In a letter to the editor, Jersey City Board of Education candidate Natalia Ioffe called Superintendent of Schools Dr. Marcia Lyles “a hard worker, a leader and a visionary” when speaking about her track record. 
Dear editor,
Any leader must be prepared for scrutiny and criticism. The only people who never get criticized are people who don’t endeavor to do anything meaningful. Even mistakes of strategy or judgement are all part of the necessary working process, provided that mistakes lead to improvement.
With that in mind, I support our Superintendent of schools Dr. Marcia Lyles, because I know her to be a hard worker, a leader and a visionary.
In an environment that is prone to administrative complacency, to see a leading executive work as hard as she does can impress even the harshest critic.
While frequently working around the clock, Dr. Lyles always answers emails promptly and thoroughly. Although she may not always be able to satisfy the query or grant a request, she always provides feedback and tries to find a best solution.
Her accomplishments speak for themselves as graduation rates have increased and drop-out rates have decreased. Slowly but surely, improvements are being made in all areas of school infrastructure.
Some of the issues that are always talked about are food and facilities. To help schools that do not have production kitchens and rely on “pre-plate” lunches, a satellite program has been launched, in which schools with production kitchens supply freshly cooked meals.
Several schools have been included in this program and the goal is to implement it district-wide. Capital improvements are continuously made throughout the district, and the Superintendent presents detailed reports on their progress to the parent representatives at the start of every school year.
Attending Citywide Parent Advisory meetings and hearing Dr. Lyles personally update parents on the district’s victories and challenges gives us an understanding of the process and defines a common goal.
Natalia Ioffe
Jersey City Board of Education candidate
