NJ Education Report

Barbara Buono says she’ll be the “education governor.”

Real Clear Politics, in “African Americans Embrace Christie,” analyzes a new Quninipiac poll that gives Christie a 34 point lead: 

Even more stunning, while just 9 percent of African-American voters cast their ballots for the Republican in 2009, he currently earns 36 percent of the black vote, according to the new poll.
Though the sample size of black voters polled by Quinnipiac was small, Christie has polled at or above 30 percent among African-Americans in several other recent surveys.
To put that standing in recent historical perspective, no Republican presidential, Senate, or gubernatorial candidate in the state Jersey has topped 17 percent of the African-American vote in more than two decades.

The Star-Ledger takes the measure of community support for Newark Superintendent Cami Anderson: “Among a dozen educators interviewed, as well as parents, city school officials and members of Anderson’s senior staff, there is strong belief that her plan to remake the district is working. But she is still opposed by a stubborn, vocal group of officials and parents who think she fails to seek enough input from the community and sometimes does not consider the impact of her changes on surrounding neighborhoods.”

And NJ Spotlight considers Newark teachers’ first year with a merit pay clause in their contracts.

The TEAM Academy charter school group in Newark has purchased a dilapidated school building for $4.3 million.

SAT scores for New Jersey high schoolers are up by an average of 10 points, although achievement gaps remain steady. From NJ Spotlight, here’s one comparison:
•  Family income under $20,000: 416 reading; 441 math; 416 writing
•  Family income over $200,000: 567 reading; 593 math; 573 writing

Here’s the Star-Ledger’s coverage.

The Trenton Times Editorial Board applauds the consolidation of three school districts in Hunterdon County and bemoans the inefficiencies of home rule: “As a Home Rule state, New Jersey maintains far too many layers of government and all the attendant costs of each and every one of those overlapping folds. What made sense in the days when distance was measured by actual horse power may no longer be valid. In a world that’s gotten smaller thanks to instant communication, New Jersey has gotten microscopic.”

So does the Asbury Park Press, which also  previews the Common Core.

School board antics in Perth Amboy, here and here.

From the Trentonian: “Trenton Central High School has been documented to contain mold, leaks and a rodent infestation, but the state authority that oversees school construction projects is placing the burden elsewhere.”
 
Don’t miss Brent Staples’ piece in today’s Times on the challenges in implementing new teacher evaluations:

This approach — and the mentoring that is supposed to support the teachers — will require a great deal of training for principals and an enormous investment of time, something school administrators don’t have. Beyond that, for the new system to work, administrators need the trust of teachers, who often view the evaluations as part of a plan to dislodge them from their jobs.