News Release 3/18/14

PERTH AMBOY – Are you the parent or family member of a student in Perth Amboy’s public schools? Do you care about the standards of behavior set by the school district for your child and the other students? Do you know your legal rights to review and contribute to the Perth Amboy School District Student Code of Conduct?

The Citizens Campaign is hosting a free conference to address these questions and more on Saturday, March 29 from 9:30 a.m. to 12 noon at the Raritan Bay Area YMCA in Perth Amboy.

“Empowering Perth Amboy Parents & Students” will feature leading education and legal experts who will share their experiences engaging parents and their insights on setting proven standards of behavior and effective responses to misbehavior for Perth Amboy students.

Speakers include former assistant commissioner at the New Jersey Department of Education & current superintendent of New Brunswick Public Schools, Richard Kaplan; President and CEO of the Newark Trust for Education, Ross Danis; and The Citizens Campaign Chairman and legal rights expert Harry Pozycki; Georgette Gonzalez who has generated exceptional parental participation; and Kimberly Vanderhoef, co-coordinator of The Citizens Campaign’s Law & Policy Task Force.

“The goal of this conference is to empower parents and students to better navigate the school system and to know their legal rights to improve our school district’s Student Code of Conduct,” said The Citizens Campaign Chairman, and Perth Amboy resident, Harry Pozycki.

For example, since the 1970s student suspension rates across the country have escalated dramatically, putting children at a disadvantage in the classroom and increasing the risk of drop outs or expulsion. Despite evidence-based research that shows there are more effective ways of disciplining and helping students, many school districts still rely on these outdated methods. But, few parents realize they have a legal right to provide input on this policy, and the power to help chart a new course for challenged youth in their city.

This conference is the result of months of discussion and collaboration among community leaders in Perth Amboy as part of The Citizens Campaign’s Impact Perth Amboy initiative. During monthly “Bay City Conversations,” residents identified issues they would like to work together on and helping Perth Amboy’s challenged youth was chosen as a top priority.

Impact Perth Amboy stakeholder and Perth Amboy PTO President Donna Stewart said, “When our students do better, our City does better.”

The Empowering Perth Amboy Parents & Students conference is free and open to the public. Free bagels and coffee will be provided.

The conference will begin at 9:30 a.m. on Saturday, March 29 at the Raritan Bay Area YMCA, 357 New Brunswick Avenue, Perth Amboy, NJ.

The Citizens Campaign is a non-profit non-partisan organization dedicated to fixing our democracy from the bottom up by training citizens in “no blame” politics and evidence-based problem solving, while empowering citizens to change the political climate and become a new force for answering our hometowns, state and nation’s challenges.