NJ Education Report

My post today at WHYY’s Newsworks looks at a a potential casualty of the Legislature’s budget debate: NJ’s Regional Achievement Centers, a centerpiece of the Christie Administration’s education reform agenda:

As the N.J. Legislature and Gov. Christie duke it out over the State budget, a major casualty of the fracas has been our new Regional Achievement Centers (RAC’s). According to the DOE, RAC’s are part of a new system that would focus state resources on New Jersey’s struggling school districts while easing strict oversight of successful ones. These RAC’s represent “a fundamental shift from a system of primarily oversight and monitoring to service delivery and support.”

For example, in our successful Race To The Top application, which garnered us $38 million in federal funds, the DOE explained, “NJ’s Regional Achievement Centers, struggling schools, and their districts will partner to set clear goals for student growth, put proven turnaround principles into action, and use data to drive decision-making and accountability. Working together, we will meet our shared goal of closing the achievement gap and preparing all of our students for success in college and career.”

Yet, Senate Democrats want to cut funding for the RAC’s, in spite of their importance to NJ’s education reform efforts.

Read the rest here.