John Quattrocchi is one of two candidates running for two open seats on the Board of Education in the election that will take place on Tuesday, November 3. Since a candidates night that was to have been held by the Verona Conference of SCAs (School Community Association) was cancelled after a third contender, Joanna Breitenbach, withdrew from the election, MyVeronaNJ.com has offered Quattrocchi and fellow candidate Michele Bernardino a chance to present themselves to the community. Quattrocchi’s statement is below; you can read Bernardino’s here. The polls will be open on Tuesday from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. and voting also includes Verona’s state assembly seat, the Essex County clerk and the Essex County sheriff.
To Verona’s voters:
I’d like to thank the Verona community for their continuous support of our local schools. As we near Election Day, it is good to summarize my candidacy and points of view.
I’ve lived in Verona since 1993 and I work in the Investment Banking field as Managing Director and Global Head of Product Development for the Prime Financing Division at Barclays Bank, in New York.
In the 22 years I’ve been here, my wife and I purchased our second home in town and raised 3 daughters.
- Our eldest is a graduate student at NYU pursuing her masters in Social Work, while working as a student counselor at Bayonne High School.
- Our middle daughter is a freshman at Penn State pursuing a business degree and is a member of the Penn State Athletic Band.
- And our youngest is a freshman at VHS, where she’s also in the Choir and on the Cross Country/Track team.
For 12 of those 22 years, I’ve also been dedicated to the Board of Education, where I’ve served on every committee, at some point or another, negotiated most of our collective bargaining contracts, worked through two facilities referendums, and headed our efforts to create and execute both of our 5-year Strategic Plans, which we are now on our 2nd iteration.
My vision for our schools is simple – we must operate in a culture where success, hard work, and achievement are expected from each other. We must believe we can achieve more than we might think possible. And, we must do that with an operating model (leadership/people, infrastructure/tools, and purpose/objectives) that is nimble, and easy to change & evolve.
I don’t believe there are single magic bullets that shape our schools. In my view, it’s a continuous series of steps, following a plan and vision that takes our schools to higher levels.
It’s the curriculum & instruction, along with programs/athletics, that create opportunity for every student to excel. It’s the removal of barriers that may prevent some from striving or the mental barriers where we tell ourselves “that’s too hard for me”.
For example, we don’t just want computer science classes at VHS. We want, and now have, computer science for all students beginning at grade 5 and beyond. Was it hard to do – you bet. But it’s here, its sustainable, its energized, and therefore it is successful.
My vision is for our schools to operate in that way, all the time, and make it the new normal. I know it works because we’ve been doing it.
If our schools are a great place to learn and a great place to work, that makes Verona a great place to live.
I believe we are on a proper path, with many successes and more coming. With your support, I will work to continue that evolution, create a more stellar school system, and a stronger town.
Thank you,
John Quattrocchi
