Categories: Newark

New Newsworks column: Newark’s School Reform Battle is Taking a Toll on its Union

 Last week I wrote here about a legal dispute in Camden: twenty-five local residents, backed by several statewide anti-charter groups, filed a complaint with the N.J. Department of Education charging that Camden City Schools’ partnership with two highly-regarded non-profit charters, Uncommon and Mastery, violates legislative protocol. This complaint is a political sideshow, a petty grievance about the intricacies of a small NJEA-supported bipartisan bill that passed almost three years ago.

But Newark, New Jersey’s largest school district, is facing far more than a frivolous lawsuit and the city’s schools exemplify the growing rift within national teacher unions. Like most of the rest of America, Newark has implemented reforms like the Common Core State Standards and higher degrees of accountability. However, the combination of a merit pay option in last year’s contract, a fiery mayoral race, the combustible administration of superintendent Cami Anderson, and the expanding role of charter schools have ignited an internecine battle within the Newark Teachers Union.

Read the rest here.

Laura Waters

Recent Posts

BREAKING: Statement from JerseyCAN on State’s Long-Delayed Release of Student Test Results

This is a statement by Paula White, Executive Director of JerseyCAN, on the New Jersey…

2 years ago

NJEA: Murphy’s Elimination of Teacher Performance Test Is a Major Win for Students and Educators

This is a press release. Earlier today, Gov. Phil Murphy signed a bill to eliminate…

2 years ago

Murphy Signs Bill Eliminating EdTPA Test for Teacher Certification

Today Gov. Phil Murphy signed Senate Bill 896, which prohibits the New Jersey Department of…

2 years ago

LILLEY: Blue States Had More School Closures and More Learning Loss — Just Like NJ under Gov. Murphy

The 74 conducted a study of the relative learning loss in Democratic (Blue) and Republican (Red) states and…

2 years ago

One of Newark Superintendent’s New High Schools Tolerates Racism Against Black Students

In October 2020 Newark Superintendent Roger Leon announced with great fanfare the opening of district’s…

2 years ago