NJ Education Report

Dana Goldstein’s overview in The Nation of the politics of the Mark Zuckerberg donation to Newark Public Schools is a good read, if a bit defensive. Then again, her interviewees include anti-reformer Gordon MacInnes, Education Law Center’s Stan Karp, and Junius Williams, Director of the Abbott Leadership Institute. In order to make the case that Cory Booker’s solicitation for funds is politically rather than educationally oriented, Goldstein needs to show that Newark’s schools are, well, really pretty good, at least as long as the State fully funded the Abbott formula. Check. And that Booker’s entire impetus is mayoral control. Check. And that the Facebook donation is fiscally insignificant. Check. And that PENewark, the group that did the $1 million survey of Newark families, screwed up. (Uh, well, that one may be true. Here’s an interesting update from Goldstein.)

Here’s one outright quibble. Goldstein refers to a new group called Coalition for Effective Newark Public Schools, describing it as “a newly formed coalition of parents, teachers and civil rights activists.” Actually, this Coalition (irony alert: it’s on Facebook!) is funded by a group calling itself “NJ against Chris Christie” with a mission to “be an open forum to discuss any issues related to NJ politics, in particular, alternatives to the policies of Governor Chris Christie.” Its “favorite page” on Facebook is that old chestnut, “New Jersey Teachers United Against Governor Chris Christie’s Pay Freeze.” Not to mix politics with education or anything, but really?