VoWW Interview #21 - Anjali Kulkarni
Overview
"Voices of West Windsor" is a joint project between the Historical Society and SR Mosaic to fill in the gaps in our records of our town's history. We interview contemporary inhabitants of groups not typically found in our archives so that future residents can get a perspective decades later - much like how our perspectives of old West Windsor were obtained through interviews of longtime residents in the past.
Education and safety are on the forefront of parents' minds, let alone during a pandemic. This week, Voices of West Windsor sits down with Anjali Kulkarni of Dutch Neck School's Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) to talk about parent-teacher collaboration, responses to COVID, and the future of education.
"Voices of West Windsor" is a joint project between the Historical Society and SR Mosaic to fill in the gaps in our records of our town's history. We interview contemporary inhabitants of groups not typically found in our archives so that future residents can get a perspective decades later - much like how our perspectives of old West Windsor were obtained through interviews of longtime residents in the past.
Education and safety are on the forefront of parents' minds, let alone during a pandemic. This week, Voices of West Windsor sits down with Anjali Kulkarni of Dutch Neck School's Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) to talk about parent-teacher collaboration, responses to COVID, and the future of education.
Talking Points:
(On the importance of PTAs in West Windsor)
"PTAs have the reputation of just being a group of moms that handle holiday events, but it's more than that. We do activities all over the year, coordinating with the principal of a school for all of the events that take place throughout the year. Our events are aligned with the school system and its needs, depending on the year. For example, this year we changed our approach based on COVID-19 (and remote learning)."
(On the struggles and successes they have had in the past year)
"We faced multiple challenges since last spring (2020). We haven't cancelled any events but have planned events so that they could be conducted remotely. We found that the kids had some unique needs this year, such as elevated levels of stress, so we managed non-traditional events such as yoga to help them manage. Additionally, in lieu of handing meals to teachers - a traditional activity - we sent gift cards to all the teachers instead. We continued to give grants to educators, thanks to proactive planning and coordination with Dutch Neck's principal."
(On changes she expects to last beyond the extent of the COVID crisis)
"As COVID started, we started conducting general board meetings through Zoom, and found that we had a 10x increase in the number of people that attended! It is more convenient and a time saver for everyone, so we will likely continue this. Secondly, whereas we used to send communications via paper flyers attached to kids' backpacks, this year we are using electronic media."
(On the importance of PTAs in West Windsor)
"PTAs have the reputation of just being a group of moms that handle holiday events, but it's more than that. We do activities all over the year, coordinating with the principal of a school for all of the events that take place throughout the year. Our events are aligned with the school system and its needs, depending on the year. For example, this year we changed our approach based on COVID-19 (and remote learning)."
(On the struggles and successes they have had in the past year)
"We faced multiple challenges since last spring (2020). We haven't cancelled any events but have planned events so that they could be conducted remotely. We found that the kids had some unique needs this year, such as elevated levels of stress, so we managed non-traditional events such as yoga to help them manage. Additionally, in lieu of handing meals to teachers - a traditional activity - we sent gift cards to all the teachers instead. We continued to give grants to educators, thanks to proactive planning and coordination with Dutch Neck's principal."
(On changes she expects to last beyond the extent of the COVID crisis)
"As COVID started, we started conducting general board meetings through Zoom, and found that we had a 10x increase in the number of people that attended! It is more convenient and a time saver for everyone, so we will likely continue this. Secondly, whereas we used to send communications via paper flyers attached to kids' backpacks, this year we are using electronic media."