Blachford paying price for attacking status quo

I can see from news reports concerning Keyport's superintendent of schools ("Keyport schools chief subject of probe," Aug. 8) that for once something must be going right in Keyport. Apparently, this new superintendent is finally attacking many of the systemic problems confronting education in Keyport and is now paying the price.

A seemingly frivolous complaint, which I assume was filed by a staff member or members who are feeling the heat of the superintendent's insistence regarding instructional accountability in the classroom, is clearly an attempt to send him a message to "back off." I can only assume that some school officials or teachers don't like that they are coming under scrutiny and this complaint is certainly a reaction to the superintendent's efforts to bring quality instruction to every classroom in Keyport.

As a parent, I have recently had dealings with this superintendent in which I concluded that he is entirely professional and I was pleasantly surprised by his depth of knowledge regarding some very important issues concerning classroom instruction. He defended his staff when confronted with my criticism, but remained cooperative and proactive toward my concerns.

Apparently, the superintendent is accused of giving students refreshments during a state test, which apparently calls for

capital punishment under Department of Education regulations. Quite frankly, I applaud the superintendent for trying to make the testing ordeal a little less stressful for our students and giving out Snapples or any other items of comfort is something that was essentially harmless and nothing more than an act of kindness.

Moreover, to characterize that having a superintendent of schools who is traditionally considered the educational leader of the school district active in the hallways and spending moments in the classrooms during testing as a gross violation of law is simply ridiculous and petty.

It would appear that both alleged infractions revolve around Superintendent Blachford's positive efforts towards our students and his "hands-on" attitude toward his mission to make Keyport schools better.

Jim White

Keyport