NJ Education Report

The number of students in Paterson Public Schools deemed “college-ready” fell from 26 in 2013 to 19 this year, according to the benchmark set by the organization that runs the SAT tests… 

The 19 students represented just under 3.2 percent of the district students who took the test, which is used by many universities as part of their admissions evaluation. Last year, 4.3 percent of Paterson students taking the SATs were deemed college ready. 

“That’s a problem,” veteran Paterson school board member Jonathan Hodges said of the college-readiness numbers. (The Record)

Also from The Record: “Montclair Public Schools has formed an “ ‘Achievement Gap Advisory Panel’,” in order to “slice through the tangle of racial and socio-economic inequalities that have long existed in Montclair’s public schools.”

NJ Spotlight covers Newark Superintendent Cami Anderson’s two-hour presentation “On the Move: Newark Public Schools – Looking Back and Planning Ahead.” From the article: “Much of the morning program sounded like a pep talk, with nothing but good news about Newark’s schools – even if the claims of improvement and progress were not always accompanied by actual data.”

Newark Mayor Ras Baraka wrote a 4-page letter to Pres. Obama pleading for “presidential intervention” into the “disruptive and illegal education reforms” being implemented by Cami Anderson.

Trenton Superintendent Francisco Duran comments on the SDA’s decision to not preserve historical features of Trenton High School but to build from scratch: “This is not about the adult issues in the room,” Superintendent Francisco Duran said before the vote, adding people could debate all night about preservation versus new construction. “This is about what our students deserve, need and have long awaited for.” (The Trentonian)