NJ Education Report

Bergen County School Administrators Eschew Motel 6 For 4 Seasons:

The Record reports that Bergen County Technical and Special Services School Districts took “taxpayer-funded trips to China, Taiwan, and Las Vegas, even as they were cutting programs and laying off employees.” Oddly, when the DOE was asked about oversight, a spokeswoman said they don’t collect data on district travel. Actually, they do.

But the DOE Doesn’t Miss This:

The Hanover Park Regional High School District School Board planned on paying a suddenly-departing superintendent $205,079 in some sort of obscure buy-out, reports the Daily Record.

The Star-Ledger Interviews Newark Superintendent Clifford Janey on Teacher Tenure:

Q: Is tenure one of the problems you face?

A: I think so. Tenure comes too easily. There’s a burden of proof that hasn’t been considered for one’s worthiness to be considered for tenure. Teachers are tenured after three years, but it should be after five years, at a minimum, and there has to be a set of rigorous standards throughout that five-year period, established not just by me but with others in the district, including the teachers union.

We had eight teachers last year on tenure charges (Editor’s Note: when a teacher is brought up on tenure charges, it falls within the categories of inefficiency, incapacity, conduct unbecoming a teacher or other just cause.) Now we have a principal-led program, a tier system that provides a 90-day window for the teacher to improve through an assistance program with Seton Hall University. We have 74 teachers on tenure charges now.

Is $150,000,000 Too Much or Too Little for a New Trenton High School?

Depends upon whom you ask, reports The Trenton Times.

Camden City School Board Engages in Deep Reflection:

The Courier-Post reports that the board members sat with NJSBA field rep Diane Morris for a self-evaluation. Said Morris, “One of the things I noticed, you’re doing barely an effective job in monitoring progress towards achievement of your goals and objectives. The board needs to have a system they’re committed to in place so they don’t lose sight of what is most important.”

Economizing Strategy: Get Rid of Substitute Teachers:

West Windsor-Plainsboro Regional School District, reports The Princeton Packet, will implement a new policy in September: instead of hiring substitutes (who get $75-$90 per day), high school students with an absent teacher will go to the cafeteria for a study hall. It’s a good thought, especially for a high-achieving district with an extremely low teacher absentee rate. Might not work so well in Camden.