NJ Education Commissioner on School Funding & School Safety

Steve Adubato goes on-location to the 2018 NJEA Convention to talk to Dr. Lamont O. Repollet, Commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Education, to discuss his career as an educator and the state of school funding, standardized testing and school safety in New Jersey.

3/2/219 #3203

 

 

 

 

Excerpt:

"I'm Steve Adubato. More importantly, we are in Atlantic City. This is the NJEA 165th Convention. These folks have been getting together for obviously more than a few years. So in this half-hour, you're going to meet educators, you're going to meet officers from the NJEA. We also talked to the Commissioner of Education, the keynote speaker here, talking about issues that matter to our children, the students of today, what it's like to be an educator in today's classroom, new technology and the impact that it's having, issues of race, issues of diversity and inclusion, all kinds of issues that impact our children, your children, my children, and the great teachers who teach them everyday at the NJEA Convention. It is our honor, our pleasure, to introduce the Honorable Commissioner of the State... [laughter] ...Department of Education. The Honorable! Doctor Lamont O. Repollet. Good to see you Commissioner. Nice to meet you Steve. Thank you. That's the first time I've ever heard the Honorable. So thank you very much. Yeah but you know that goes with your title. But that's the first time that someone has said it publicly. So thank you very much. I kind of like that. The Honorable. Well I appreciate having you on here. And the one thing that struck me about your bio is you say, very publicly, very proudly, that education saved your life? Yes. What do you mean by that? Education... well education saved my life. You know, when you grow in the urban community there's some challenges that you have. Tell folks where you grew up. I grew up in Carteret, New Jersey. but I also lived in New York City. I lived in Germany. I lived in Virginia. So... I lived in Louisiana. So technically I've been to seven schools in 13 years. Hmm. And I've kind of experienced some things. My parents were veterans. However, when we returned from Germany, I can say, it was kind of rough on my parents. So we did... you know, struggle a little bit. However... but education was always the focus in my house. So my mother and father made sure that I did my homework, made sure that we all received a quality education. A whole range of issues in the Murphy Administration as it relates to education. If you were to describe succinctly... and you'll be talking about this at the NJEA Convention, the philosophy of the Murphy Administration vis-a-vis public education, and how it may be in any way different from what we've seen in the past? The philosophy is that Governor Murphy, you know, he's talked about a strong and fair New..."