It is unfortunate that the pusillanimous action of some biased people can besmirch the good reputation of the town of Edison by vilifying Chinese and Indian American immigrants with an anonymous mailer.
Money magazine chose Edison as the 19th most desirable place in the nation to live and bring up children, in large measure due to its demographic diversity. Based on rigorous analysis of key statistics of the U.S. Department of Education, K12 Niche has ranked the Edison School District within the top 25 districts in New Jersey. Recently, an Indian-American student came out first nationally in the Geographic Bee; another student won the prize on Teen Jeopardy; and our students are tops in the country and in the world in “Olympics of the Mind”.
Twenty-seven students from one district high school with a preponderance of Asian students are National Merit semi-finalists — more than any other high school in Central Jersey and probably in the State of New Jersey. On the intimidating PARCC (Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers) test, Edison students score 20 to 30 points higher than the state average.
Asian-American immigrants in Edison have a passion to succeed in the United States, and to guide their children to high achievement in education. Writing as a private citizen, I can say that we are proud of all our ethnic groups in Edison, and cherish our Asian-Americans as good neighbors and leaders for today and tomorrow.
Frank Heelan
Edison
