NJ Education Report

Gov. Christie has just sent the State Legislature a seven-part education reform package. Included are a tenure reform proposal that would require four consecutive years of effective teaching based on “multiple measures,” ending the practice during lay-offs of “last in, first out” (LIFO), mutual consent between teacher and principal when assigning teachers to buildings, and eliminating salary increases based on graduate degrees or credits earned.

From the press release (still searching for a working link; wait: here it is):

Governor Chris Christie has outlined a package of education reforms designed to challenge the status quo by finally prioritizing the needs of New Jersey’s children above all else. The Christie Education Reform Agenda is a series of proposals that demands the most effective education workforce, creates career ready graduates by imposing higher standards, and provides room for innovation and human connections in teaching. While each element of the Governor’s reform plan is critically important to ensure failure no longer runs rampant in too many public schools across New Jersey, the largest piece focuses on developing, evaluating and rewarding New Jersey’s teachers. Teachers are vital to the success of every child and deserve a system that gives them the ability and the environment with which to do their best job.

Governor Christie’s proposals tackle the system from the top-down to reform a system that has been failing too many of our children for too long.

CBS Philly has an early comment from Steve Wollmer, NJEA Spokesman: “Teachers can’t control a lot of the factors that go into student test scores,” he notes by way of example, “and really, the research says don’t proceed with a system that says you’re gonna make high stakes personnel decisions based on student test scores.”