Responses of Mario Gonzalez

Thank you for reaching out to me.

As you can imagine, it seems I have every "interest group" in the world looking to get information from me to see if I line up with their group's private agenda. It would be so awesome if our parents were as interested. Hopefully this will change.

In any event, I have responded to none of them. Your group, however, touches upon an area over which I am passionate. Namely, the arts. I went to Performing Arts High School in NYC, and my wife attended Music & Art. On a romantic note, we actually met at Third Street Music School in NYC where I worked while attending NYU.

I am the founder, president and CEO of The Hope Center for the Visual & Performing Arts. I personally teach classical guitar and bass, and our school has over 140 students learning ballet, modern dance, tap, vocal, piano, painting, sculpting, percussion, etc. I am absolutely committed to changing the status quo when it comes to arts education in our public schools. Art is the inspiration that encourages the development of discipline in the life of a child, without which learning cannot occur.

As to who I am, I am an independent conservative with a passion for our children and for the arts. I am tired of people running for the BOE simply as a stepping stone for holding another public office that they are "really" interested in holding. I will go on record to say that I have absolutely no desire to hold public office of any kind. I am running for the BOE simply because I love our children, this is supported by the fact that I have dedicated my life to them. I vehemently believe that our children should not be used as political pawns for party or union interests. As a result of our focus on perpetuating this political status quo rather than advancing educational objectives, Jersey City can proudly claim some of the worst performing schools in the state. This does not bode well for our children, communities, and house values. We all know intuitively that the time has come for a revolution in our system of education. Somebody has got to step up to system at personal risk. I have found my own peace and am willing to die on this cross. Our kids are worth it.

Here are some stats for your perusal:

If our schools were rated from 1 to 10, 10 being a perfect score, our schools would rate as follows (based on actual HSPA scores):

Elementary Schools: 1.48 (average HSPA combined failing score of 58.2%, reflecting an average academic ranking of 1166 out of a total of 1369 schools, where 1 is the best.)

Middle Schools: 2.62 (average HSPA combined failing score of 49.72%, reflecting an average academic ranking of 327 our of a total of 443 schools)

High Schools: 2.38 (average HSPA combined failing score of 57.76%, reflecting an average academic ranking of 271 out of a total of 355 schools)

1. What has motivated you to run for Jersey City school board?

A life dedicated to educating/inspiring kids

2. What are your top goals for your three year term?

Three-fold emphasis:
  1. To restore an emphasis on arts education system wide. This will help to instill discipline in the kids which many graduate studies have shown transfers over to their academic performance,
  2. To do everything possible to better the academic performance of our kids in the classroom. This will involve a deep scrutiny of curriculum, teacher performance, and environmental conditions (facilities, equipment, etc.) affecting instruction,
  3. To give teachers control over their classrooms. A teacher cannot teach if she/he cannot establish control in their classroom. This is an absolute must if we are to get out of the academic quagmire into which we have slipped. We need to isolate disruptive behavior so that our teachers are allowed to actually teach. Enough is enough.



3. Are you running on a slate with other candidates? If so, who are they and what do you think you can achieve as a complete slate?

I am 100% independent. I am running on behalf of the parents and teachers of Jersey City with no official political endorsement. I am known and respected by both parties.

I hope this lays out my positions to your satisfaction. I am very happy to see something happening in the "Powerhouse" district. This has been one of our dreams for a very long time. Bravo guys.

luv,

Rev. Mario Gonzalez
President/CEO & Founder
The Hope Center for the Visual and Performing Arts