Update: Daugherty has sent us her campaign website information: www.BethandLynne4BOE.com. The site contains complete information on her background and positions, and those of her running mate Lynne Crawford.

Board of Education member and candidate Beth Daugherty, who is nearing the end of her first three-year term on the South Orange-Maplewood BOE, says tremendous strides have been made to improve curriculum and teacher training in the last few years, but much work remains to be done in these areas as well as in bridging the achievement gap between white and minority students.

Daugherty notes that her tenure coincides with that of Superintendent Brian Osborne—she actually preceded him by one month. "I'm very proud of the board as a whole, but I'm hugely thrilled that he [Osborne] is our leader. He's the right person for the job."

In an interview with Patch last week, Daugherty explained that her continuation on the board—as well as that of "running mate" Lynne Crawford—is necessary to maintain that focus on curriculum and professional development for teachers. The work of the board is so complex, "it takes a year to get fully oriented," said Daugherty. "I feel very strongly about both of us [referring to Crawford]. Lynne is phenomenal. She's the teacher, the educator and a special education expert."

In addition to the Board's collective work, Daugherty sees her most visible accomplishment while on the Board of Education as the renovation of Underhill Field. It's a project that she was involved with before her election to the BOE, as a leading member of the Ever Upward Capital Campaign, and that she was able to see through to completion as BOE Chair of Facilities.

"Within two years we raised over $1.3 million in private funds and the School District contributed $400,000 to install a new turf field, running track, and field event venues for pole vault, high jump, long jump, and shot put." (The only upgrade not completed is lighting.) Now, says Daugherty, what once was an embarrassment is a source of pride and a fully functioning sports venue that is used by the district and the community at large.

On a policy level, continuing frustrations for Daugherty include the "leveling question" and its relation to the achievement gap. A Taskforce on Excellence in Equity was convened last year to involve students, teachers and parents in resolving the gap. "I look forward to hearing from the taskforce very soon," said Daugherty, "and to start seeing some changes by September 2010."

Daugherty feels that part of the solution is improving the curriculum and making sure that teachers are themselves instructed on best practices for delivering the curriculum so that they are properly teaching it to the students.

"It's incredibly complicated," Daugherty said in reference to the achievement gap. She said she'd like to see leveling (separating students into classroom groups by performance) disappear in seventh grade as it largely has at the sixth grade level. "Leveling so early on—it's a self-fulfilling prophecy. A child gets leveled and says, 'Well, I'm not one of the smart kids. . . '"

Still, Daugherty says, "I don't ever expect AP and Honors classes to disappear. It's more a question of who can take these higher level classes. It's preparing kids all along to perform."

Daugherty herself has seen four children through the process: Emma 18, Jesse 16, Johnny 15, and Lucy 12. Three are still in the school district. Emma is a first-year student at the University of Virginia, her mom's alma mater.

But what about the hot button issues of the spring? Rezoning and budget cuts.

Regarding rezoning: "We have to do something to reduce the attendance zones of the two schools and we are trying to do it as thoughtfully and carefully as possible and in a way that is sustainable—even after this enrollment bubble passes."

Daugherty explained that the attendance zones for South Mountain and Tuscan elementary schools were made unusually large during the major rezoning that took place more than 10 years ago to create Seth Boyden as a demonstration school that families from all over the district could opt into. Now, fifty-seven students will need to move to a new school due to the new rezoning. "We are trying to grandfather as many students as possible," said Daugherty (so far, only 5th graders have been grandfathered), "but I don't think it's possible to grandfather all without increasing class size."

"We acknowledge it's very hard for some families, but doing nothing is not an option.  The receiving schools are planning open houses, tours, etc in May to welcome the redistricted students and their families."

Regarding the budget cuts: "I'm really proud we managed not to destroy the district. But the painful part is the paraprofessionals [76 jobs are being cut and outsourced to a county agency]." She added, "We are going to have to work very closely with the Commission regarding the qualifications and training of the paras that will be provided to our district." She noted that Osborne has said he'd like to be on the board of the county commission hiring the paras to maximize his oversight of the quality of services that our district receives.

"It's the best we can make of a bad situation. It takes a reduction in staffing."

When asked about cutting administrative positions, Daugherty said, "There is no fat in the administration. They are so overtaxed already." Daugherty noted that the administration includes those staff members who are charged with evaluating and coaching the teachers—important work necessary to ensuring a quality education for all students and for bridging the achievement gap.

"A lot of our administrators work round the clock, year round," said Daugherty.

Daugherty herself seems in perpetual motion. A self-described professional volunteer, she has been deeply involved in the schools and the PTA leadership ever since her children entered the district in the 1990s. As a Board of Ed member, Daugherty not only chairs the Facilities and Technology committee, but also co-chairs the Education Liaison Committee, a sub-set of municipal officials, BOE members, and District Administration that meets monthly to discuss issues of mutual interest to the schools and towns. Daugherty is the BOE Liaison to the Maplewood Township Committee, the Maplewood Recreation Advisory Committee, and the Maplewood Green Team.

Daugherty has also been involved in volunteer work and fund-raising outside the district. Most notably, she has coached soccer, travelled to Mexico to build homes, organized the Mayor's Ball, and currently sits on the Maplewood Chamber of Commerce Board. Daugherty was honored by the Maplewood Rotary Club this year as the recipient of its Citizenship Award.

It should also be noted that Daugherty did briefly place herself under consideration for a position on the Maplewood Township Committee when Ken Pettis resigned in December 2008 (Daugherty ultimately withdrew and Jerry Ryan took the seat). An appointment to the TC would have necessitated her resignation from the BOE. Daugherty resolves the two different impulses to serve as follows: "I thought I had a lot to offer the TC with a fresh perspective, a close relationship with the schools, and a broad reach into different parts of the community."

But continued Daugherty, "This past winter I made a conscious decision to run for another term on the BOE rather than seek election to the TC. I would like to continue on the BOE to make sure that we continue our focus on improving the clarity, rigor and delivery of curriculum in order to increase achievement for all students and close the achievement gap."

In addition, Daugherty feels raising four children in Maplewood and South Orange (Daugherty has moved from Maplewood to South Orange and back again over the past 18-plus years), gives her a "broad outreach into both towns."

"People feel they have someone on the Board who represents them, who has an ear to the ground and a realistic view of the schools, including the high school."