NJ Education Report

The Trenton Times reports that Assemblywoman Bonnie Watson Coleman escorted Trenton Acting Superintendent Raymond Broach, a Trenton principals and teacher, an NJEA rep, and various other dignitaries to visit Geoffrey Canada’s Harlem Children’s Zone (HCZ) on Friday.

Coleman noted that public charter elementary schools that operate within the HCZ have longer school days and years; kids typically attend school for 10 hours per day and, after a two-week summer break, students attend school in July. According to New York state assessment results, 100% of third graders attending one of the Promise Charter Schools scored at or above grade level in math in state assessments and 87% of 8th graders scored at or above grade level in math.

For comparison’s sake, Trenton’s Stokes Elementary School (its principal was one of the visitors to HCZ) has a school day of 6 hours and 30 minutes. In NJ ASK test results for 2009, 46.2% of 3d grades were at or above grade level in math, 36.4% of 4th graders were at grade level in math, and 27.1% of 5th graders were at grade level in math. No 4th or 5th graders were above grade level in math.

Sounds like Trenton Public Schools is waiting for HCZ.