Bartle, the Middle School, and (almost) the High School in the Highland Park system. Because of my volunteer work and my daughters I welcomed the chance to give something back to the district and volunteered for the advertised vacancy opened by Ms. Judy Pietrobono's resignation in February.
Some of my professional experience includes the following. As an educator at Rutgers I've taught mathematics at the college level for twenty-five years, including mathematics courses for pre-service and in-service mathematics K-12 teachers. I served as a member of the mathematics personnel committee for ten years, which hires about ten faculty per year; I also served a year as acting chair in mathematics. As an administrator I always try to emphasize proactive communication with all parts of the community and develop consensus on difficult issues.
Priorities for the district should be ensuring that all children are safe, engaged, supported, and challenged in our system; parental communication is prompt and responsive; teachers and other staff in the schools are treated as professionals; students from all backgrounds have the resources they need to have an opportunity for success; and that the tax burden on the town is kept as low as possible by directing our scarce resources towards initiatives that have proven effects on learning outcomes.
