Tamaques Parents & Teachers Pack BOE Meeting for Kravetsky

The intensity of the battle to retain Matt Kravetsky as a third grade teacher at Tamaques School moved up a notch Tuesday night as over 30 Tamaques parents and teachers waited out a marathon Board of Education meeting to show support for the laid-off teacher.

Kravetsky, who has been teaching in the school system for three years, was given a termination notice several weeks ago, a move which touched off a tidal wave of support for the teacher from the Tamaques community. Over 200 parents have signed a petition to retain him and over 50 letters have been sent to school board members. Tuesday's meeting was the second where parents have lobbied the BOE on his behalf.

Multiple parents spoke up during the meeting to advocate the overturning of the decision, which was made by school principal Michael Cullen. The BOE and Schools Superintendent Margaret Dolan were silent during the meeting, a legal requirement, since Kravetsky has not granted permission for them to discuss the matter during a public meeting.

Parent comments were supportive of Kravetsky's teaching style, along with anger over the decision by Cullen and advocacy of the board of overturn the principal's decision. Parents noted that Kravetsky has gained strong support in the system.

"We see a system that is turning a blind eye to an excellent teacher," Doug Haar said. "We see one person making a decision over the voices of many."

Haar, like many of the other parents, brought up the fact that many of the parents supporting Kravetsky also supported the budget vote last month, which included layoffs and cuts in light of Gov. Chris Christie's decision to slash state aid by $4.22 million. Tamaques parents noted Kravetsky's firing was not as the result of the layoffs and a replacement will be hired for him.

Haar said that many of the parents are concerned that Dolan and the BOE's first instinct will be to back up Cullen's decision to lay off Kravetsky.

"We don't have a lot of confidence in how it will turn out," he said. "Most of the time it is right and in this case it is not and that is our fear. We can support tough decisions that need to be made but we cannot support bad decisions."

Haar's remark over the budget vote was brought up by several other parents who noted the strong parental support for the budget vote. Several also noted that they moved to Westfield because of the education quality .

Parents took time to remind the board of their political duties, noting they are voted into office and were elected to ensure education quality. They did not hint that they would vote out BOE members who did not vote to retain Kravetsky though.

"You are voted into this office to ensure a means of checks and balances," Michele Haar said.

Mrs. Haar spoke as a mother of two students who have had Kravetsky and as the class mother for his class. She centered her remarks on Kravetsky's teaching abilities and how he has become popular with parents and students.

Mrs. Haar noted that Kravetsky frequently calls parents at home to give updates on the students for both positive and negative behavior. She cited how Kravetsky has traveled on his own time to scout out field trip sites to plan out the details of the trip in advance to allow the students to get as much as possible from the trip. She also noted that Kravetsky sends home examples of student writing on a regular basis, along with his own observations to help parents become a part of the education process.

"He is the type of teacher who you hope will be around forever," she said.

Mrs. Haar read statements from Kravetsky's students which were drafted for Teacher Appreciation Day this spring. She said the students do not know about Kravetsky's firing. The student comments read by Mrs. Haar cited such issues as his sense of humor, teaching style and work on field trips.

"Mr. K is awesome because he makes me want to come to school each day," she read from the letters. "You are my favorite teacher because you make class fun."

"That's our children," Mrs. Haar said to the board.

Parent Carol Nixon told the board that Kravetsky's enthusiasm for being a teacher has rubbed off on the students and he has been a role model who has encouraged them to find a career that they are passionate about. She said a dismissal would send the wrong message to the students.

"What are we saying here if we let someone like Matt Kravetsky go, a gifted teacher?" Nixon said. "What are we saying to our children? That you find a career that you are gifted at and you are let go."

Kathie Caminiti, a Tamaques parent, echoed many of the comments about Kravetsky's teaching style. She talked about how he has inspired the students in his classroom and has gotten them to learn. She mentioned how she has seen Kravetsky kneel down besides students to help them understand the material being taught in his class. She also mentioned how Kravetsky was selected by the school system to teach classified students in his classes and has been given additional assignments in the past, which they said is an endorsement of his teaching ability.

Caminiti also challenged the board and Dolan to observe his teaching ability.

"I don't think anyone at the table has observed Matt Kravetsky teach," she said."The parents have."

Another speaker polled the board and Dolan to see how many have had children in Kravetsky's class or at Tamaques. BOE member Jane Clancy is the only current Tamaques parent on the board, but she did not respond to say if Kravetsky has taught her children. BOE member Mitch Slater is a former Tamaques parent, who relocated to the Washington School district several years before Kravetsky was hired to teach in Westfield.

Caminiti brought up the petitions, which have been signed by parents and grandparents in the community. She also cited the petition submitted by teachers at Tamaques and the large numbers of teachers attending the meeting. Because of contentious debate surrounding the intermediate school curriculum and federal education policy, along with an award presentation and a presentation regarding a new Pre-K policy, audience comment on Kravetsky did not start until 11:20 p.m., almost four hours after the meeting was gaveled to order. Kravetsky supporters, many of whom wore pink in a sign of support, waited until the audience participation part.

"I have never seen as many Tamaques teachers in a room at night at 11:30 p.m.," Caminiti said. "This shows that he has the support of his colleagues."

No Tamaques teachers spoke at the meeting but many joined in the loud applause that followed the pro-Kravetsky speakers. The teachers and parents stayed until the meeting ended at midnight. It is not known how many teachers signed the teachers' petitions for Kravetsky.

Kravetsky attended the meeting and sat silently in the back of the room. He has declined to speak publicly about the matter at this time.

"Someday if he is given the opportunity, he will be here and he will have third graders here supporting him," Caminiti said.

Her comments hint that Kravetsky will exercise his option to have his appeal hearing held in public session instead of private session, a right he is granted under state law. If he exercises the right, BOE members will have the opportunity to comment in public and Kravetsky will have the ability to challenge the findings in Cullen's decision to dismiss him.

Board of Education President Julia Walker briefly addressed the parents, noting that state law prohibits her from saying much about the issue in public. She noted that the parents have shown an understanding of the legal issues surrounding the board's lack of public comment at this time. She also noted that Kravetsky is a member of the Westfield Education Association and is following the state-mandated process to appeal his dismissal.

Walker said she has been reading the e-mails she has received on the issue and that the system will work out. She said the BOE will have a hearing when the time comes and will hold it in public or private based on Kravetsky's wishes. A source familar with the situation told Patch that Kravetsky is waiting for materials from the BOE regarding his dismissal, which is a step in the process outlined by state law.

"We are following the process," Walker said. "We have gotten your e-mails and packets. It is not on deaf ears but we can't offer up more than the system is in place."