NJ Education Report

Yesterday Governor Phil Murphy’s office and the New Jersey Department of Education made a joint announcement with great fanfare: They have created “Addressing Student Learning Loss” grants, funded by federal money available through the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act and Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funds.

“Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, learning loss among our students is one of the most significant challenges faced by schools throughout New Jersey,” said Governor Murphy. “With this program, among other efforts from the Department, we are committed to closing the gap for vulnerable students who may have fallen behind by helping districts implement exemplar programs in their own schools as well as providing additional resources to ensure that every student receives the high-quality education that they deserve.”

Two little problems:

• Total funding for addressing student learning loss through these grants is only $2.5 million that will be divided among 16 districts. This means that each of the chosen districts will get $156,250. The average school district in New Jersey has an enrollment of 2,291 students; in this case districts could budget $68 dollars per student. But if a district has 15,000 students (like Camden and Trenton, where students have suffered severe learning loss) maximum cost for intervention per pupil would be $10. And if Newark Public Schools won with its 36,000 students, that would come to 4 bucks a child.

• New Jersey has about 600 school districts and only 16 will enjoy the federal government’s largesse. This is 2.7% of all NJ school districts. That means students who attend 93% of NJ school districts will get bubkes.

From Carly Sitrin at Politico:

“Any grant program or any policy that goes toward attempting to bridge the achievement gap and combat learning loss is admirable,” Senate Education Committee Chair Teresa Ruiz (D-Essex) said in an interview Thursday. But, she said, at $156,000 per district, “I’m not sure how far that gets you.” Tony Trongone, superintendent of Millville Public Schools in Cumberland County, told POLITICO $156,000 would be tough to stretch. He calculated that his district of 5,000 students would need at least $590,000 to serve just 690 kids for 20 days. As it stands, Trongone said, 65 percent of the district’s current seniors do not have the requisite test scores required for graduation and the percentage of juniors needing support is even more pronounced. “Giving $156,000 is I guess a great start, but what I believe is still a random approach to creating policy to help people,” Ruiz said.

Now, no one wants to look a gift horse in the mouth. Two and a half million is great. And then there’s this, again from Politico: “to apply for a grant, districts will have to quantify the learning loss in their school community and the grant will help specific student subgroups—economically disadvantaged students, English learners, students with disabilities and homeless students —that could benefit most.”

So there’s a real incentive for districts to move forward with quantifying learning loss, despite opposition from NJEA and other data-averse lobbying organizations. (See here, here, and here for more on this.)

But, really, the $2.5 million is a drop in the bucket. Unless the Governor’s Office and the State DOE come up with a real plan —and the money— to support schools and the children they serve, many will be left far behind.

Here’s the full press release.

TRENTON – Today, Governor Phil Murphy and the New Jersey Department of Education announced a $2.5 million grant to implement, scale-up, and enhance evidence-based interventions that accelerate students’ academic progress and reduce learning loss among New Jersey students that has resulted from school closures due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

The “Addressing Student Learning Loss” grants will fund programs in public schools, including charter and renaissance schools across 16 districts. These 16 districts will receive up to approximately $156,500 per award using funding that the New Jersey Department of Education (Department) set aside in federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funds for targeted initiatives.

“Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, learning loss among our students is one of the most significant challenges faced by schools throughout New Jersey,” said Governor Murphy. “With this program, among other efforts from the Department, we are committed to closing the gap for vulnerable students who may have fallen behind by helping districts implement exemplar programs in their own schools as well as providing additional resources to ensure that every student receives the high-quality education that they deserve.”

While districts throughout New Jersey have been implementing programs with local, state, and federal funds to accelerate learning, the new grant program will allow districts to expand existing programs or implement new initiatives. The Department will showcase the successful model programs as exemplars that other districts may want to emulate.

“The New Jersey Department of Education is committed to working with districts in this crucial endeavor to advance student learning in all New Jersey schools,” said Acting Education Commissioner Angelica Allen-McMillan, Ed.D. “We know that mitigating the effects of learning loss is not a one-time fix. Rather, this grant signifies the Department’s growing commitment to enhancing the suite of tools and supports we provide districts to measure, remediate, and prevent gaps in student learning resulting from COVID-19.”

The grant will fund evidence-based interventions or instructional strategies in math and/or English language arts, and/or social-emotional learning supports to address learning loss. The grant also provides recommended strategies that schools may choose to adopt during the 17-month initiative, which could take the form of programs such as extensive individual or small group tutoring or interventions, after-school or summer programs, access to online learning platforms, or coaching for teachers.

Interested applicants have until January 21, 2021 to apply for the grant. The full Addressing Student Learning Loss grant can be viewed on the Department’s Grant Opportunities webpage.