Change for Youngsters slate seeks Jersey Metropolis Board of Schooling seats
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Erika Baez and Doris “Toni” Ervin walk under the Change for Children slate. Not pictured: Thyson Halley. Photo by Mark Koosau.
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Erika Baez is a former PS 26 PTA president.
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Doris “Toni” Ervin is an Associate Professor at Hudson County Community College.
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Thyson T. Halley advocates for the deaf and students with special needs.
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Erika Baez and Doris “Toni” Ervin walk under the Change for Children slate. Not pictured: Thyson Halley. Photo by Mark Koosau.
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Erika Baez is a former PS 26 PTA president.
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Doris “Toni” Ervin is an Associate Professor at Hudson County Community College.
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Thyson T. Halley advocates for the deaf and students with special needs.
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The second big team in this year’s Jersey City Board of Education elections was the Slate Change for Children, a prominent Slate who frequently runs for the board.
The slate was previously funded in 2019 by a super PAC affiliated with the LeFrak organization, a well-known real estate developer.
Candidates spoke to the Hudson Reporter about their ideas for the Education Committee, as there are three vacant board seats to choose from.
Erika Baez
Erika Baez has lived in Jersey City since 1998 and is a former PTA president of PS 26 running on the Change for Children list.
Baez became involved in the public school system when her first born child entered the school district and later joined the PTA. She served on the Jersey City Board of Education’s Reopening Committee and Technology Committee last year and this year. She has two children in the school district.
Erika Baez is a former PS 26 PTA president.
“I run because I feel like it’s a natural extension of my previous work,” said Baez. “As a board member, I would concentrate on the infrastructure because we get a lot of money for pandemic funds through the federal government. Now is the time to address the historical infrastructure problems we have, particularly with water, air quality and ventilation. “
In addition to infrastructure, Baez’s top priority would be to focus on a sustainable budget, address the needs of children including mental, academic and physical needs, and ensure that student aid programs are used “to the full”.
Doris “Tony” Ervin
Doris “Toni” Ervin is an Associate Professor at Hudson County Community College and a former JCPS teacher. She has lived in Jersey City all her life and has 30 years of education experience, including three in the school district. She teaches child development at HCCC and has also consulted with the Urban League of Hudson County.
Doris “Toni” Ervin is an Associate Professor at Hudson County Community College.
“I see that we need to build better, especially after this pandemic,” said Ervin. “One of them would be for our children and teachers to have and provide for a safer and healthier environment; Providing adequate social emotional support; Creating learning spaces that are successful in bridging the learning loss and, most importantly, finding or evaluating and developing programs to involve more parents across the district. “
Ervin said she would focus on accountability, saying there are no benchmarks or consequences in the budget, including how money is spent, making it a “portable and effective budget”.
Thyson T. Halley
Thyson T. Halley is from Jersey City and advocates for the deaf and students with special needs.
According to his biography on the Change for Children website, he became an advocate after being diagnosed with spinal meningitis at a young age and founded His Hands Ministry, a deaf and hard of hearing sign language service. He also teaches American Sign Language across New Jersey and has served on the Jersey City Board of Ethical Standards.
Thyson T. Halley advocates for the deaf and students with special needs.
“Thyson’s life story and advocacy for students with special needs will be an important voice on the Jersey City Board of Education as we work to better bring education back,” the website says.
Halley was unavailable for an interview at the time of publication.
Problems and guidelines
- financing: Baez said she would strive to get more grant writers and put more pressure on the state government to get more funding. Ervin helped create a centralized shopping system for the district, set the school budget, and received donations from small businesses.
- Infrastructure: Baez said she will ensure federal pandemic funds are used for long-term infrastructure plans. Ervin’s plan would be to evaluate the schools and find out where the problems are.
- Normality after COVID-19: Baez said she would follow CDC guidelines and invest in ways to take children outside for a break or get involved outside “where academics are not the focus”. Ervin said she will ensure a safe and healthy learning environment and also follow CDC guidelines.
- Learning gap: Baez said she will work to share the results of the student reviews and make sure they have the resources to help those who are struggling. Ervin said she would provide social emotional support by having more people available for children.
- Mental health: Baez assisted clinicians in the school district. Ervin repeated again that more people like canteen workers, security guards and librarians are being called to help.
- Racial justice: Erika said she would make an effort to research different neighborhoods and create resources for parents either through parents or a school community. Ervin said she would make sure the children received adequate education, citing how she saw that children in classrooms were given multicultural and diverse curricula.
For updates on this and other stories, visit www.hudsonreporter.com and follow us on Twitter @hudson_reporter. Mark Koosau can be reached at mkoosau@hudsonreporter.com or his Twitter @snivyTsutarja.
