NJ Education Report

At Thurgood Marshall Elementary School, one of two preK-3 schools in Asbury Park Schools District, academics appear to take second place to –wait for it— the gender reveal of Principal Lauren Schulze’s newborn-to-be. According to staff members who contacted NJ Education Report, on Monday all classes were halted for so 245 youngsters could witness this event.

This is probably not the best use of time for students and teachers at Thurgood Marshall. Currently (according to the DOE database) four out five students fail reading proficiency tests and nine out of ten fail math tests. On Start Strong assessments, the quick tests that filled an accountability gap during pandemic disruptions in learning, 94% of Thurgood Marshall students received the lowest possible rating in math (“needs strong support”) and 74% received that rating in reading. Also, 30% of the school’s students are chronically absent.

In other Asbury Park news, staff members report that they are receiving atypically low grades on their annual evaluations, in large part because evaluators are ignorant about the Danielson rubric, a common way of gauging teacher effectiveness, and, in some cases, the course content taught by the teachers. I was told the administrative team (which includes five supervisors of curriculum and instruction for a district with 1,700 students)  was given a crash course in understanding how to use the Danielson method by the Director of Human Resources new-hire LaShawn Gibson  who admitted to the administrators that she is untrained in how the Danielson method works.

Two examples: One kindergarten teacher was observed by the new math supervisor,  Donna Rizzo, hired from Superintendent Rashawn Adams’ former district, Franklin Township. According to sources (not the kindergarten teacher) Rizzo “did not know or understand the rubric according to Danielson.” During the classroom observation, the teacher was leading an activity in nouns and verbs and Rizzo wrote she “had no student engagement,” in part because the teacher needed to take a student to the nurse. (Huh?) Her final evaluation gave her a 1.5, barely above “ineffective,” despite her history of accolades for high instructional effectiveness. When the teacher challenged the evaluation (with a union rep in the room), the supervisor stood firm.

Another teacher works in the high school with students who want to pursue careers in the health profession, particularly nursing. As a Career and Technical Educator, her students will receive dual credits at Rutgers where she is certified to teach this class.  In previous observations her score varied from 3-3.3, which means “Effective.” But when she was evaluated by new High School Principal Bridget O’Neill, she received a 2.3, which means “Developing,” a euphemism for not-so-effective. This teacher now wants to leave the CTE program where it’s very challenging to find instructors.

To be fair, O’Neill is brand-new and also has to be the temporary Director of Athletics after the former Director was reassigned (he’s now an “Administrator on Special Assignment”) due to the recent football fiasco. She hasn’t had time to do any walk-throughs of this particular classroom and left halfway through the lesson. 

Yet she didn’t return the evaluation to the teacher during the required 10-day window, say sources, and she demanded the teacher read and respond within 24 hours (not kosher). The observation should have been invalidated by the lack of promptness but O’Neill is allegedly refusing to read the teacher’s rebuttal. The teacher has formally asked for a transfer.

These are two examples. There are others. Meanwhile, Asbury Park continues its downslide while parents vote with their feet and leave the district, either for nearby Neptune or the new public charter school. (The DOE database shows an increase in enrollment for Asbury Park High School but that’s because the district merged the middle school and high school due to lack of enrollment; the building now serves grades 7-12.) Taxpayers have footed the bill for a state-appointed Fiscal Monitor for the last 22 years, a step short of a state takeover. Nothing changes. The Education Department shrugs. Families get cheated. Students graduate unready for life after high school; according to the most recent data two out of three Asbury Park High School graduates don’t enroll in any postsecondary program. Nepotism rules.  Teachers quit. 

So it goes in Asbury Park.