Dan Corey for Glen Rock NJ Board of Education

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Thank you to our local Banana Tree News for the opportunity to answer some questions!
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BOE Candidate: Dan Corey – Banana Tree News Personal background:Dan is a Glen Rock HS graduate and Moravian University graduate in Economics, Physics, and Mathematics. Dan has 20 years of experience in finance, managing investment into energy infrastructure and tax policy.

Members of the Glen Rock community: you deserve transparency and we all owe you an explanation. So, I will start with mine. There are confidentiality rules which limit how much I can say, but I want to be clear on several points regarding the initial failure to hire Sarah Wolman as head basketball coach and the later reversal of that decision:

1. In board discussion prior to the public meeting, I advocated that the best coach for our students is ALWAYS the one who shows dedication to build confidence in our athletes. HS sports are about inspiring our kids to show up and preserve even if you fail, not about winning records. As tensions rose in this meeting, I stood firm that our role as trustees includes being an advocate for the community we serve, and I feel that my input was not properly respected. While that tense interaction caused some members to leave the meeting and even later resign the BOE, I stayed to defend those values. That meeting left me concerned that the board would not be given the option to vote for the best candidate and, worse, our GR girls risked losing a great role model in the process. To me, it was clear that Sara Wolman brings the dedication, inspiration and commitment that matters most for the girls team to thrive.

2. Mr. Kirk was in the audience the night of the vote on his hiring. He heard the community’s passionate advocacy for Ms. Wolman.

3. From all I experienced leading up to the vote, tabling this vote would have dragged this out by weeks. It would also add risk it would not resolve the issue. Approving Mr Kirk, who also witnessed and responded to the community’s advocacy, let his prompt resignation clear the way for Ms. Wolman’s hiring. Instead of a 3 week delay until then next BOE meeting, GRHS girls basketball had the head coach they needed just 36 hours later. I couldn’t be happier to see this outcome and also more troubled the steps to get there.

4. Getting to the right outcome must never again rely on a gamble, and I will carry this dear lesson on how to be a better vocal advocate in this board. We deserve to know we are represented and I'm eager to work with incoming board members to build that voice. I have redoubled my efforts to ensure NJSBA and GRBOE hiring policy is followed and communicated properly so we don’t find ourselves in such an unfortunate situation again.

Go Panthers,
Dan Corey
GRHS ‘01

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I’m honored to announce that I am running for reelection this Nov 5 for BOE! I hope to have your support on Election Day so I can continue serving our community in this role. Let me know if you would like to show your support with a lawn sign! Supplies are limited!

Thank you to everyone who supported me for BOE! Now that election day has passed, do you know what to do with lawn signs? Before they go into the trash, take a look at these ideas OR reach out to me and I will help to recycle it!

Repurpose Old Yard Signs after Elections - The Everyday Environmentalist When Election Day ends but a barrage of political ads still litters your lawns—here are 17+ ways you can recycle or repurpose old yard signs.

Thank you BananaTreeNews for the opportunity to address some Q&A!
"BOE Candidate: Dan Corey
Running for BOE to help increase communication, bring teachers to the forefront"

BOE Candidate: Dan Corey - Banana Tree News | Local News for Glen Rock, NJ As a Trustee, I would lean on stakeholder principles to ensure that our teachers are part of steering committees.

Want to understand the impact the GR teachers have on their students? WATCH THIS.

I had the chance to play trombone for Mr. Sielski for 9 years. So many students gained confidence in themselves through his music class, and that confidence translated into success across many subjects. GR has a tradition in excellence because we have a tradition in engaging students.

The Band from Glen Rock High Reunion Concert and Movie Shoot On December 2 the boys are back in town! This one night only event will be filmed for the documentary "The Band From Glen Rock High".

The rain didn’t stop our dedicated neighbors from taking the 7:41am train… so it didn’t stop Dan either! Let’s keep the discussion going!

For those interested in the recent BOE Q&A, I am happy to share the 3 questions & my responses here as well. Its long so click to see the whole thing.

QUESTION 1.
Glen Rock lost 87 employees from Jan 2020- October of 2021. While there is an overall trend of teachers leaving the profession, Glen Rock’s trend was of early retirement and moving to other districts. Some will argue that they left for better pay, but these teachers that have left GR could have moved on any other year for better pay. If you were a member of the Board of Education how would you address this problem?

DAN, ANSWER 1:
First and foremost, I am a strong believer in the saying that “employees do not leave their jobs, they leave their managers”.

With a world of uncertainty coming our way, the focus in early 2020 should have been to confirm stability. This would have meant to pause efforts for significant change throughout the district. It's critical to recognize how administrative & supervisory changes in any organization are cultural changes. The culture of connection in education and the senior-to-junior mentorship that exists within department faculty is something that holds much more weight in teaching compared to other fields. While adaptive change is always healthy in the long run, any “too much too soon” policy will bankrupt a culture of its best attributes. To summarize, I would have recognized that too much outside of our control was changing at that point and that driving further change would not be manageable.

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QUESTION 2.
GREA members care deeply about the quality of education they provide to the children of Glen Rock. They are driven to make sure that every student has the opportunity to grow and flourish, and that the most effective practices are employed in our classrooms. How would you as a Board of Education member be sure that these best practices are being brought to the students and Glen Rock and what role do you see the teachers having in choosing and developing these practices?

DAN, ANSWER 2:
The trend in modern best practices are often attached to and dependent upon new technology, which risks impersonalizing many important parts of education. When embracing new methods, we risk losing connection to the individualized value that students get from a teacher who is able to ignite transformation growth for students with that information. As a Trustee, I would lean on Stakeholder Principles to ensure that our teachers are part of steering committees. Teachers must have an authoritative role in the development and selection of best practices so that they are an advocate of change as it comes and can implement it most effectively.

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QUESTION 3. While there was a strings (Music) teacher added for the entire district, there have been teaching positions in the high school and middle school that have not been replaced. For example, right now, in October 2021-22, there are fewer math and science teachers on staff than there were last year. How do you feel about the shift in staffing in these very important STEAM departments?

DAN, ANSWER 3:
STEAM is a core part of our society. It’s important that every student has access to STEAM curriculum, appropriate to their own abilities. I think music and all art is a critical broadening opportunity for students, but we cannot accept a trade off of choosing one in place of another. In speaking with neighbors, I understand there is concern around the rigor in our STEAM curriculum. You only need to look at the success of private tutoring locally to confirm this is a bridge we must improve.
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Thank you for reading!