Joe's Current Column: Time To Rethink How We Are Educating Our Young People

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Meet Joe Batory

I have known Joe Batory for 20 years. The first 15 he was the Superintendent of the school district in which I taught. For 12 of those 15 years I knew him in another capacity. I was an activist in our local teachers union. In addition to participating in negotiating three contracts over that time span, the last four of those 12 years, I sat across the table from him as President of our union. The teachers of the Upper Darby School District held this tough-minded and outspoken man in the highest regard. Upon his retirement, our Association Executive Board unanimously voted to recognize him with its Friend of Education Award. In 1990, the first year of my Presidency, Joe was named one of The Executive Educator 100, a group of only 100 outstanding school leaders chosen from North America's 300,000 school administrators by a distinguished panel of independent jurors. A decade later, Joe's remarkable achievements were recognized again in the year 2000 when he received the Lifetime Distinguished Service Award from the American Association of School Administrators.

I have met many other local Presidents and none ever once expressed anything close to the sense of common purpose and unity of effort that our teachers felt regarding him. Joe cared about the teachers because we could help him achieve the goal closest to his heart – make a difference in the lives of children. I am so pleased that he has agreed to share some of those qualities with neti2i.

Joe is retired. He and his wife Joan divide their time between Philadelphia and the New Jersey shore. Retired, but not silenced! You will be hearing more from Joe as time goes on. Bookmark this page and watch for publication notices via email. ------Brad Gough, Editor – .neti2i.net

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