The New Jersey State Board of Education recently selected the board’s leadership for the coming school year, according to a news release.
Kathy Goldenberg will continue to serve as board president and Dr. Nedd James Johnson, was named vice president. In addition to the selection of president and vice president, the State Board swore in a new member, Dr. Claudine Keenan of Galloway, Atlantic County.
“State Board of Education members serve selflessly and without remuneration to advance public education in New Jersey,” said Acting Education Commissioner Kevin Dehmer. “Each State Board member brings a unique perspective and their personal expertise to the table. I look forward to continuing our work with Kathy Goldenberg as president, and with Dr. Johnson serving as vice president. In addition, I look forward to a positive, collaborative relationship with Dr. Keenan, the State Board’s newest member.”
Dr. Timothy Purnell, executive director and CEO of the New Jersey School Boards Association, offered his congratulations to Goldenberg, Johnson and Keenan.
“Having observed Kathy Goldenberg’s contributions to the State Board over the past several years and knowing that she served for many years on the Moorestown Township Public Schools Board of Education, I am confident that her leadership and expertise will continue to have a positive impact on educational policies and initiatives across our state,” he said. “I am also pleased to see Dr. Johnson named as vice president, as he has a great deal of experience in education as a teacher and administrator in public schools and at the university level. I am also proud to note that Dr. Johnson served on the Pittsgrove Township Board of Education. Lastly, I want to congratulate Dr. Keenan, interim vice provost at Stockton University, on being named to the State Board. We look forward to working with her and the rest of the board to advance the achievement of all students.”
State Board Leadership
Goldenberg, a former board of education member, served for 10 years in Moorestown, Burlington County, and as president and vice president until she was appointed to the state board in 2017. She served as vice president in 2018-2019 and has served as president since 2019.
“It is a privilege to have been selected by my fellow board members as president of the state board for another term,” Goldenberg said. “I anticipate that the next year will bring many opportunities to collaborate with Vice President Johnson, all of our state board members, Acting Commissioner Dehmer in coordination with the Department of Education, and our citizens and stakeholders to ensure that New Jersey continues to be a national leader in public education.”
Johnson, of Pittsgrove, Salem County, was appointed to the state board in 2017. He also serves as an adjunct clinical practice supervisor at Rowan University College of Education.
“I am honored to have been selected by my colleagues on the state board to serve as vice president. I enter this new role not only as a state board member for seven years, but also as a lifelong educator, administrator and former district board of education member,” Johnson said. “I am eager to work in this new capacity with President Goldenberg, Acting Commissioner Dehmer and my fellow state board members as we strive to best serve all of New Jersey’s 1.4 million public school students.”
New Board Member
Keenan has worked as dean of education at Stockton University, Atlantic County, since 2012. She previously served as the university’s chief planning and budget officer from 2010-2012, and as executive assistant to the provost from 2006-2009.
Previously, she worked as a program development specialist at Sungard Higher Education in Malvern, Pennsylvania, from 2004-2006; as director of academic programs for Marlboro College Graduate School, Brattleboro, Vermont, from 2000-2004; and from 1994-2000 as program administrator for the Lehigh Valley Writing Project and lecturer in English, both at Penn State University, Lehigh Valley Campus.
She has an Ed.D. in educational leadership from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst; a master’s in rhetoric and composition from California State University, Northridge; and a bachelor’s in English and secondary education from Adelphi University, Garden City, New York.
She served as trustee for the Atlantic City Academy Charter School from 2015-2016 and Galloway Community Charter School from 2008-2011; past president of the New Jersey Association of Colleges of Teacher Education; an advisory board member for Purdue Global (formerly Kaplan University); a visiting team member for the Middle States Association Commission on Higher Education from 2008-present; and various other positions of service for numerous educational, professional and civic organizations.
She replaces Andrew Mulvihill, who had served on the state board since 2011. Keenan’s term expires June 30, 2027.
Other State Board News
The State Board also began its process to update the New Jersey Quality Single Accountability Continuum regulations. You can view a detailed presentation on the updates here.
NJQSAC establishes a comprehensive single accountability system for monitoring and evaluating school districts. Under NJQSAC, school districts are evaluated in five key component areas of school district effectiveness — instruction and program, fiscal management, governance, personnel, and operations — to determine the extent to which a thorough and efficient education is being provided to students within the school district.
As part of the NJQSAC process, each public school district completes a District Performance Review, a self-assessment tool that measures a school district’s compliance and performance at weighted quality performance indicators in each of the five component areas of school district effectiveness. Proposed amendments at Appendices A and B will redistribute points to equitably apply the evaluation of the performance of all school districts to which the chapter applies, regardless of configuration.
The New Jersey Department of Education has proposed to delay the effective date of the proposed amendments to Appendices A and B until July 1, 2025. Therefore, the NJDOE will use the existing District Performance Reviews through the 2024-2025 school year.
The state board is a 13-member body that adopts the administrative code, which are the regulations that implement state education law. Such rules cover the supervision and governance of the state’s 2,500 public schools, which serve approximately 1.4 million students. In addition, the state board confirms Department of Education staff appointments made by the commissioner.
Additional information about the state board’s roles, responsibilities and membership is available on the state board’s webpage.